1998 Fiba World Championship
The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams.
The tournament was organised by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), and hosted in Greece from 29 July to 9 August 1998. It was contested by 16 nations, with matches held at two venues, in Athens and Piraeus.
| Παγκόσμιο Πρωτάθλημα Καλαθοσφαίρισης Ανδρών 1998 FIBA pankósmio protáthlima básket 1998 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Greece |
| City | Athens Piraeus |
| Dates | 29 July – 9 August |
| Officially opened by | Konstantinos Stephanopoulos |
| Teams | 16 (from 5 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Yugoslavia (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Russia |
| Third place |  United States |
| Fourth place |  Greece |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 62 |
| MVP | Dejan Bodiroga |
| Top scorer |  Alberto Herreros(17.9 points per game) |
Because of the National Basketball Association lockout and unlike in the previous championship, the USA Basketball Association was unable to send a team composed of NBA players, thus causing the American national team roster consisting of professional basketball players playing in Europe and two college players. The tournament was won by FR Yugoslavia, in their first participation after the breakup of Yugoslavia, defeating Russia in the final 64–62.
Venues
| Athens-Piraeus | Greece | |
|---|---|---|
| Marousi, Attica | Piraeus, Attica | |
| Athens Olympic Indoor Hall Capacity: 18,700 | Peace and Friendship Stadium Capacity: 14,776 | |
 |  | |
Squads
Qualification
There were 16 teams taking part in the 1998 World Cup of Basketball. After the 1996 Olympics, the continental allocation for FIBA Americas was reduced by one when the United States won the Olympic tournament, automatically qualifying them for the 1998 World Cup.
- Host nation: 1 berth
- 1996 Summer Olympics: 12 teams competing for 1 berth, removed from that country's FIBA zone.
- FIBA Oceania: 3 teams competing for 1 berth
- FIBA Europe: 16 teams competing for 5 berths
- FIBA Africa: 9 teams competing for 2 berths
- FIBA Americas: 10 teams competing for 4 berths
- FIBA Asia: 15 teams competing for 2 berths
Qualified teams
| Means of qualification | Date | Venue | Berths | Teams qualified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host | – | 1 | Greece | |
| 1996 Olympics | July 20–August 3, 1996 | Atlanta | 1 | United States |
| 1997 FIBA Oceania Championship | June 1–4, 1997 |  Wellington and Palmerston North | 1 |  Australia |
| EuroBasket 1997 | June 24–July 6, 1997 | Badalona, Girona and Barcelona | 5 | Yugoslavia Italy Russia Spain Lithuania |
| FIBA Africa Championship 1997 | July 25–August 3, 1997 |  Dakar | 2 |  Nigeria Senegal |
| 1997 Tournament of the Americas | August 21-31, 1997 |  Montevideo | 4 |  Puerto Rico Brazil Argentina Canada |
| 1997 ABC Championship | September 11-19, 1997 |  Riyadh | 2 |  South Korea Japan |
| Total | 16 | |||
Draw
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
|---|---|---|---|
Preliminary round
The top three teams in each group advance to the second round, into either Group E or F. The fourth place team in each group moves onto the 13th–16th classification.
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greece (H) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 210 | 185 | +25 | 6 | Second round |
| 2 | Italy | 3 | 2 | 1 | 211 | 199 | +12 | 5 | |
| 3 | Canada | 3 | 1 | 2 | 211 | 214 | −3 | 4 | |
| 4 | Senegal | 3 | 0 | 3 | 180 | 214 | −34 | 3 | 13th–16th classification round |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
(H) Hosts
Group Β
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yugoslavia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 261 | 194 | +67 | 6 | Second round |
| 2 | Russia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 243 | 213 | +30 | 5 | |
| 3 | Puerto Rico | 3 | 1 | 2 | 217 | 223 | −6 | 4 | |
| 4 |  Japan | 3 | 0 | 3 | 169 | 260 | −91 | 3 | 13th–16th classification round |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Lithuania | 3 | 3 | 0 | 247 | 200 | +47 | 6 | Second round |
| 2 | United States | 3 | 2 | 1 | 253 | 205 | +48 | 5 | |
| 3 | Brazil | 3 | 1 | 2 | 197 | 222 | −25 | 4 | |
| 4 | South Korea | 3 | 0 | 3 | 191 | 261 | −70 | 3 | 13th–16th classification round |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | 3 | 3 | 0 | 225 | 211 | +14 | 6 | Second round |
| 2 | Argentina | 3 | 2 | 1 | 201 | 181 | +20 | 5 | |
| 3 | Australia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 208 | 207 | +1 | 4 | |
| 4 | Nigeria | 3 | 0 | 3 | 183 | 218 | −35 | 3 | 13th–16th classification round |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
Second round
First three teams in each group of the first group phase qualify to the second phase, creating two new groups of six teams. The final standings also take in account the results of previous round matches.
Group Ε
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yugoslavia | 6 | 5 | 1 | 486 | 366 | +120 | 11 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Russia | 6 | 5 | 1 | 455 | 388 | +67 | 11 | |
| 3 | Greece (H) | 6 | 4 | 2 | 385 | 379 | +6 | 10 | |
| 4 | Italy | 6 | 4 | 2 | 395 | 393 | +2 | 10 | |
| 5 | Puerto Rico | 6 | 2 | 4 | 438 | 443 | −5 | 8 | 9th–12th classification round |
| 6 | Canada | 6 | 1 | 5 | 419 | 484 | −65 | 7 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
(H) Hosts
Notes:
Group F
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 6 | 5 | 1 | 511 | 430 | +81 | 11 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Spain | 6 | 5 | 1 | 457 | 429 | +28 | 11 | |
| 3 | Lithuania | 6 | 4 | 2 | 472 | 432 | +40 | 10 | |
| 4 | Argentina | 6 | 3 | 3 | 436 | 428 | +8 | 9 | |
| 5 | Australia | 6 | 3 | 3 | 432 | 427 | +5 | 9 | 9th–12th classification round |
| 6 | Brazil | 6 | 1 | 5 | 399 | 456 | −57 | 7 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
Notes:
