2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup Group B explained

Group B was one of eight groups of the preliminary round of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. It took place from 26 to 30 August 2023 and consisted of South Sudan, Serbia, China, and Puerto Rico.^{[1] [2]} Each team played each other once, for a total of three games per team, with all games played at the Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, Philippines. The top two teams advanced to the second round and the bottom two teams qualified for the classification rounds.^[3]

Teams

Team	Qualification		Appearance			Best performance	WR^[4]
	As	Date	Last	Total	Streak
		24 February 2023		1	1	Debut	63
		27 February 2023		7	7	Champions (1998, 2002)	6
		14 November 2022		10	2	8th place (1994)	27
		26 February 2023		15	10	4th place (1990)	21

Standings

Games

All times are local (UTC+8).^[5]

South Sudan vs. Puerto Rico

This was the first competitive game between South Sudan and Puerto Rico.

Serbia vs. China

This was the first game between Serbia and China in the World Cup. The Serbians won two of the three Olympic Games matches: 1996 as Yugoslavia and 2016 as Serbia. The Chinese won in the 2004 Olympics.

China vs. South Sudan

This was the first competitive game between China and South Sudan which ended as a victory for the latter. This is South Sudan's first ever World Cup win.^[6]

Puerto Rico vs. Serbia

This was the second game between Puerto Rico and Serbia in the World Cup. The Serbians won their last meeting in 2019 and also won in the final of the 2016 FIBA Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament and in the semi-finals of the 2020 edition of the said tournament.

South Sudan vs. Serbia

This was the first competitive game between South Sudan and Serbia.

China vs. Puerto Rico

This was the second game between China and Puerto Rico in the World Cup. The Puerto Ricans won in 2006, which was the last competitive game between the two teams.

Statistical leaders

Player tournament average

Points

	Player	Pld	Pts	PPG
1	Carlik Jones	3	59	19.7
2		3	54	18.0
3		3	51	17.0
4		3	50	16.7
5		3	46	15.3

Rebounds

	Player	Pld	Rebs	RPG
1	Nikola Milutinov	3	31	10.3
2		3	29	9.7
3		3	24	8.0
4		3	15	5.0
5		3	14	1.7

Assists

	Player	Pld	Asts	APG
1	Tremont Waters	3	26	8.7
2		3	25	8.3
3		3	23	7.7
4		3	17	5.7
5		3	15	5.0

Blocks

	Player	Pld	Blks	BPG
1	Wenyen Gabriel	3	5	1.7
		3	5	1.7
3		3	4	1.3
4		3	3	1.0
		2	2	1.0

Steals

	Player	Pld	Stls	SPG
1	Tremont Waters	3	8	2.7
2		3	6	2.0
		3	6	2.0
		2	4	2.0
5		3	4	1.4

Minutes

	Player	Pld	Mins	MPG
1	Tremont Waters	3	105	35.1
2		3	90	30.2
3		3	89	29.7
4		3	83	27.9
5		3	81	27.2

Free throws

	Player	FTM	FTA	FT%
1	Bogdan Bogdanović	3	10/11	90.9
2		2	8/9	88.9
		3	8/9	88.9
4		3	10/12	83.3
5		3	8/10	80.0

Field goal shooting

	Player	FGM	FGA	FG%
1	Nikola Jović	18	24	75.0
2		18	25	72.0
3		17	25	68.0
4		14	27	51.9
5		15	29	51.7

Efficiency

	Player	Pld	MPG	PPG	Eff	EffPG
1	Nikola Milutinov	3	25.2	13.3	73.0	24.3
2		3	29.7	19.7	62.0	20.7
		3	25.0	17.0	62.0	20.7
4		3	27.9	18.0	59.0	19.7
5		3	27.2	14.0	54.0	18.0
		3	35.1	16.7	54.0	18.0

Notes and References

1. Web site: FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Draw completed in Manila. 29 April 2023. FIBA.
2. Web site: China drawn into Group B of FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023. 29 April 2023. english.news.cn.
3. Web site: Basketball, FIBA World Cup 2023: Full schedule and how to watch. 29 April 2023. olympics.com.
4. Web site: FIBA World Ranking. 27 February 2023. FIBA.
5. Web site: Exact timing of all FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 games available. 17 May 2023. FIBA.
6. Web site: Ninrew . Chany . 2023-08-28 . South Sudan sink China in FIBA World Cup but rough road ahead . 2023-08-28 . Eye Radio . en-US.