Spain beat Argentina 95-75 on 15th September at the Wukesong Arena in Beijing to win the 18th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup. This is the second time that the nation has won the tournament. The last time it won the World Cup was in 2006 in Japan when it defeated Greece.
Ricky Rubio, who was also named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, led the efforts by Spain with 20 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
Meanwhile, France won its second consecutive bronze medal when it defeated Australia 67-59.
The defending champion, United States was eliminated in the quarterfinal stage after it lost to France.
This was also the first time in the history of the championship that the three most successful teams – USA, Russia, and Serbia – failed to qualify beyond the semifinal stage.
More about the 2019 FIBA World Cup
The 2019 edition of the Basketball World Cup was held in China, with a record 32 teams participating from across the globe. China hosted the event for the first time ever and the matches were played across 8 cities – Beijing, Foshan, Wuhan, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Nanjing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
A total of 92 matches were played for over 16 days.
History of the FIBA Basketball World Cup
The first FIBA Basketball World Cup was held in 1950 in Argentina and was won by the host country. The tournament was called the FIBA World Championship from 1950 to 2010.
The most successful teams at the World Cup are the United States and Serbia/Yugoslavia. They have won 5 titles each. Russia has won a total of 3 championships whereas the South American nation of Brazil has won two.
The World Cup is played once in four years.
