Americas Qualifiers Second Round: Group F preview

 

MIAMI (United States) - Window 4 of the Second Round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Americas Qualifiers begins in about one week and every matchup from here on out is crucial in Group F.

Group F is made up of teams from Groups B and D from the First Round, and in the Second Round, each team will play home and away games against the three teams from the other group over three windows beginning with the upcoming Window 4. There will be two games per team played in each window of the Second Round.

Here's what the standings look like in Group F heading into Window 4 of the Americas Qualifiers:

Group F

0/18 games played
All First Round results carry over to Second Round

Thursday, August 25

Puerto Rico vs. Brazil - 20:10 local time
USA vs. Uruguay - 18:00 local time
Mexico vs. Colombia - 21:30 local time

Monday, August 29

Brazil vs. Mexico - 19:30 local time
Uruguay vs. Puerto Rico - 20:10 local time
Colombia vs. USA - 19:40 local time

USA and Brazil, both 5-1, look to be in the best position going forward and should continue their success in the Second Round. If these two teams eventually clinch the top two spots in Group F, that leaves the question of who the third team will be to clinch their World Cup spot from the group. That spot will likely be up for grabs between Uruguay (4-2), Mexico (4-2) and Puerto Rico (3-3).

Third place won't be the only spot these three teams will be battling for, as the remaining two teams from this trio will also have the chance to qualify to the World Cup as the best-ranked fourth-place team from the Second Round. This means that every game is truly important, as the team that finishes in fourth place in Group F will be compared against the fourth-place team from Group E to see who will lock up the seventh and final bid to the World Cup from the Americas.

Puerto Rico vs. Brazil on August 25 and Uruguay vs. Puerto Rico on August 29 will be the key games to look out for in this upcoming window.

There isn't guaranteed to be a team to qualify in Window 4. Even if Brazil or USA finish 7-1 after this window, they still have one of the two of Mexico and Uruguay who can finish better in the end.

Star to watch

Jose Alvarado - Puerto Rico

Guard
Height: 183cm / 6'0"
June/July stats: 21.0 PTS, 5.0 REB, 5.5 AST, 1.5 STL, 45.5% FG in 28.2 minutes per game

Alvarado made his impact felt in a hurry for Puerto Rico in Window 3, and that should continue into Window 4. As seen from his averages in the two games last window, Alvarado did it all and was Puerto Rico's top scorer in both games. The 24-year-old previously said that the team would continue to get a feel for each other with these games ahead of them and that he thinks Puerto Rico is a really good team that doesn't need to figure out what they're missing. The more they play together, the more consistent they will become. Having Alvarado available, as well as other players like Gian Clavell and George Conditt, would give Puerto Rico a boost to start the Second Round.

Top prospect

Mac McClung - USA

 

Guard
Height: 188cm / 6'2"
June/July stats: N/A

McClung will be making his debut for USA's Senior Men's National Team and there's always excitement when the 23-year-old takes the court, as he can be a walking highlight reel thanks to his ball-handling, flashy passes and high-flying dunks. McClung dominated in the NBA G League last season and averaged 21.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game and was named the G League Rookie of the Year. It will be interesting to see how he fares in international competition, but there's no doubt that his skill set will be fun to see at this level.

Here's where Group F teams are ranked in the FIBA World Rankings, as well as in the Americas:

World Rank	Team	Americas Rank
1.	USA	1.
14.	Brazil	3.
19.	Puerto Rico	6.
24.	Mexico	8.
40.	Uruguay	9.
66.	Colombia	14.

 

FIBA