China in a good group at 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup

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The 32 teams competing in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup in China learned on Saturday who they will face at the first group stage.

At the draw ceremony held in Shenzhen in China's southern Guangdong Province, the hosts were placed in Group A in Beijing along with Venezuela, Poland and Cote d'Ivoire while reigning champions USA will face Turkey, Czech Republic and Japan in Group E in Shanghai. There are eight groups of four.

The group games will take place on August 31 (Team 1 vs Team 4, Team 2 vs. Team 3), September 2 (Team 4 vs Team 2, Team 3 vs Team 1 ) and September 4 (Team 1 vs Team 2, Team 3 vs Team 4). For example in Group A, China will first play against Cote d'Ivoire on August 31, then take on Poland on September 2 and Venezuela on September 4.

Draw result of the group stage of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup /VCG Photo

China will be relatively happy with the draw. They have played three times against Cote d'Ivoire at the FIBA Basketball World Cup and won all of them. The latest was in Turkey in 2010, the only victory China had to make the round of 16 at that tournament.

Venezuela are their biggest challengers in the group. China played once against the South Americans at the World Cup in 1990, losing 100-96. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, China again lost narrowly to Venezuela 72-68. Actually, China have never defeated the Venezuelans at an international tournament.

China and Poland have never played each other at the FIBA World Cup. In 2007 at the sixth Efes World Cup in Turkey, China lost by 17 points to Poland (83-66) but Yi Jianlian delivered a remarkable performance by scoring 28 points and 10 rebounds.

China will assemble their players after mid-May when the 2018-19 CBA season ends. After that, the team will step on their journey of multiple basketball events including the 2019 NBA Summer League and the 2019 FIBA Stankovic Continental Champions' Cup to improve the squad and pick the best 12 players for the World Cup.

U.S. players celebrate after winning the championship at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain. /VCG Photo

As defending champions, USA won't have much time to train together because the 2018-19 NBA season will not be over until June. After that, players and teams will be busy negotiating contracts. Therefore, the team won't be able to have all their players until August, leaving very limited time for them to prepare. That's probably why the Americans have so far only arranged two warm-up games.

According to Yuan Fang of Tencent Sports, two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry and 2018 MVP James Harden both agreed to join the team for the World Cup.

Group H became the real "Group of Death" thanks to Canada, Lithuania and Australia. Canada are no strangers to NBA players and they have Andrew Wiggins, Tristan Thompson, Jamal Murray, Kelly Olynyk and Cory Joseph. Fairly speaking, the five players could make a first-lineup for an NBA team.

Lithuania do not have as many NBA players as Canada but what they have are exactly what USA find tough to deal with: big men with skill. The team's three inside players, Domantas Sabonis, Jonas Valanciunas and Donatas Motiejūnas, are all combinations of size, power and skill and able to cause enough trouble for any opponent.

Australia are one of the world's few teams that have similar intimidating physical characteristics like the USA. Moreover, their players are also smart on the court. Steven Adams, Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, Dante Exum and Aron Baynes are all making key contributions to their teams in the NBA. Most importantly, Australia have Ben Simmons, who is seen as the next Lebron James by many in the NBA.

Kobe Bryant (L), FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 global ambassador passes the Naismith Trophy to Yao Ming (R), president of the Chinese Basketball Association. /VCG Photo

The FIBA World Cup is not only the world's top basketball tournament for national teams but also will decide which countries can enter the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, giving the 32 teams more reason to bring their best performances to China in August and September.