Standing room only: Fans pack numerous venues for Continental Cup Qualifiers

MIES (Switzerland) - The fervor for international basketball was on full display during the first window of qualifying games for the Continental Cups as fans filled stadiums and saw some of the best players in the sport put on unforgettable performances.

 

Whether it was in Europe, Asia or the Americas, the fans turned out and showed up.

 

 

One spectacular occasion was Turkiye's EuroBasket qualifier against Iceland in the Sinan Erdem Arena, the main site of the 2010 World Cup.

Biberovic saved the day for Turkey, igniting the crowd with this game-winner

A whopping 13,300 spectators were on the edge of their seats and then cheered wildly after Tarik Biberovic's game-winning jump shot at the death gave the 12 Giant Men victory so they avoided an 0-2 start and spoiled Iceland's bid to begin qualifying two victories.

Nico Mannion was back for Italy and helped charge up the 8,800-strong crowd with this drive

Turkiye had fallen in Pesaro to Italy in their first game on February 22, with Moto GP legend Valentino Rossi, wearing the Azzurri jersey, among the 8,800 fans in the Vitrifrigo Arena.

The Ariake Coliseum crowd watched Japan end an 88-year drought with a narrow win over China

Japan's love affair with basketball was evident in the Ariake Coliseum on February 25 with 9,191 spectators watching the country's first win over China in a major international basketball competition in the past 88 years. Japan eked out a 76-73 victory in the Asia Cup qualifier. Just a few days before, 8,526 had turned out to watch Japan defeat Guam in the teams' first game of the window.

Gilas fans cheered at the PhilSports

In one of last year's host nations for the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the Philippines, where there's always a buzz for the national team, 7,812 fans were in the PhilSports Arena on February 25 to see their team beat Chinese Taipei.

Jakarta got a chance to see Lester Prosper and Indonesia face two-time defending Asia Cup champions Australia

The Indonesia Arena, which hosted games in the first two rounds of the World Cup last summer, rocked with 6,059 fans for the country's home game against Australia. 

Syria's Al Fayhaa Stadium in Damascus was standing room only on February 23 as 8,500 spectators cheered for the home team against Lebanon, the team that nearly won the last Asia Cup Final against Australia.

On a night when the FIBA Asia Cup trophy was displayed on the court for spectators and players to view, the Cedars prevailed over the Syrians, 87-78.

The attendance was further proof of the incredible appetite for basketball and the national team in the country.

An incredible crowd witnessed Syria's home game against Lebanon.

The Americas had thrilling games and plenty of fans.

A big audience in San Juan witnessed a big win for the Bahamas

There were 7,800 spectators on hand for Puerto Rico's AmeriCup 2025 qualifier against the Bahamas on February 22. The Bahamas, one of the dark horses in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament field this summer, won the encounter, 88-77, although the Boricuas bounced back and won the rematch a few days later in Nassau, 86-67.

Marcos Chacon celebrated with fans after Cuba's win over the USA in Havana

A spirited crowd of 7,532 entered the Coliseo de la Ciudad Deportiva on February 25 in Havana to watch Cuba beat the USA for the first time, 81-67.

There were 4,363 spectators in the Arena CDMX to see Mexico overcome the Dominican Republic, a capacity crowd of 3,600 to watch Chile stun Argentina and in Nicaragua, the host city for next year's FIBA AmeriCup, 6,323 fans were in the Polideportivo Alexis Arguello for the team's game against Canada.

A capacity crowd in the Antonio Azurmendi watched Chile upset Argentina

There were a lot of qualifying games for EuroBasket 2025, and huge crowds.

A boisterous 9,400 spectators rooted Georgia on in the Tbilisi Arena against Serbia. 

There were 9,400 fans to watch Georgia face Serbia in the Tbilisi Arena 

Estonia were the home team in the sold-out Unibet Arena in Tallinn, where 6,471 fans saw them overcome Lithuania in a pulsating encounter.

Estonia fans had a lot to cheer about as their team beat Lithuania in a Baltic derby on Monday

No matter where Latvia plays these days, gyms are full. The country that played at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 for the first time ran onto the court in Zaragoza to face Spain, No. 2 in the FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by Nike, on February 22. The Pabellon Principe Felipe was filled to its 10,744 capacity.

Latvia has become a must-see attraction at the Arena Riga, where 10,890 fans saw them beat the Slovakians

After claiming a hard-fought win, Latvia returned to its Arena Riga and won for a second time on Saturday against the Slovak Republic. There were 10,890 fans on hand for that game.

Vasilis Spanoulis received a warm welcome from Greek fans as he coached the national team for the first time. The legendary guard steered Greece to victory over Czechia in front of 12,439 fans at the Peace & Friendship Stadium.

The Peace and Friendship Stadium had an electric atmosphere with 12,439 spectators to see Greece play Czechia

Throughout the world, multiple venues had thousands of screaming fans watching national team basketball.

FIBA