1998 FIBA World Championship

1998 FIBA World Championship

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)
← 1994 2002 →

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.

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. ^[1] 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	Marousi, Attica Piraeus, Attica
Athens Olympic Indoor Hall Capacity: 18,700	Peace and Friendship Stadium Capacity: 14,776

Squads

Main article: 1998 FIBA World Championship squads

Qualification

Competing teams

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
Canada   Greece   Italy   Senegal	Japan   Puerto Rico   Russia   Yugoslavia	Brazil   Lithuania   South Korea   United States	Argentina   Australia   Nigeria   Spain

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

Source: FIBA archive
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

29 July

Senegal	66–76	Italy
Scoring by half: 35-36, 31-40

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

29 July

Greece	78–72	Canada
Scoring by half: 43-37, 35-35

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

30 July

Canada	70–57	Senegal
Scoring by half: 38-30, 32-27

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

30 July

Italy	56–64	Greece
Scoring by half: 39-35, 17-29

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

31 July

Canada	69–79	Italy
Scoring by half: 31-43, 38-36

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

31 July

Senegal	57–68	Greece
Scoring by half: 30-29, 27-39

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

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

Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.

29 July

Japan	58–83	Russia
Scoring by half: 27-44, 31-39

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

29 July

Yugoslavia	80–66	Puerto Rico
Scoring by half: 47-30, 33-36

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

30 July

Puerto Rico	78–57	Japan
Scoring by half: 39-32, 39-25

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

30 July

Russia	74–82 (OT)	Yugoslavia
Scoring by half: 40-33, 28-35  Overtime: 6-14

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

31 July

Japan	54–99	Yugoslavia
Scoring by half: 26-47, 28-52

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

31 July

Puerto Rico	73–86	Russia
Scoring by half: 41-34, 32-52

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

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

Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.

29 July

South Korea	56–97	Lithuania
Scoring by half: 36-42, 20-55

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

29 July

United States	83–59	Brazil
Scoring by half: 40-32, 43-27

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

30 July

Brazil	76–73	South Korea
Scoring by half: 45-40, 31-33

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

30 July

Lithuania	84–82	United States
Scoring by half: 47-34, 37-48

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

31 July

Brazil	62–66	Lithuania
Scoring by half: 39-28, 23-38

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

31 July

South Korea	62–88	United States
Scoring by half: 34-44, 28-44

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

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

Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.

29 July

Nigeria	68–80	Spain
Scoring by half: 33-39, 35-41

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

29 July

Australia	62–66	Argentina
Scoring by half: 34-33, 28-33

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

30 July

Argentina	68–51	Nigeria
Scoring by half: 38-31, 30-20

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

30 July

Spain	77–76	Australia
Scoring by half: 35-36, 42-40

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

31 July

Nigeria	64–70	Australia
Scoring by half: 28-33, 36-37

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

31 July

Argentina	67–68 (OT)	Spain
Scoring by half: 22-31, 39-30  Overtime: 6-7

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

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 [a]	Quarterfinals
2	Russia	6	5	1	455	388	+67	11 [a]
3	Greece (H)	6	4	2	385	379	+6	10 [b]
4	Italy	6	4	2	395	393	+2	10 [b]
5	Puerto Rico	6	2	4	438	443	−5	8	9th–12th classification round
6	Canada	6	1	5	419	484	−65	7

Source: FIBA archive
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:

1. Head-to-head record: FR Yugoslavia 1–0 Russia
2. Head-to-head record: Greece 1–0 Italy

2 August

Yugoslavia	95–55	Canada
Scoring by half: 44-23, 51-32

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

2 August

Russia	71–55	Italy
Scoring by half: 30-30, 41-25

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

2 August

Puerto Rico	64–71	Greece
Scoring by half: 30-43, 34-28

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

3 August

Canada	81–94	Puerto Rico
Scoring by half: 42-44, 39-50

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

3 August

Italy	61–60	Yugoslavia
Scoring by half: 25-29, 36-31

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

3 August

Greece	48–60	Russia
Scoring by half: 24-28, 24-32

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

4 August

Russia	81–72	Canada
Scoring by half: 42-38, 39-34

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

4 August

Puerto Rico	63–68	Italy
Scoring by half: 31-34, 32-34

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

4 August

Yugoslavia	70–56	Greece
Scoring by half: 38-30, 32-26

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

Group F

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	United States	6	5	1	511	430	+81	11 [a]	Quarterfinals
2	Spain	6	5	1	457	429	+28	11 [a]
3	Lithuania	6	4	2	472	432	+40	10
4	Argentina	6	3	3	436	428	+8	9 [b]
5	Australia	6	3	3	432	427	+5	9 [b]	9th–12th classification round
6	Brazil	6	1	5	399	456	−57	7

Source: FIBA archive
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:

1. Head-to-head results: United States 1–0 Spain
2. Head-to-head results: Argentina 1–0 Australia

2 August

Australia	71–61	Lithuania
Scoring by half: 35-37, 36-24

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

2 August

Argentina	74–87	United States
Scoring by half: 38-47, 36-40

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Athens

2 August

Spain	73–63	Brazil
Scoring by half: 31-24, 42-39

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

3 August

Lithuania	84–75	Argentina
Scoring by half: 41-33, 43-42

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

3 August

Brazil	63–75	Australia
Scoring by half: 35-31, 28-44

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

3 August

United States	75–73	Spain
Scoring by half: 31-42, 44-31

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

4 August

Spain	86–80 (OT)	Lithuania
Scoring by half: 43-40, 32-35  Overtime: 11-5

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

4 August

Argentina	86–76	Brazil
Scoring by half: 42-38, 44-38

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

4 August

Australia	78–96	United States
Scoring by half: 31-54, 37-42

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

Classification round

13th–16th classification

	Thirteenth to sixteenth				Thirteenth place
	2 August 1998
	Senegal	55
					3 August 1998
	Japan	60
					Japan	60
	2 August 1998
					Nigeria	70
	South Korea	65
	Nigeria	89
					Fifteenth place
					3 August 1998
					Senegal	75
					South Korea	72

Semifinals

2 August

Senegal	55–60	Japan
Scoring by half: 29-27, 26-33

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

2 August

South Korea	65–89	Nigeria
Scoring by half: 36-45, 29-44

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

Fifteenth place playoff

3 August

Senegal	75–72	South Korea
Scoring by half: 45-42, 30-30

Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

Thirteenth place playoff

3 August

Japan	60–70	Nigeria
Scoring by half: 23-33, 37-37

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

9th–12th classification

	Ninth to twelfth				Ninth place
	7 August 1998
	Puerto Rico	64
					8 August 1998
	Brazil	76
					Brazil	75
	7 August 1998
					Australia	79
	Canada	71
	Australia	88
					Eleventh place
					8 August 1998
					Puerto Rico	92
					Canada	81

Semifinals

7 August

Puerto Rico	64–76	Brazil
Scoring by half: 27-38, 37-38

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

7 August

Australia	88–71	Canada
Scoring by half: 39-35, 49-36

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

Eleventh place playoff

8 August

Puerto Rico	92–81	Canada
Scoring by half: 60-33, 32-48

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

Ninth place playoff

8 August

Brazil	75–79	Australia
Scoring by half: 40-35, 35-44

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

5th–8th classification

	5th–8th place				5th place
	8 August 1998
	Lithuania	71
					9 August 1998
	Italy	76
					Italy	61
	8 August 1998
					Spain	64
	Argentina	64
	Spain	77
					7th place
					9 August 1998
					Lithuania	77
					Argentina	76

Semifinals

8 August

Argentina	64–77	Spain
Scoring by half: 34-37, 30-40

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

8 August

Lithuania	71–76	Italy
Scoring by half: 42-46, 29-30

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

Seventh place playoff

9 August

Argentina	76–77	Lithuania
Scoring by half: 38-47, 38-30

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

Fifth place playoff

9 August

Spain	64–61	Italy
Scoring by half: 32-32, 32-29

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

Final round

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	7 August 1998
	Russia	82
					8 August 1998
	Lithuania	67
					Russia	66
	7 August 1998
					United States	64
	Italy	77
									9 August 1998
	United States	80
									Russia	62
	7 August 1998
									Yugoslavia	64
	Yugoslavia	70
					8 August 1998
	Argentina	62
					Yugoslavia (OT)	78
	7 August 1998
					Greece	73			Third place
	Greece	69
									9 August 1998
	Spain	62
									United States	84
									Greece	61

Quarterfinals

7 August

Yugoslavia	70–62	Argentina
Scoring by half: 34-31, 36-31

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Attica

7 August

Russia	82–67	Lithuania
Scoring by half: 35-38, 47-29

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Attica

7 August

United States	80–77	Italy
Scoring by half: 38-41, 42-36

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Attica

7 August

Spain	62–69	Greece
Scoring by half: 34-40, 28-29

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Attica

Semifinals

8 August

Yugoslavia	78–73 (OT)	Greece
Scoring by half: 31-33, 26-24  Overtime: 21-16

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Attica

8 August

Russia	66–64	United States
Scoring by half: 37-39, 29-25

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Attica

Third place playoff

9 August 17:45

Boxscore

Greece	61–84	United States
Scoring by half: 27–48, 34–36
Pts: Papanikolaou 18 Rebs: Fasoulas 10 Asts: Fasoulas 3		Pts: Sasser 23 Rebs: Amaya 7 Asts: Hawkins 5

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Attica Attendance: 20,000 Referees: Bill Mildenhall (AUS), Romualdas Brazauskas (LTU)

Final

9 August 20:00

Boxscore

Yugoslavia	64–62	Russia
Scoring by half: 30–35, 34–27
Pts: Rebrača 16 Rebs: Rebrača 11 Asts: Bodiroga 2		Pts: Kudelin 14 Rebs: Kisurin 5 Asts: Kisurin 2

Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Attica Attendance: 20,000 Referees: Reuven Virovnik (ISR), Juan Figueroa (PUR)

Awards

1998 World Championship winner
Yugoslavia First title

MVP
Dejan Bodiroga

Final standings

1998 FIBA World Championship final rankings.

Rank	Team	Record
1	Yugoslavia	8–1
2	Russia	7–2
3	United States	7–2
4	Greece	5–4
5	Spain	7–2
6	Italy	5–4
7	Lithuania	5–4
8	Argentina	3–6
9	Australia	5–3
10	Brazil	2–6
11	Puerto Rico	3–5
12	Canada	1–7
13	Nigeria	2–3
14	Japan	1–4
15	Senegal	1–4
16	South Korea	0–5

All-Tournament Team

Main article: FIBA Basketball World Cup All-Tournament Team

• Vasili Karasev
• Alberto Herreros
• Dejan Bodiroga — MVP
• Gregor Fučka
• Željko Rebrača

Top scorers

Country	Name	Ppg
	Alberto Herreros	17.9
	Mohammed Acha	17.5
	Artūras Karnišovas	17.1
	Shane Heal	17.0
	Andrew Gaze	16.8
	José "Piculín" Ortiz	16.5
	Maikeru Takahashi	16.4
	Vasili Karasev	16.1
	Seo Jang-hoon	15.2
	Dejan Bodiroga	14.7

References

1. 1998 USA Basketball Archived 10 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• FIBA official website
• EuroBasket.com FIBA Basketball World Cup Page