A young — but athletic — United States team will be flying to Manila to compete in the FIBA Basketball World Cup from 25 August to 10 September.
All-Stars Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Tyrese Haliburton of the Los Angeles Lakers have already committed to play for Team USA as well as Austin Reaves of the Los Angeles Lakers, Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, Bobby Portis of the Milwaukee Bucks and Mikal Bridges of the Brooklyn Nets.
The 25-year-old Brandon Ingram of the New Orleans Pelicans, a one-time
All-Star, and 23-year-old Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Memphis Grizzlies also signified their intention to be part of the team that aims to reclaim the world title.
Multiple reports stressed that USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill, coach Steve Kerr and general manager Sean Ford are still deliberating on the remaining members of the 12-man squad.
‘Everyone is very receptive and excited about the possibility of representing the United States in the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Manila.’
The 21-year-old Edwards had a banner season after leading the Timberwolves to the playoffs as the eighth seed before bowing to the Denver Nuggets, who are playing the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
The high-flying forward posted 24.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists for the Timberwolves, earning him his first All-Star Game appearance.
The 23-year-old Haliburton, on the other hand, posted 20.7 points, 10.4 assists and 3.7 rebounds for the Indiana Pacers in the regular season. They, however, fell short of making the playoffs after compiling 35 wins and 47 losses.
The United States will be coming in prepared when it competes in the prestigious 32-nation tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Americans, who are at No. 2 in the latest FIBA ranking, will open their training camp on 3 August in Las Vegas and will be facing Puerto Rico in an exhibition match in Las Vegas on 7 August before seeing action in Spain and the United Arab Emirates as part of their preparation for the biggest basketball event in the world.
In Spain, they will be clashing with Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic and Slovenia as well as Spain, the reigning World Cup champion and No. 1 team in the world.
Then, they will fly to Abu Dhabi to battle former National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece before colliding with Los Angeles Lakers playmaker Denis Schroder and Germany.
“There’s a lot of excitement this summer as we make our way to the Philippines, but certainly, all of us, including coach Steve Kerr, the coaching staff, and the players are looking forward to this challenge,” said Hill, whose team is bracketed with New Zealand, Jordan and Greece in the pool play.
“Everyone is very receptive and excited about the possibility of representing the United States in the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Manila.”
On the same note, the host squad — Gilas Pilipinas — had also plotted its buildup even without its initial roster.
The Filipinos will open their training camp on Wednesday and will fly to Europe for training camp and friendly matches in the Baltic region, especially in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
Then, Gilas might accept an invitation to play in a pocket tournament in China before heading home for the World Cup.
“But this is not yet final,” said Reyes, who is set to open their training camp today.
“The situation is still fluid. We’ll make an announcement soon.”
