7 Interesting Facts about the FIBA World Cup

 The anticipation is increasing among basketball fans as the 2019 FIBA World Cup is starting from 31 August this year. Both the last World Cup finalists, the USA and Serbia, are the current favorites while the other teams are also looking quite strong. For online betting, you can't find a better opportunity than this great event. 
 
 1- What is the FIBA World Cup?
 
 FIBA World Cup was previously called FIBA World Championship before it was rebranded and got its present name after the 2010 event. There are currently 32 Basketball teams who will be heading to China to compete for the Naismith trophy from August 31 to September 15. These 32 teams are randomly drawn into 8 different groups with each comprising of 4 teams.
 
 2- Qualification in the Olympics
 
 Besides the Naismith trophy, teams can also get a qualification to the coming Olympics by doing well in the World Cup. Two teams each from the Americas and Europe while one each from Asia, Africa, and Oceania regions becomes eligible to play in the Olympics based on their finish at the FIBA World Cup.
 
 3- The most successful teams
 
 The USA and Yugoslavia have each won 5 championships and so they are the most successful teams in the history of the tournament. The USA(Authority link: ) is also the most recent champion who defeated Serbia in the final of the 2014 edition. The Soviet Union landed 3 trophies while 2 came to Brazil as well.
 
 4- The first US team comprised of factory workers only.
 
 It is hard to imagine a team made up of factory workers going for a big competition like the FIBA World Cup. However, the first USA team went to Argentina just like that.
 
 What was even more surprising was that the US team did very well in that competition and even finished second in the end.
 
 5- The favorite teams for the 2019 FIBA World Cup 
 
 Many of the big stars aren't playing for the USA in this World Cup, but even then they are the current favorites. The major reason these stars are not playing is because of the schedule. If they commit themselves to play in this tournament, then it becomes a lot of basketball for them without a break.
 
 Serbia, who was the finalists of the last edition in Spain, also have a very strong team to boast about. While it wouldn't be a big surprise if Spain or France win the trophy this year, for they are good sides too.
 
 6- The Cold War
 
 In the 1950s and 1960s, the World Cup games were hugely affected by global politics. It was because of the Cold War that the Soviet Union and Bulgaria didn't participate in many games at the World Cup. This played to the advantage of Brazil as they claimed back-to-back titles.
 
 7- Maracanazinho
 
 You might know about the Maracana stadium, but you probably wouldn't have heard about its little brother called Maracanazinho. This is the very place where a record crowd attended to see the 1954 final between Brazil and USA. In that match, the USA team had defeated Brazil in front of a record 34,000 people.