As Team USA plays its games in the Philippines for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, official FIBA global partner Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) will make sure subscribers have a full homecourt viewing advantage as they will get the chance to watch some of the best NBA superstars in action live and via the Smart LiveStream App.

“The three hosts of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia, have selected preferred teams to play the Group Phase in their respective countries. FIBA’s Central Board has confirmed, after consultation with the host nations, that USA will play in the Philippines, Slovenia will travel to Japan and Canada will land in Indonesia. Both Slovenia and Canada have qualified for the World Cup, while the USA is in a good position to clinch a berth in the tournament field in the last Window of the Qualifiers,” announced FIBA today, Dec. 12.


For Filipino basketball fans, this means a once-in-a-lifetime chance to physically witness some of the best basketball players in the world at the designated FIBA venues in the Philippines and all the games live at the Smart LiveStream App, which is downloadable on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Watch out for free FIBA tickets exclusive to Smart subscribers

Smart subscribers are in for a treat with the chance to win much-coveted arena seats to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 games soon through the exclusive Smart Live program. This gives Smart customers the ultimate advantage of watching their favorite NBA superstars battle it out on the hardcourt in a bid to regain world basketball supremacy. Be sure to visit Smart’s official Facebook page, @livesmart on Instagram and Twitter for updates on ticket promos coming soon.

Those who won’t be able to make it to the venues in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia may catch all the games via the Smart LiveStream App powered by the country’s fastest and best network as recognized by Ookla.

It will be recalled that Gilas Pilipinas already qualified for the 2023 games as was the case at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 with China, the previous host country during the last World Cup.

“The Philippines, as tournament host for the Group Phase and Final phase, will be placed in Pot 1 for the draw. They will be joined in Pot 1 by the best-ranked teams in the FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by Nike after the last qualifying window to be played in February 2023. For that reason, USA and Philippines will be placed in two different groups of the four that will take place in the Philippines,” read the FIBA official announcement.

Meanwhile, Japan chose the No. 7 team, Slovenia. Japan and Slovenia will play their Group Phase in Okinawa, where two groups will be played. Canada will play in Jakarta, Indonesia, with two of the 8 top teams of the FIBA World Ranking Men joining them in the two groups in Indonesia.

For more updates on the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 schedule, follow Smart’s official accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.