Posts by Alan Walls (The International Basketball Opinion)
Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers in Doha postponed
From the International Basketball Opinion Blog. FIBA has allegedly pulled the plug on the staging of the Doha bubble for the third window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers. The Saudi Basketball Federation, one of the nations set to compete in Qatar, stated that the international governing body for basketball had postponed the games…
Read MoreMoney grab on the part of FIBA?
From the International Basketball Opinion Blog. Recently, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) sanctioned members Canada, China, Chinese Taipei (aka Taiwan), and South Korea for not participating in the second window (November 2020) of their respective regional championship qualifying tournaments, catching them all off guard. FIBA hit all four with fines of $160,000. Half of those…
Read MoreA team loses all group games at FIBA U18 African Championship but still reaches the final! How??
From the International Basketball Opinion Blog. The FIBA U18 African Championship took place last week in Egypt. For both men and women. The COVID-19 is ravaging the globe, and Africa is no exception as various national and continental competitions have been canceled or postponed, such as the NBA/FIBA Basketball Africa League. Nevertheless, FIBA and FIBA…
Read MoreIndonesia’s World Cup qualification process flawed and lacks creativity
From the International Basketball Opinion Blog. This week FIBA announced Indonesia’s World Cup qualification process for the 2023 FIBA event. It is flawed, lacks creativity, and does nothing to promote basketball in Indonesia nor its national team. It also does not give them much of a chance. Three-game winner-gets-the-last-spot play-in series in Indonesia in a…
Read MorePanathinaikos for sale. Dumps Euroleague for FIBA Championsleague?
Panathinaikos must leave the EuroLeague and go to FIBA [Basketball Champions League). Whoa! Shots fired! Will Panathinaikos BC, founded in 1919 (parent club founded in 1908), be the first to bail on the EuroLeague for the Champions League? Will other teams follow suit? That statement was made Tuesday by the 38-time Greek league and six-time…
Read MoreSleeping giants China and Mexico just can’t get it right
Both China and Mexico are sleeping giants who just can’t their basketball on track. Despite the potential and talent. What’s going on? China China just cannot get it right under CBA president Yao Ming (the best Asian basketball player of all time). I give him a lot of credit for thinking out-side-the-box and trying new…
Read MoreAustralia forces the NBA to change G League pathway program
In recent weeks, with basketball fans on the edges of their sofas waiting desperately for the NBA to start back up, the G League has been making headlines with the signings of top American draft prospects to their revamped G League pathway program. This type of G League pathway program should have been implemented 20…
Read MoreCapitanes Ciudad de Mexico first G League team outside the USA and Canada. What’s next?
Capitanes Ciudad de Mexico will be the first G League team outside the USA and Canada. It has been speculated and rumored for years. Now the NBA finally made it official last month during its annual NBA Mexico City Games. The NBA will finally have a team in Mexico, the largest market in Latin America……
Read MoreLooking back at the 2019 FIBA World Cup format
Isn’t 32 teams a bit too much? That depends on how you look at it. FIBA has 213 national federation members. Some simple math tells us that 15% of them qualified for the World Cup. That’s three out of every 20 teams. That percentage is on par with other similar international competitions, but low compared…
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