8th group: France and the… others

His four teams will play their games in Jakarta, Indonesia 8th group of the World Cup.

Clearly and France is the favorite to get the ticket to the next phase, with Canada to go with… menacing moods and talent in the organization and the Latvia to want to do the “bang”.

The group is completed by the weak Lebanonwho aims at wants a decent presence.

France: Aiming for a medal

As the second best team in Europe, France will participate in the ninth World Cup in its history. In 2022, the “tricolors” reached the Eurobasket final, but were defeated by Spain. From then on, in the last two World Cups, the French left with a medal and in fact of the same color, since both in 2014 and 2019 they had won the bronze. Vincent Collet has already announced the twelve he will take with him and it is an excellent… mix of NBAers and experienced Euroleague players. The dreams and ambitions of the French are high and this year they want to go one step further, by participating in a final.

Star: France doesn’t have just one star, as the majority of their roster can comfortably fit in any team. One could say it has three leaders. Undoubtedly, these are the two NBA veterans Nicolas Batum and Evan Fournier. Of course, the third … pole is the experienced scorer and full “powder-smoked” from the big matches, Nando De Colo.

Advantages: It is a team that has been playing together for years, has the same coach and that everyone has known each other very well for a long time. They go with this successful recipe, plus the athleticism that their roster has.

Disadvantages: The French have it all and can go very high. The only thing that can stop them is their evil self.

Forecast: Their roster is set for big things and is naturally among the favorites to medal.

The roster of France

Nikola Batum (14/12/1988 – 2.03m – F) Los Angeles Clippers

Nando De Colo (23/6/1987 – 1.96m – G) Villerban

Evan Fournier (10/29/1992 – 1.99m – G/F) New York Knicks

Mustafa Fal (23/2/1992 – 2.18m. – C) Olympiacos

Sylvain Francisco (10/10/1997 – 1.79m – G) Bayern Munich

Rudy Gober (6/26/1992 – 2.16m – C) Minnesota Timberwolves

Matias Lesor (29/9/1995 – 2.06m. – C) Panathinaikos

Frank Dilikina (7/28/1998 – 1.93m – G) Dallas Mavericks

Eli Okombo (23/10/1997 – 2.91m – G) Monaco

Jacob Ouattara (24/1/1992 – 1.92m – G) Monaco

Terry Tarpe (2/3/1994 – 1.96m – G) Monaco

Gerson Giabuchelli (17/12/1995 – 2.03m – F) Real Madrid

Coach: Vincent Collet

Canada: A hidden… underdog

With one of the most talented rosters in its history, Canada goes to the World Cup with ambitions and dreams. Quality and youthful enthusiasm… overflow in the North American group, which will also have a new coach. He is the Catalan Jordi Fernandez with a long tenure in the staffs of NBA teams and who succeeded Nick Nurse. As for the roster, it shines with players who play in the best league in the world and have a thirst for distinction. Going forward, this will be Canada’s 15th World Cup appearance. The highest distinction of the representative group was the sixth place twice in the distant 1978 and 1982, while the last time in the event in 2019 it finished in 21st place.

Star: Undoubtedly, Canada’s big star is this year’s NBA champion with the Nuggets, Jamal Murray. However, even the two super-talented NBAers Cy Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder and RJ Barrett of the Knicks can carry enough weight.

Advantages: Canada has great quality, talent and excitement. Combined with the athleticism the roster has, it can go very high.

Disadvantages: The majority of the players on the team have many games in the NBA. So, she may encounter some difficulties due to the FIBA ​​regulations and there she might… step on it.

Forecast: Based on the roster Canada has, not only do we expect them in the knockouts, but even in the medal zone.

Canada’s roster

Kyle Alexander (21/10/1996 – 2.08m – F) Hapoel Tel Aviv

Nickel Alexander-Walker (2/9/1998 – 1.96m – G) Minnesota Timberwolves

ARJ Barrett (6/14/2000 – 1.98m – G) New York Knicks

Tre Bell-Haines (5/9/1995 – 1.88m – G) Buduchnost

Dillon Brooks (1/22/1996 – 1.98m – G) Memphis Grizzlies

Lou Dort (4/19/1999 – 1.93m – G) Oklahoma City Thunder

Zach Eddy (5/14/2002 – 2.24m – C) Purdue

Melvin Ejim (4/3/1999 – 2.01m – SF) Unicaja Malaga

Cy Gilgeous-Alexander (12/7/1998 – 1.98m – G) Oklahoma City Thunder

Kelly Olynyk (4/19/1991 – 2.11m –C) Utah Jazz

Dwight Powell (7/20/1991 – 2.08m – PF) Dallas Mavericks

Phil Scrubb (27/11/1992 – 1.94m – SG) Niagara River Lions

Thomas Scrubb (8/4/1991 – 1.98m – SF) Obradeiro

Coach: Jordi Fernandez

Latvia: Historic involvement and… opportunity for distinction

A historic moment awaits Latvian basketball. With the experienced Italian coach Luca Banki on the bench, the Baltic country will participate in the World Cup for the first time in its history. With NBAer Kristaps Porzingis leading the way and generally a pretty good and full roster, Latvia has a very good chance for distinction on the Asian courts. The representative group showed its great appetite and consistency from the qualifying phase. In the ten games she played, she experienced just one defeat and thus got the ticket for the big date in her history as the first and best.

Star: Latvia is very pleased to have one of the best tall men in the competition on its roster. That, of course, is Kristaps Porzingis. The 28-year-old NBAer and now Celtics player is the great leader of the country’s representative group.

Advantages: She goes to the World Cup with the enthusiasm of “Cinderella”, but also with a homogeneity that she has “built” for several years, since the players are the same.

Disadvantages: Porzingis may shine enough, but the roster doesn’t have another comparable player and that could cost them.

Forecast: Although they gave excellent writing samples in the qualifiers, Latvia had the great… misfortune of being in the group of France and Canada. Two huge hurdles for the next phase.

The roster of Latvia

Rodions Kourouks (5/2/1998 – 2.07m – F) Murcia

Mareks Megeris (2/9/1991 – 2.07m – F) Cluj

Kristaps Porzingis (2/8/1995 – 2.21m – F) Boston Celtics

Davis Bertans (12/11/1992 – 2.07m – F) Oklahoma City Thunder

Dairis Bertans (9/9/1988 – 1.93m – G) Riga

Giannis Tima (2/7/1992 – 2.01m. – F)

Rolands Schmitz (25/6/1995 – 2.07m – F/C) Zalgiris

Arthurs Strautins (23/10/1998 – 1.98m – SF) Dertona

Klavs Chavars (11/2/1996 – 2.05m. – C) Yokohama Excellence

Eigars Skele (4/12/1992 – 1.93m. – G) Stahl

Andreas Grazulis (21/7/1993 – 2.02m – F) Trento

Andrzej Pasetsniks (20/12/1995 – 2.16m. – C) Real Betis

Arthurs Kourouks (19/1/2000 – 1.92m. – G) Prometheus Patras

Arturs Zagars (21/4/2000 – 1.90m. – G) Nevezis

Kristers Zoriks (25/5/1998 – 1.95m – G) Petkimspor

Coach: Luca Banki

Lebanon: For the… joy of participation

Lebanon is the team that… completes the eighth group of the World Cup. He already knows from the draw that qualification will only come with a “miracle” and the goal of the representative group is to play decently. With former NBAer, Omari Spellman, declared in the pre-selection, Lebanon wants to leave – as much as possible – a good image in its fourth participation in the competition.

Star: Lebanon’s big star does not come from the country. He has been declared in the pre-selection for the World and that is Omari Spellman. The naturalized American has experience in the NBA, while in recent years he has been playing in South Korea.

Advantages: He knows he can’t claim much against his group opponents, so Lebanon will play without stress.

Disadvantages: The roster has players without much experience and a lot of talent, so logically they will be in for a lot of… rain.

Forecast: With opponents in the group France, Canada and Latvia, Lebanon is “doomed” to do the… punching bag.

The roster of Lebanon

Wael Araqzi (4/9/1994 – 1.92m – G) Al Riyadh

Jud Khalil (20/11/1996 – 1.86m – G) Slogan

Ali Mansoor (1/1/1998 – 1.85m – G) Al Riyadh

Ali Mezher (22/3/1994 – 1.80m – G) Beirut

Amir Saud (18/1/1991 – 1.85m – G) Al Riyadh

Karim Zeinoun (16/6/1999 – 1.90m – G) Al Riyadh

Sergio Al Darwicz (25/7/1996 – 1.94m – G) Sanchez

Marc Khoeiri (21/8/2001 – 1.85m – G) Sanchez

Youssef Khayat (11/3/2003 – 2.06m – F) Michigan

Marc Khouri (22/2/1998 – 1.96m – F) Dynamo Club

Karim Ezzedine (8/8/1997 – 2.03m – F) Dynamo Club

Ali Haidar (20/7/1990 – 2.01m – F) Beirut

Naim Rabai (28/10/1997 – 2.06m – C) Beirut

Gerard Hadidian (24/4/1995 – 2.01m – F) Beirut

Omari Spellman (7/21/1997 – 2.03m – F) Anyang

Coach: Jad El Hadj