Opening day preview: France face Canada in first clash of titans

MANILA (Philippines) – Opening day of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 has Philippines and Japan playing in front of their local fans, whereas Indonesia experiences a battle between two heavyweights.

Eight games are on this day’s docket as the World Cup heats up in four arenas at Jakarta, Manila and Okinawa.

Will Canada stand up to the test of France?

Canadian hoops supporters have huge expectations for this year’s World Cup. What better way to find out whether you’re up to the task than facing Les Bleus on opening night?

Rudy Gobert has said as much in regards to France having trophy-sized ambitions of their own. This game will be very important for a potential Quarter-Finals qualification for those two contenders. The loser will already be in a very difficult situation.

To start off, the French will seek a repeat of the 83-74 performance against Canada that had them qualifying for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Of course, much has changed on both rosters and this will be a whole different story.

How will Karl-Anthony Towns perform in his World Cup debut?

It’s hard to think of a better venue for Karl-Anthony Towns’ return to major FIBA tournaments. How many fans will pack the huge Philippine Arena tonight? The basketball-crazed crowd will hold what possibly is the pivotal game in Group A between the Dominican Republic and the locals.

Towns was only 17 years old back in 2013 when he averaged 8.4 minutes and 4.0 points per game in the FIBA Americas Championship. Much more will depend on him this time around.

Who strikes first in the very balanced Group E?

Some have called it the Group of Death. Well, for opening night we have the Battle of Continents on our slate.

Finland have proven they can be a tough nut to crack with Lauri Markkanen firing on all cylinders, yet their FIBA EuroBasket 2022 resume doesn’t have any victories over a team of Australia’s caliber. Japan taking on Germany might sound like a long shot, yet this is a quartet where you can’t afford to make any mistakes.

Other storylines for opening day

• Who comes out on top between Mexico and Montenegro in the first ever FIBA game between those two nations? The winner will get an important edge in Group D that also features Egypt and Lithuania.

• ‘FIBA Patty Mills’ is as real as the double digits in points he has reached in each of his 14 World Cup Games. Can he extend that streak to 15?