FIBA Announces Final Four Berths to 2010 World Championship

Filed under: FIBA

FIBA has announced its four wild card choices for the 2010 World Championship in Turkey, and a nation the NBA's power structure wanted to see there is on the outside looking in. Three-time Olympic bronze medalist Lithuania, 2007 European champ Russia, 2002 Worlds bronze medalist Germany and three-time Asian runner-up Lebanon have earned the bids, leaving Great Britain -- the host of the 2012 Olympics, and a team NBA commissioner David Stern has publicly endorsed for a Worlds berth -- without a spot.

On Friday, FIBA announced eight "finalists" for the four slots. While FIBA will not confirm what specifically separated the 14 wild card applicants from those eight finalists, it is believed a substantial fee -- upward of $700,000 -- to be considered for a berth was part of the reason teams like the Dominican Republic weren't considered. Lithuania was believed to be in trouble with regard to paying FIBA's rumored fee, which the Wall Street Journal reported as $1 million, but a sponsor reportedly stepped in to get the basketball-crazy nation into the running.

 

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Full story at http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/12/12/fiba-announces-final-four-berths-to-2010-world-championship/