GETTING TO KNOW THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Aug 26, 2019
As Jordan plans to spring a surprise at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, we take a look at their first opponents on September 1, the Dominican Republic.
This is the third time that the Dominican Republic will have participated in the World Cup finals after 1978 (Philippines) and 2014 (Spain). They finished seventh in the Americas qualifying phase with seven wins and five defeats – the same as Jordan’s record in Asia.
In their first World Cup, they lost their first game to the USA by 39 points, their second to Australia by two points and then their third to Czechoslovakia. But victory came against the African champions Senegal before further defeats to South Korea, Puerto Rico and China to finish 12th from 14 teams.
Their next appearance came 36 years later in Spain where they finished 13th from 24 teams. The Dominican Republic has a population of about 11 million but, like Jordan, have never qualified for an Olympic Games.
They have been participating in the Americas Basketball Championship since 1980, and their best achievement was a bronze medal in the 2011 edition in Argentina.