Luanda - Petro de Luanda is to face Spain’s Unicaja Baloncesto (European champions) in the 34th edition of the FIBA Intercontinental Basketball Cup, to take place from September 12 to 15 in Singapore.
This is the first time that an Angolan team has taken part in a competition of this kind.
The Angolan national champions are taking part in this competition after winning this year's African Basketball League (BAL), held in Kigali, Rwanda.
In Group A, Petro de Luanda is sided by Al Riyadi from Lebanon (Asian champions) and Unicaja Baloncesto from Spain (European champions).
In Series B, there are Associación Atlética Quimsa from Argentina (champion of the Americas), NBA G League United (representative of the US Development League) and Tasmania Jack Jumpers from Australia.
The Intercontinental Cup, also known as the Club World Cup, is an annual men's basketball competition organized by FIBA.
The competition will be played on a one-round, all-against-all basis, with the winners of each group qualifying directly for the final.
The second-placed teams in each group will play each other for third place, while the last-place teams will play for fifth place.
In the final, several basketball figures will be inducted into the FIBA 2024 Hall of Fame, including Reggie Miller, from the USA, Predrag Stojakovic, from Serbia, Danira Nakic-Bilic, from Croatia, and Romain Sato, from the Central African Republic.
At least two Angolans are already in the "Hall of Fame", namely Jean Jacques da Conceição and Ângelo Vitoriano (in memory).
History
Organized by FIBA, the Intercontinental Cup was first contested between 1966 and 1987, with the exception of 1971.
During that time, the number of participants varied from four to ten.
Last year, FIBA announced that it would expand the tournament to include teams that are champions of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) and with a possible integration of the NBA in the future.
Brazilian Wlamir Marques holds the record for most points scored in a single game, when he scored 51 points in the 1965 tournament.
Real Madrid is the most titled team in this competition, with five titles.
The Brazilian club, Franca Basketball, is the current title holder of the trophy. IN/MC/TED/AMP
