# 1998 FIBA World Championship

The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was organised by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), and hosted in Greece from 29 July to 9 August 1998. It was contested by 16 nations, with matches held at two venues, in Athens and Piraeus.
Because of the National Basketball Association lockout and unlike in the previous championship, the USA Basketball Association was unable to send a team composed of NBA players, thus causing the American national team roster consisting of professional basketball players playing in Europe and two college players. The tournament was won by FR Yugoslavia, in their first participation after the breakup of Yugoslavia, defeating Russia in the final 64–62.

## Venues

| Athens-Piraeus | Athens-Piraeus | Greece |
| Marousi, Attica | Piraeus, Attica | Marousi, AtticaPiraeus, Attica |
| Athens Olympic Indoor Hall Capacity: 18,700 | Peace and Friendship Stadium Capacity: 14,776 | Marousi, AtticaPiraeus, Attica |

## Qualification

There were 16 teams taking part in the 1998 World Cup of Basketball. After the 1996 Olympics, the continental allocation for FIBA Americas was reduced by one when the United States won the Olympic tournament, automatically qualifying them for the 1998 World Cup.
* Host nation: 1 berth
* 1996 Summer Olympics: 12 teams competing for 1 berth, removed from that country's FIBA zone.
* FIBA Oceania: 3 teams competing for 1 berth
* FIBA Europe: 16 teams competing for 5 berths
* FIBA Africa: 9 teams competing for 2 berths
* FIBA Americas: 10 teams competing for 4 berths
* FIBA Asia: 15 teams competing for 2 berths

### Qualified teams

| Means of qualification | Date | Venue | Berths | Teams qualified |
| Host | – | | 1 | Greece |
| 1996 Olympics | July 20–August 3, 1996 | Atlanta | 1 | United States |
| 1997 FIBA Oceania Championship | June 1–4, 1997 | Wellington and Palmerston North | 1 | Australia |
| EuroBasket 1997 | June 24–July 6, 1997 | Badalona, Girona and Barcelona | 5 | Yugoslavia Italy Russia Spain Lithuania |
| FIBA Africa Championship 1997 | July 25–August 3, 1997 | Dakar | 2 | Nigeria Senegal |
| 1997 Tournament of the Americas | August 21-31, 1997 | Montevideo | 4 | Puerto Rico Brazil Argentina Canada |
| 1997 ABC Championship | September 11-19, 1997 | Riyadh | 2 | South Korea Japan |
| Total | | | 16 | |

## Draw

| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
| Canada  Greece  Italy  Senegal | Japan  Puerto Rico  Russia  Yugoslavia | Brazil  Lithuania  South Korea  United States | Argentina  Australia  Nigeria  Spain |

## Preliminary round

The top three teams in each group advance to the second round, into either Group E or F. The fourth place team in each group moves onto the 13th–16th classification.

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Greece (H) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 210 | 185 | +25 | 6 | Second round |
| 2 | Italy | 3 | 2 | 1 | 211 | 199 | +12 | 5 | Second round |
| 3 | Canada | 3 | 1 | 2 | 211 | 214 | −3 | 4 | Second round |
| 4 | Senegal | 3 | 0 | 3 | 180 | 214 | −34 | 3 | 13th–16th classification round |
* 29 July
| Senegal | 66–76 | Italy |
| Scoring by half: 35-36, 31-40 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica
* 29 July
| Greece | 78–72 | Canada |
| Scoring by half: 43-37, 35-35 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica
* 30 July
| Canada | 70–57 | Senegal |
| Scoring by half: 38-30, 32-27 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens
* 30 July
| Italy | 56–64 | Greece |
| Scoring by half: 39-35, 17-29 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens
* 31 July
| Canada | 69–79 | Italy |
| Scoring by half: 31-43, 38-36 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica
* 31 July
| Senegal | 57–68 | Greece |
| Scoring by half: 30-29, 27-39 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

### Group Β

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Yugoslavia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 261 | 194 | +67 | 6 | Second round |
| 2 | Russia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 243 | 213 | +30 | 5 | Second round |
| 3 | Puerto Rico | 3 | 1 | 2 | 217 | 223 | −6 | 4 | Second round |
| 4 | Japan | 3 | 0 | 3 | 169 | 260 | −91 | 3 | 13th–16th classification round |
* 29 July
| Japan | 58–83 | Russia |
| Scoring by half: 27-44, 31-39 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica
* 29 July
| Yugoslavia | 80–66 | Puerto Rico |
| Scoring by half: 47-30, 33-36 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica
* 30 July
| Puerto Rico | 78–57 | Japan |
| Scoring by half: 39-32, 39-25 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens
* 30 July
| Russia | 74–82 (OT) | Yugoslavia |
| Scoring by half: 40-33, 28-35 Overtime: 6-14 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens
* 31 July
| Japan | 54–99 | Yugoslavia |
| Scoring by half: 26-47, 28-52 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica
* 31 July
| Puerto Rico | 73–86 | Russia |
| Scoring by half: 41-34, 32-52 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Lithuania | 3 | 3 | 0 | 247 | 200 | +47 | 6 | Second round |
| 2 | United States | 3 | 2 | 1 | 253 | 205 | +48 | 5 | Second round |
| 3 | Brazil | 3 | 1 | 2 | 197 | 222 | −25 | 4 | Second round |
| 4 | South Korea | 3 | 0 | 3 | 191 | 261 | −70 | 3 | 13th–16th classification round |
* 29 July
| South Korea | 56–97 | Lithuania |
| Scoring by half: 36-42, 20-55 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens
* 29 July
| United States | 83–59 | Brazil |
| Scoring by half: 40-32, 43-27 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens
* 30 July
| Brazil | 76–73 | South Korea |
| Scoring by half: 45-40, 31-33 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica
* 30 July
| Lithuania | 84–82 | United States |
| Scoring by half: 47-34, 37-48 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica
* 31 July
| Brazil | 62–66 | Lithuania |
| Scoring by half: 39-28, 23-38 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens
* 31 July
| South Korea | 62–88 | United States |
| Scoring by half: 34-44, 28-44 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Spain | 3 | 3 | 0 | 225 | 211 | +14 | 6 | Second round |
| 2 | Argentina | 3 | 2 | 1 | 201 | 181 | +20 | 5 | Second round |
| 3 | Australia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 208 | 207 | +1 | 4 | Second round |
| 4 | Nigeria | 3 | 0 | 3 | 183 | 218 | −35 | 3 | 13th–16th classification round |
* 29 July
| Nigeria | 68–80 | Spain |
| Scoring by half: 33-39, 35-41 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens
* 29 July
| Australia | 62–66 | Argentina |
| Scoring by half: 34-33, 28-33 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens
* 30 July
| Argentina | 68–51 | Nigeria |
| Scoring by half: 38-31, 30-20 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica
* 30 July
| Spain | 77–76 | Australia |
| Scoring by half: 35-36, 42-40 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica
* 31 July
| Nigeria | 64–70 | Australia |
| Scoring by half: 28-33, 36-37 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens
* 31 July
| Argentina | 67–68 (OT) | Spain |
| Scoring by half: 22-31, 39-30 Overtime: 6-7 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

## Second round

First three teams in each group of the first group phase qualify to the second phase, creating two new groups of six teams. The final standings also take in account the results of previous round matches.

### Group Ε

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Yugoslavia | 6 | 5 | 1 | 486 | 366 | +120 | 11 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Russia | 6 | 5 | 1 | 455 | 388 | +67 | 11 | Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Greece (H) | 6 | 4 | 2 | 385 | 379 | +6 | 10 | Quarterfinals |
| 4 | Italy | 6 | 4 | 2 | 395 | 393 | +2 | 10 | Quarterfinals |
| 5 | Puerto Rico | 6 | 2 | 4 | 438 | 443 | −5 | 8 | 9th–12th classification round |
| 6 | Canada | 6 | 1 | 5 | 419 | 484 | −65 | 7 | 9th–12th classification round |
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: FR Yugoslavia 1–0 Russia
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Greece 1–0 Italy
* 2 August
| Yugoslavia | 95–55 | Canada |
| Scoring by half: 44-23, 51-32 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens
* 2 August
| Russia | 71–55 | Italy |
| Scoring by half: 30-30, 41-25 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens
* 2 August
| Puerto Rico | 64–71 | Greece |
| Scoring by half: 30-43, 34-28 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens
* 3 August
| Canada | 81–94 | Puerto Rico |
| Scoring by half: 42-44, 39-50 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica
* 3 August
| Italy | 61–60 | Yugoslavia |
| Scoring by half: 25-29, 36-31 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica
* 3 August
| Greece | 48–60 | Russia |
| Scoring by half: 24-28, 24-32 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica
* 4 August
| Russia | 81–72 | Canada |
| Scoring by half: 42-38, 39-34 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens
* 4 August
| Puerto Rico | 63–68 | Italy |
| Scoring by half: 31-34, 32-34 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens
* 4 August
| Yugoslavia | 70–56 | Greece |
| Scoring by half: 38-30, 32-26 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

### Group F

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | United States | 6 | 5 | 1 | 511 | 430 | +81 | 11 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Spain | 6 | 5 | 1 | 457 | 429 | +28 | 11 | Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Lithuania | 6 | 4 | 2 | 472 | 432 | +40 | 10 | Quarterfinals |
| 4 | Argentina | 6 | 3 | 3 | 436 | 428 | +8 | 9 | Quarterfinals |
| 5 | Australia | 6 | 3 | 3 | 432 | 427 | +5 | 9 | 9th–12th classification round |
| 6 | Brazil | 6 | 1 | 5 | 399 | 456 | −57 | 7 | 9th–12th classification round |
* 1 2 Head-to-head results: United States 1–0 Spain
* 1 2 Head-to-head results: Argentina 1–0 Australia
* 2 August
| Australia | 71–61 | Lithuania |
| Scoring by half: 35-37, 36-24 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica
* 2 August
| Argentina | 74–87 | United States |
| Scoring by half: 38-47, 36-40 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Athens
* 2 August
| Spain | 73–63 | Brazil |
| Scoring by half: 31-24, 42-39 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica
* 3 August
| Lithuania | 84–75 | Argentina |
| Scoring by half: 41-33, 43-42 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens
* 3 August
| Brazil | 63–75 | Australia |
| Scoring by half: 35-31, 28-44 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens
* 3 August
| United States | 75–73 | Spain |
| Scoring by half: 31-42, 44-31 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens
* 4 August
| Spain | 86–80 (OT) | Lithuania |
| Scoring by half: 43-40, 32-35 Overtime: 11-5 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica
* 4 August
| Argentina | 86–76 | Brazil |
| Scoring by half: 42-38, 44-38 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica
* 4 August
| Australia | 78–96 | United States |
| Scoring by half: 31-54, 37-42 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

## Classification round
### 13th–16th classification

| Thirteenth to sixteenth | Thirteenth to sixteenth | Thirteenth place | Thirteenth place |
| 2 August 1998 | 2 August 1998 |
| Senegal | 55 |
| Senegal | 55 | 3 August 1998 | 3 August 1998 |
| Japan | 60 | 3 August 1998 | 3 August 1998 |
| Japan | 60 | Japan | 60 |
| 2 August 1998 | 2 August 1998 | | Japan | 60 |
| 2 August 1998 | 2 August 1998 | Nigeria | 70 |
| South Korea | 65 | Nigeria | 70 |
| Nigeria | 89 | | |
| Nigeria | 89 | Fifteenth place | Fifteenth place |
| | | 3 August 1998 | 3 August 1998 |
| | | Senegal | 75 |
| | | South Korea | 72 |

#### Semifinals

* 2 August
| Senegal | 55–60 | Japan |
| Scoring by half: 29-27, 26-33 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens
* 2 August
| South Korea | 65–89 | Nigeria |
| Scoring by half: 36-45, 29-44 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

#### Fifteenth place playoff

* 3 August
| Senegal | 75–72 | South Korea |
| Scoring by half: 45-42, 30-30 |||
* Peace and Friendship Stadium, Piraeus, Attica

#### Thirteenth place playoff

* 3 August
| Japan | 60–70 | Nigeria |
| Scoring by half: 23-33, 37-37 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

### 9th–12th classification

| Ninth to twelfth | Ninth to twelfth | Ninth place | Ninth place |
| 7 August 1998 | 7 August 1998 |
| Puerto Rico | 64 |
| Puerto Rico | 64 | 8 August 1998 | 8 August 1998 |
| Brazil | 76 | 8 August 1998 | 8 August 1998 |
| Brazil | 76 | Brazil | 75 |
| 7 August 1998 | 7 August 1998 | | Brazil | 75 |
| 7 August 1998 | 7 August 1998 | Australia | 79 |
| Canada | 71 | Australia | 79 |
| Australia | 88 | | |
| Australia | 88 | Eleventh place | Eleventh place |
| | | 8 August 1998 | 8 August 1998 |
| | | Puerto Rico | 92 |
| | | Canada | 81 |

#### Semifinals

* 7 August
| Puerto Rico | 64–76 | Brazil |
| Scoring by half: 27-38, 37-38 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens
* 7 August
| Australia | 88–71 | Canada |
| Scoring by half: 39-35, 49-36 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

#### Eleventh place playoff

* 8 August
| Puerto Rico | 92–81 | Canada |
| Scoring by half: 60-33, 32-48 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

#### Ninth place playoff

* 8 August
| Brazil | 75–79 | Australia |
| Scoring by half: 40-35, 35-44 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

## 5th–8th classification

| 5th–8th place | 5th–8th place | 5th place | 5th place |
| 8 August 1998 | 8 August 1998 |
| Lithuania | 71 |
| Lithuania | 71 | 9 August 1998 | 9 August 1998 |
| Italy | 76 | 9 August 1998 | 9 August 1998 |
| Italy | 76 | Italy | 61 |
| 8 August 1998 | 8 August 1998 | | Italy | 61 |
| 8 August 1998 | 8 August 1998 | Spain | 64 |
| Argentina | 64 | Spain | 64 |
| Spain | 77 | | |
| Spain | 77 | 7th place | 7th place |
| | | 9 August 1998 | 9 August 1998 |
| | | Lithuania | 77 |
| | | Argentina | 76 |

### Semifinals

* 8 August
| Argentina | 64–77 | Spain |
| Scoring by half: 34-37, 30-40 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens
* 8 August
| Lithuania | 71–76 | Italy |
| Scoring by half: 42-46, 29-30 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

### Seventh place playoff

* 9 August
| Argentina | 76–77 | Lithuania |
| Scoring by half: 38-47, 38-30 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

### Fifth place playoff

* 9 August
| Spain | 64–61 | Italy |
| Scoring by half: 32-32, 32-29 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Athens

## Final round

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final |
| 7 August 1998 | 7 August 1998 | | | |
| Russia | 82 | | | |
| Russia | 82 | 8 August 1998 | 8 August 1998 | | |
| Lithuania | 67 | 8 August 1998 | 8 August 1998 | |
| Lithuania | 67 | Russia | 66 | |
| 7 August 1998 | 7 August 1998 | | Russia | 66 | |
| 7 August 1998 | 7 August 1998 | United States | 64 | |
| Italy | 77 | United States | 64 | |
| Italy | 77 | | | | 9 August 1998 | 9 August 1998 |
| United States | 80 | | | | 9 August 1998 | 9 August 1998 |
| United States | 80 | | | | Russia | 62 |
| 7 August 1998 | 7 August 1998 | | | | | Russia | 62 |
| 7 August 1998 | 7 August 1998 | | | | Yugoslavia | 64 |
| Yugoslavia | 70 | | | | Yugoslavia | 64 |
| Yugoslavia | 70 | 8 August 1998 | 8 August 1998 | | | |
| Argentina | 62 | 8 August 1998 | 8 August 1998 | | | |
| Argentina | 62 | Yugoslavia (OT) | 78 | | | |
| 7 August 1998 | 7 August 1998 | | Yugoslavia (OT) | 78 | | | |
| 7 August 1998 | 7 August 1998 | Greece | 73 | | Third place | Third place |
| Greece | 69 | Greece | 73 | | Third place | Third place |
| Greece | 69 | | | | 9 August 1998 | 9 August 1998 |
| Spain | 62 | | | | 9 August 1998 | 9 August 1998 |
| Spain | 62 | | | | United States | 84 |
| | | | | | Greece | 61 |

### Quarterfinals

* 7 August
| Yugoslavia | 70–62 | Argentina |
| Scoring by half: 34-31, 36-31 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Attica
* 7 August
| Russia | 82–67 | Lithuania |
| Scoring by half: 35-38, 47-29 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Attica
* 7 August
| United States | 80–77 | Italy |
| Scoring by half: 38-41, 42-36 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Attica
* 7 August
| Spain | 62–69 | Greece |
| Scoring by half: 34-40, 28-29 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Attica

### Semifinals

* 8 August
| Yugoslavia | 78–73 (OT) | Greece |
| Scoring by half: 31-33, 26-24 Overtime: 21-16 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Attica
* 8 August
| Russia | 66–64 | United States |
| Scoring by half: 37-39, 29-25 |||
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Attica

### Third place playoff

* 9 August 17:45
* Boxscore
| Greece | 61–84 | United States |
| Scoring by half: 27–48, 34–36 |||
| Pts: Papanikolaou 18 Rebs: Fasoulas 10 Asts: Fasoulas 3 | | Pts: Sasser 23 Rebs: Amaya 7 Asts: Hawkins 5 |
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Attica Attendance: 20,000 Referees: Bill Mildenhall (AUS), Romualdas Brazauskas (LTU)

### Final

* 9 August 20:00
* Boxscore
| Yugoslavia | 64–62 | Russia |
| Scoring by half: 30–35, 34–27 |||
| Pts: Rebrača 16 Rebs: Rebrača 11 Asts: Bodiroga 2 | | Pts: Kudelin 14 Rebs: Kisurin 5 Asts: Kisurin 2 |
* Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, Marousi, Attica Attendance: 20,000 Referees: Reuven Virovnik (ISR), Juan Figueroa (PUR)

## Awards

* 1998 World Championship winner
* Yugoslavia First title
* MVP
* Dejan Bodiroga

## Final standings

| Rank | Team | Record |
| 1 | Yugoslavia | 8–1 |
| 2 | Russia | 7–2 |
| 3 | United States | 7–2 |
| 4 | Greece | 5–4 |
| 5 | Spain | 7–2 |
| 6 | Italy | 5–4 |
| 7 | Lithuania | 5–4 |
| 8 | Argentina | 3–6 |
| 9 | Australia | 5–3 |
| 10 | Brazil | 2–6 |
| 11 | Puerto Rico | 3–5 |
| 12 | Canada | 1–7 |
| 13 | Nigeria | 2–3 |
| 14 | Japan | 1–4 |
| 15 | Senegal | 1–4 |
| 16 | South Korea | 0–5 |

## All-Tournament Team

* Vasili Karasev
* Alberto Herreros
* Dejan Bodiroga — MVP
* Gregor Fučka
* Željko Rebrača

## Top scorers

| Name | Ppg |
| Alberto Herreros | 17.9 |
| Mohammed Acha | 17.5 |
| Artūras Karnišovas | 17.1 |
| Shane Heal | 17.0 |
| Andrew Gaze | 16.8 |
| José "Piculín" Ortiz | 16.5 |
| Maikeru Takahashi | 16.4 |
| Vasili Karasev | 16.1 |
| Seo Jang-hoon | 15.2 |
| Dejan Bodiroga | 14.7 |