Ivory Coast seeks miracle in 2019 basketball World Cup

ANKARA

The basketball underdogs from Africa, Ivory Coast is set to take part in their fourth World Cup tournament in China 2019 to perform their best.

The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup will be held in China between Aug. 31-Sept. 15.

Ivory Coast is now seeking to achieve success in China after joining the World Cup tournaments in 1982, 1986 and 2010.

It gained the best result when claimed the 21st spot in the 2010 FIBA World Championship held in Turkey.

World no. 64 Ivory Coast had one win and four losses in the 2010 tournament.

In the Group A, Ivory Coast will face host nation China, Venezuela and Poland.

Deon Thompson is the prominent player for Ivory Coast as the 30-year-old power forward plays for Lithuanian powerhouse Zalgiris Kaunas.

The other Group A competitor, Poland will be in the World Cup after a long break as the European team was yet to qualify for a World Cup tournament since 1967.

Poland completed their last tournament in the fifth spot.

The U.S. born Polish point guard A. J. Slaughter is the leading player for Poland in China. Slaughter, 32, currently plays for the French club ASVEL Basket.

Poland rank 25th in the world standings.

South America's Venezuela is among the teams to play in the Group A.

Venezuela last played in the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan, where they completed the tournament in the 21st spot.

Venezuela previously qualified for the 1990, 2002 and 2006 World Championships.

It had three wins and 10 losses in 13 World Cup appearances in total.

Meanwhile, China is seeking to have the advantage of being host of this year's World Cup.

The world no. 30 China qualified for the World Cup for eight times in their history but they didn't earn any medal.

China was unable to be in the previous World Cup in 2014.

Its best performance was to reach the quarterfinals in Canada in 1994.

Towering forward-center Yi Jianlian of China, 31, is expected to be the ace of the Asian team as he was an NBA player from 2007 to 2012.

Yi is a 7-feet-tall (2.13 meters) player, making his World Cup debut in 2006.

- The Group A fixture:

Aug. 31:

Poland - Venezuela

Ivory Coast - China

Sept. 2:

Venezuela - Ivory Coast

China - Poland

Sept. 4:

Ivory Coast - Poland

Venezuela - China