UAE dealt tough draw in Fiba Under-17 World Championship

Dubai: Hosts UAE were handed a tough draw for the 2014 Fiba Under-17 World Championships.

In the draw at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on the Palm Jumairah in Dubai on Wednesday night, Zoran Zupcevic’s side were drawn in Group C with Puerto Rico, Italy and Spain for the 16-team competition.

The tournament will take place across three stadiums — Al Wasl, Al Ahli and the Hamdan Sports Complex — in Dubai from August 8-16.

Elsewhere, two-time champions USA were drawn with Angola, Philippines and Greece in Group A, while former finalists Australia were grouped together with Japan, Canada and France in Group B. In Group D, China will play Egypt, Serbia and Argentina.

This will be the third staging of the event, which has been held every two years since 2010. The USA have won it on both previous occasions, while Australia were runners-up in 2012. Previous hosts have been Germany and Lithuania.

Former Most Valuable Players Bradley Beal and Jahlil Okafor of the USA have both gone on to play for top sides.

Beal is currently with NBA team the Washington Wizards and Okafor is playing for collegiate side Dukes University.