United States Prepares for FIBA World Cup Qualifier in Puerto Rico
The United States women’s basketball team is preparing to compete in Puerto Rico in March, as part of the qualifying tournament for the FIBA World Cup. The Americans, already qualified for the World Cup to be held next year in Germany, are in a group that includes Italy, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Senegal, and Spain. The United States’ match schedule will begin on March 11 against Senegal, followed by a match against Puerto Rico the next day. The American team will face Italy on March 14 and New Zealand the following day. The competition for the United States will end on March 17 against Spain. Before the qualifying tournament, the team is expected to hold one or two training camps. Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark is likely to participate in these preparations. During her exit interviews, Clark expressed her intention to prepare to represent USA Basketball.Clark has been out of action since mid-July due to groin and ankle injuries. Although there is a high probability that Clark will participate, it is very likely that the Americans will not have their coach, Kara Lawson. The Duke women’s team coach was recently named U.S. Olympic coach for the Los Angeles 2028 Games. The World Cup qualifying tournament will be held just before the start of the NCAA Tournament. It is expected that the 3-on-3 Unrivaled league, played in Miami, will finish its season before the start of the qualifying tournament. In addition to Puerto Rico, FIBA will organize qualifying tournaments in Istanbul, Lyon-Villeurbanne (France), and Wuhan (China). Belgium, Australia, and Nigeria are already qualified for the World Cup, as is Germany, which will be the host. The three teams with the best performance in Istanbul, China, and Puerto Rico (excluding those already qualified) will advance to the World Cup. In France, the two best teams (excluding Germany and Nigeria) will also get a place in the World Cup.There are some things with USA Basketball that are probably my number one priority right now that I need to prepare for, and I think that will help me prepare for next season as well,” she said last week. “But obviously, then you have to prepare for USA Basketball in some way, so there are a lot of different things you have to figure out and balance. And, you know, I’ll be working on that a lot too.
Caitlin Clark
