TORONTO, ON – Canada Basketball’s Junior Men's National Team will play
Australia, Syria and Spain in the first round of the 2009 FIBA U19
World Championship for Men, taking place July 2-12, 2009 in Auckland,
New Zealand.   FIBA, in cooperation with Basketball New Zealand, hosted
the draw today for the ninth edition of the FIBA U19 World
Championship, and Canada has been assigned to Group C.








2009 FIBA U19 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DRAW




  • ·         Group A:        Angola, Greece, Lithuania and Puerto Rico

  • ·         Group B:        Egypt, France, Iran and USA

  • ·         Group C:       Australia, Canada, Spain and Syria

  • ·         Group D:       Argentina, Croatia, Kazakhstan and New Zealand




Junior National Team Head Coach Greg Francis is aware of the tough challenge that lies ahead for his team.  "It’s an extremely competitive group with some of the top teams in the world, and with Ricky Rubio as one of the best young players in the world.  We are pretty familiar with Spain & Australia but it doesn’t make the task any easier."



Canada qualified for the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship after finishing in third place at the 2008 U18 FIBA Americas Championships, losing only to USA and Argentina.  This year marks the second consecutive appearance at worlds for Canada's Junior Men's team.  In 2007, Canada placed 10th in the FIBA U19 World Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia.


"We are excited to receive the draw from FIBA that will allow our coaches to focus their preparation on Australia, Syria and Spain," stated Andrew Cook, Manager of Men's Elite Performance.  "Australia and Spain have been traditionally strong at this level, with Australia winning the 2003 FIBA U19 World Championship and both teams finishing in the top eight at the last FIBA U19 World Championship in 2007.  We must also be fully focused for the game against Syria as we work towards our goal of winning a medal at the championship."


The international basketball community had a chance to see some of Canada’s talented young athletes first-hand at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Manneheim, Germany.  16 countries participated in this event that is seen as the prequel to the World Championships.  Canada finished in an impressive fifth place.



Francis added, "We are looking to build on the successes from last year and we will have to play very well and with high intensity to get to the next round."



2009 FIBA U19 World Championships for Men is 16-country tournament comprised of players born in 1990 or after.  Attached please find a complete tournament schedule.



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 Canada Basketball (www.basketball.ca) is a private, not-for-profit corporation that is committed to the growth of the sport in Canada. Canada Basketball is focused on the development and preparation of Canada’s national teams for the Olympic, Pan American and FISU Games as well as the FIBA World Championships. The aspiration of Canada Basketball is to instill the pride, commitment, passion and respect that Canadians personify into the development of basketball across the country and internationally. 

 



For more information please contact:



 



Tanya Phillipps



Manager, Marketing & Communications



Canada Basketball



Tel:  416.614.8037 x219



Fax:  416.614.9570



e-mail:  tphillipps@basketball.ca



Website:  www.basketball.ca







Composition of Groups





Group A: Angola, Greece, Lithuania and Puerto Rico



 



Group B: Egypt, France, Iran and USA



 



Group C: Australia, Canada, Spain and Syria



 



Group D: Argentina, Croatia, Kazakhstan and New Zealand



 



Preliminary Round:



2nd July 2009:



Group A:



Game A1:Lithuania vs. Puerto Rico



Game A2:Greece vs. Angola



 



Group B:



Game B1:France vs. Egypt



Game B2:Iran vs.USA



 



Group C:



Game C1:Canada vs. Australia



Game C2:Spain vs. Syria



 



Group D:



Game D1:Croatia vs. Kazakhstan



Game D2:Argentina vs. New Zealand







3rd July 2009:



 



Group A:



Game A3:Angola vs. Lithuania



Game A4:Puerto Rico vs. Greece



 



Group B:



Game B3:USA vs. France



Game B4:Egypt vs. Iran



 



Group C:



Game C3:Syria vs. Canada



Game C4:Australia vs. Spain



 



Group D:



Game D3:New Zealand vs. Croatia



Game D4:Kazakhstan vs. Argentina



 





4th July 2009:



Group A:



Game A5:Lithuania vs. Greece



Game A6:Angola vs. Puerto Rico



 



Group B:



Game B5:France vs. Iran



Game B6:USA vs.Egypt



 



Group C:



Game C5:Canada vs. Spain



Game C6:Syriavs.Australia



 



Group D:



Game D5:Croatia vs. Argentina



Game D6:New Zealand vs. Kazakhstan



The 3 best-placed teams in each group will qualify for the Eighth-Final Round.



The teams placed 4th in each group will qualify for the Classification Round for 13th to 16th places.



Important note: The order of the games for each of the further rounds will be determined after the last day of the preceding round



5th July 2009: Rest Day







Eighth-Final Round:




The 12 teams qualified from the Preliminary Round will be divided into 2 groups (E and F) of 6 teams each.



The 3 teams placed 1st to 3rd from groups A and B will play in Group E.



The 3 teams placed 1st to 3rd from groups C and D will play in Group F.



Each team will play the 3 new teams in its own group (the final scores of all games played in the Preliminary Round are valid for this Round).



 6th July 2009:



Classification:




Game 25:A4 vs. B4



Game 26:C4 vs. D4



 



Group E:



Game 27:B2 vs. A2



Game 28:B3 vs. A1



Game 29:B1 vs. A3



 



Group F:



Game 30:D2 vs. C2



Game 31:D3 vs. C1



Game 32:D1 vs. C3



 



7th July 2009:



Classification:




Game 33:Loser 25 vs. Loser 26(15 - 16)



Game 34:Winner 25 vs. Winner 26(13 - 14)



 



Group E:



Game 35:A3 vs. B3



Game 36:A1 vs. B2



Game 37:A2 vs. B1



 



Group F:



Game 38:C3 vs. D3



Game 39:C1 vs. D2



Game 40:C2 vs. D1



8th July 2009:



Group E:



Game 41:B2 vs. A3



Game 42:B3 vs. A2



Game 43:B1 vs. A1



 



Group F:



Game 44:D2 vs. C3



Game 45:D3 vs. C2



Game 46:D1 vs. C1



The teams placed 13th to 16th return home after their last game.



The teams placed 1st to 4th in each group will qualify for the Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Finals.



The teams placed 5th and 6th in each group will qualify for the Classification Round for 9th to 12th places.



9th July 2009: Rest Day



Quarter-Finals:



10th July 2009:



Classification:



Game 47:E5 vs. F6



Game 48:E6 vs. F5



Quarter-Finals:



Game 49:E1 vs. F4



Game 50:E3 vs. F2



Game 51:E2 vs. F3



Game 52:E4 vs. F1



Semi-Finals:



11th July 2009



Classification:



Game 53:Loser 47 vs. Loser 48(11 - 12)



Game 54:Winner 47 vs. Winner 48 (9 - 10)



Game 55:Loser 49 vs. Loser 50



Game 56:Loser 51 vs. Loser 52



Semi-Finals:



Game 57:Winner 49 vs. Winner 50



Game 58:Winner 51 vs. Winner 52



Finals:



12th July 2009:



Classification:



Game 59:Loser 55 vs. Loser 56(7 - 8)



Game 60:Winner 55 vs. Winner 56 (5 - 6)



Finals:



Game 61:Loser 57 vs. Loser 58(3 - 4)



Game 62:Winner 57 vs. Winner 58 (1 - 2)



 



About FIBA:



FIBA (www.fiba.com), the world governing body for basketball, is an independent association formed by 213 National Federations of basketball throughout the world. It is recognized as the sole competent authority in basketball by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Its main upcoming events are the 2009 FIBA Zone Continental Championships that qualify for the 2010 FIBA World Championships for Men and Women, to take place in Turkey and in the Czech Republic respectively.





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