Belgian port Antwerp will be hosting 40 countries overall in the next six days. 20 countries will compete in the men’s category and the same number of teams will look for the glory in women’s competition. Groenplaats, a large square in Antwerp, will be occupied by passionate supporters this week.
Defending champions are the national man squad of the Usa and the national woman squad of China from sin city Amsterdam three years ago. According to experts, favorites in the male competition are Serbia, Usa, and the host Belgium. The main contenders for the title in the female’s competition are Usa, Germany, and China.
Four groups are including five teams. Teams play against each other in the next four days. At the end of the group stage, the first-placed team proceeds directly to the quarterfinals. Second-placed and third-placed teams in every pool will play the last 16 play-in on Saturday to get a place in the quarterfinals. Quarterfinals are planned to be played also on Saturday, while the semifinal, game for the third place, and final are scheduled to be played on Sunday.
Spectators should pay attention to Strahinja Stojacic, who has the intention to lead the Serbian squad to the fifth title of world champion. We cannot miss the opportunity to mention Latvian player Nauris Miezis, Olympic champion, who is always capable of scoring in deciding moments in the game. Thibaut Vervoort, the potentially best player in the world in near future, is the hope of the domestic crowd.
There are a couple of girls supporters must keep an eye on. Sonja Greinacher is considered as best scorer, defender, and rebounder in the world. Germany has something to hope for with her at the front. Laetitia Guapo, a fantastic athlete player from France, is aiming for the gold medal. Finally, Lilly Wang from China was the joint top scorer at the last Olympics in Tokyo and this Asian country has a chance for winning the title with her.
After this, you can only take a summer vacation this week and enjoy watching the best players in the world in hot Antwerp.
source: fiba.basketball
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