12 teams clinch 2nd round in Basketball World Cup qualifying
Serbia, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist, and fellow European powers France and Greece have clinched spots in the second round of qualifying for the 2019 Basketball World Cup.
Nine other nations have secured spots with their records through the first two windows of the first round.
Brazil, Canada, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela will move on in the Americas region, while Australia, Iran, Kazakhstan and the Philippines will advance in Asia. Germany is the other team from Europe that has wrapped up a second-round spot.
The U.S. can assure its place in the second round Monday when it hosts Puerto Rico in Santa Cruz, California.
Teams are playing home-and-away games against teams in their regions under world basketball’s new qualifying format, with 32 earning spots in the 2019 tournament in China. Seven teams will qualify from there into the 2020 Olympics.
There is one remaining first-round window from June 25-July 3. The first second-round window of games is in September.
Source:-Â https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2018/02/26/12-teams-clinch-2nd-round-in-basketball-world-cup-qualifying/110847178/
