Brazil, Finland, Greece and Turkey – recipients of the wild cards for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Photo by FIBA
MANILA, Philippines—Brazil, Finland, Greece and Turkey completed the list of competing nations in the 2014 Fiba World Cup slated in August.
International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the world’s sanctioning body for basketball, awarded these four countries the wild card entries on Saturday (Manila time), according to its website.
Powerhouse China and Russia reportedly withdrew their bids from the wild card race.
Thus Brazil, Finland, Greece and Turkey joined Angola, Argentina, Australia, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, France, Iran, Korea, Lithuania, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Senegal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Ukraine and United States in Fiba’s flagship event.
Philippines, after a long wait, qualified to the Worlds after a historic conquest in the 2013 Fiba Asia Championships where it bagged a silver medal.
The draw, which would determine the bracket for the competition, is scheduled on Tuesday (Manila Time) in Barcelona, Spain.
National team head coach Chot Reyes is in Spain to oversee the draw for the Filipinos.