2006 FIBA World Championship

The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), Japan Basketball Association (JABBA) and the 2006 Organising Committee.

2006 FIBA World Championship

FIBA バスケットボール世界選手権 2006 FIBA Basukettobōru Sekai Senshuken 2006
Tournament details
Host country	Japan
Dates	19 August – 3 September
Officially opened by	Akihito
Teams	24 (from 5 confederations)
Venue(s)	5 (in 5 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Spain (1st title)
Runners-up	Greece
Third place	United States
Fourth place	Argentina
Tournament statistics
Games played	80
MVP	Pau Gasol
Top scorer	Yao Ming (25.3 points per game)

For the first time since 1986, the World Championship was contested by 24 nations, eight more than in 2002. As a result, group rounds were conducted in four cities, with the knockout rounds being hosted by Saitama City.

Spain won the tournament by beating Greece 70–47 in the championship final. Spain won all nine games they played. Spain's gold medal in this tournament was the first medal Spain had ever won in a FIBA World Championship. Pau Gasol also became the first Spaniard to win the MVP award. It was the first time a country has won all nine of its games since 1994 when the United States won all nine games and took the gold medal home. The bronze medal was won by the United States, who defeated Argentina, 96–81, in the third place game, after a semi-finals loss to Greece. Up to 2019, including the 2014 tournament, it has been the only tournament where neither Yugoslavia or the USA have reached the final. The 2006 tournament marked the final appearance of Serbia and Montenegro as they broke up into the independent nations of Serbia and Montenegro after a successful independence referendum in Montenegro in May.

Seventeen years after the 2006 edition, Japan once again hosted the FIBA World Championships, now called the World Cup in 2023 in Okinawa along with the Philippines and Indonesia.

Venues

Hamamatsu	Hamamatsu Hiroshima Saitama Sapporo Sendai	Sapporo
Hamamatsu Arena Capacity: 5,100		Sapporo Arena Capacity: 6,400
Hiroshima	Saitama	Sendai
Hiroshima Green Arena Capacity: 6,900	Saitama Super Arena Capacity: 21,000	Sendai Gymnasium Capacity: 6,100

Qualification

Main article: 2006 FIBA World Championship Qualification

There were 24 teams taking part in the 2006 World Cup of Basketball.

• Host nation: 1 berth
• 2004 Summer Olympics: 12 teams competing for 1 berth, removed from that country's FIBA zone
• FIBA Africa: 12 teams competing for 3 berths
• FIBA Oceania: 2 teams competing for 2 berths
• FIBA Americas: 10 teams competing for 4 berths
• FIBA Asia: 16 teams competing for 3 berths
• FIBA Europe: 16 teams competing for 6 berths
• Wild card: 4 berths

Qualified teams

Event	Date	Location	Berths	Qualified
Host nation			1	Japan
2004 Olympics	August 15–28, 2004	Athens	1	Argentina
2005 FIBA Africa Championship	August 15–24, 2005	Algiers	3	Angola Senegal Nigeria
2005 FIBA Oceania Championship	August 17–21, 2005	Auckland and Dunedin	2	Australia New Zealand
2005 FIBA Americas Championship	August 24–September 4, 2005	Santo Domingo	4	Brazil Venezuela United States Panama
2005 FIBA Asia Championship	September 8–16, 2005	Doha	3	China Lebanon Qatar
EuroBasket 2005	4–22 September 2005	Serbia and Montenegro	6	Greece Germany France Spain Lithuania Slovenia
Wild cards			4	Italy Puerto Rico Serbia and Montenegro Turkey
TOTAL			24

Squads

Main article: 2006 FIBA World Championship squads

At the start of tournament, all 24 participating countries had 12 players on their roster.

Competing nations

The following national teams competed:

Teams that entered qualification tournaments; Asia (purple), Africa (orange), Americas (green), Europe (blue) and Oceania (yellow) and automatic qualifiers (aqua)

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
Argentina France Lebanon Nigeria Serbia and Montenegro Venezuela	Angola Germany Japan New Zealand Panama Spain	Australia Brazil Greece Lithuania Qatar Turkey	China Italy Puerto Rico Senegal Slovenia United States

Teams qualified

Japan qualified as the host country, and Italy, Puerto Rico, Serbia and Montenegro, and Turkey gained FIBA wild-card invitations. Argentina qualified as the champion of the 2004 Olympics. The remaining 18 countries qualified through their continents' qualifying tournaments (six from Europe, four from the Americas, three from each of Asia and Africa and two from Oceania).

The draw for the 2006 World Championship was held in Tokyo on 15 January 2006. In the preliminary rounds, Group A played at Sendai, Group B at Hiroshima, Group C at Hamamatsu and Group D at Sapporo. The Medal Rounds were played at Saitama.

Group stage

Group A

Venue: Sendai Gymnasium, Sendai

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Argentina	5	5	0	464	339	+125	10	Round of 16
2	France	5	3	2	353	329	+24	8
3	Nigeria	5	2	3	371	393	−22	7
4	Serbia and Montenegro	5	2	3	409	352	+57	7
5	Lebanon	5	2	3	357	451	−94	7
6	Venezuela	5	1	4	336	426	−90	6

Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
Notes:

19 August 2006

Venezuela	72–82	Lebanon
Serbia and Montenegro	75–82	Nigeria
Argentina	80–70	France

20 August 2006

Nigeria	77–84	Venezuela
Lebanon	72–107	Argentina
France	65–61	Serbia and Montenegro

21 August 2006

Argentina	96–54	Venezuela
Serbia and Montenegro	104–57	Lebanon
France	64–53	Nigeria

23 August 2006

Nigeria	64–98	Argentina
Venezuela	65–90	Serbia and Montenegro
Lebanon	74–73	France

24 August 2006

Serbia and Montenegro	79–83	Argentina
Lebanon	72–95	Nigeria
France	81–61	Venezuela

Group B

Venue: Hiroshima Green Arena, Hiroshima

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Spain	5	5	0	476	336	+140	10	Round of 16
2	Germany	5	4	1	421	384	+37	9
3	Angola	5	3	2	451	406	+45	8
4	New Zealand	5	2	3	345	393	−48	7
5	Japan (H)	5	1	4	322	393	−71	6
6	Panama	5	0	5	326	429	−103	5

Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
(H) Hosts

19 August 2006

Germany	81–70	Japan
Angola	83–70	Panama
Spain	86–70	New Zealand

20 August 2006

Japan	62–87	Angola
New Zealand	56–80	Germany
Panama	57–101	Spain

21 August 2006

Angola	95–73	New Zealand
Germany	71–92	Spain
Japan	78–61	Panama

23 August 2006

Spain	93–83	Angola
Panama	63–81	Germany
New Zealand	60–57	Japan

24 August 2006

Angola	103–108 (3OT)	Germany
New Zealand	86–75	Panama
Japan	55–104	Spain

Group C

Venue: Hamamatsu Arena, Hamamatsu

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Greece	5	5	0	404	358	+46	10	Round of 16
2	Turkey	5	4	1	370	358	+12	9
3	Lithuania	5	3	2	413	353	+60	8
4	Australia	5	2	3	370	349	+21	7
5	Brazil	5	1	4	399	392	+7	6
6	Qatar	5	0	5	310	456	−146	5

Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.

19 August 2006

Brazil	77–83	Australia
Greece	84–64	Qatar
Turkey	76–74	Lithuania

20 August 2006

Qatar	66–97	Brazil
Australia	68–76	Turkey
Lithuania	76–81(OT)	Greece

22 August 2006

Lithuania	106–65	Qatar
Greece	72–69	Australia
Turkey	73–71	Brazil

23 August 2006

Australia	57–78	Lithuania
Qatar	69–76	Turkey
Brazil	80–91	Greece

24 August 2006

Australia	93–46	Qatar
Lithuania	79–74	Brazil
Greece	76–69	Turkey

Group D

Venue: Sapporo Arena, Sapporo

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	United States	5	5	0	543	428	+115	10	Round of 16
2	Italy	5	4	1	386	367	+19	9
3	Slovenia	5	2	3	434	433	+1	7
4	China	5	2	3	424	455	−31	7
5	Puerto Rico	5	2	3	432	440	−8	7
6	Senegal	5	0	5	355	451	−96	5

Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
Notes:

19 August 2006

Puerto Rico	100–111	United States
Slovenia	96–79	Senegal
China	69–84	Italy

20 August 2006

Senegal	79–88	Puerto Rico
Italy	80–76	Slovenia
United States	121–90	China

22 August 2006

Puerto Rico	90–87 (OT)	China
Italy	64–56	Senegal
Slovenia	95–114	United States

23 August 2006

Senegal	83–100	China
Puerto Rico	82–90	Slovenia
United States	94–85	Italy

24 August 2006

Slovenia	77–78	China
Italy	73–72	Puerto Rico
United States	103–58	Senegal

Knockout stage

All times are local JST (UTC+9).

Venue: Saitama Super Arena, Saitama

Round of 16

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

26 August

Argentina

79

29 August

New Zealand

62

Argentina

83

26 August

Turkey

58

Turkey

90

1 September

Slovenia

84

Argentina

74

26 August

Spain

75

Spain

87

29 August

Serbia and Montenegro

75

Spain

89

26 August

Lithuania

67

Italy

68

3 September

Lithuania

71

Spain

70

27 August

Greece

47

Greece

95

30 August

China

64

Greece

73

27 August

France

56

France

68

1 September

Angola

62

Greece

101

27 August

United States

95

Third place

United States

113

30 August

2 September

Australia

73

United States

85

United States

96

27 August

Germany

65

Argentina

81

Germany

78

Nigeria

77

Round of 16

26 August 2006 10:00

Argentina	79–62	New Zealand
Scoring by quarter: 21–16, 16–13, 22–15, 20–18
Pts: Oberto 23 Rebs: Oberto 10 Asts: Sánchez 5		Pts: Dickel 15 Rebs: Bradshaw 5 Asts: Dickel 4

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Attendance: 9,100

26 August 2006 13:00

Italy	68–71	Lithuania
Scoring by quarter: 20–17, 15–19, 14–14, 19–21
Pts: Rocca, Di Bella 15 Rebs: Di Bella 9 Asts: Soragna 5		Pts: Macijauskas 15 Rebs: Javtokas 8 Asts: Kalnietis 2

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Attendance: 9,100

26 August 2006 17:00

Turkey	90–84	Slovenia
Scoring by quarter: 20–19, 24–17, 16–24, 30–24
Pts: Erdoğan 24 Rebs: Gönlüm 8 Asts: Arslan 3		Pts: Nachbar 18 Rebs: Nachbar 8 Asts: Bečirovič 5

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Attendance: 8,150

26 August 2006 20:00

Spain	87–75	Serbia and Montenegro
Scoring by quarter: 20–10, 23–21, 23–21, 21–23
Pts: Gasol 19 Rebs: Gasol 15 Asts: Calderón 4		Pts: Miličić 18 Rebs: Miličić 15 Asts: Popović 4

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Attendance: 8,150

27 August 2006 10:00

Germany	78–77	Nigeria
Scoring by quarter: 25–22, 23–22, 14–14, 16–19
Pts: Nowitzki 23 Rebs: Nowitzki 9 Asts: Nowitzki 5		Pts: Ibekwe 22 Rebs: Ibekwe 10 Asts: Muoneke 4

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Attendance: 14,800

27 August 2006 13:00

United States	113–73	Australia
Scoring by quarter: 27–23, 32–6, 29–20, 25–24
Pts: Johnson 18 Rebs: Bosh 9 Asts: Hinrich 5		Pts: Bogut 20 Rebs: Mackinnon 7 Asts: Bruton 4

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Attendance: 14,800

27 August 2006 17:00

France	68–62	Angola
Scoring by quarter: 17–6, 17–18, 15–11, 19–27
Pts: Jeanneau 16 Rebs: Piétrus 7 Asts: Jeanneau 5		Pts: Almeida 13 Rebs: Gomes 7 Asts: Cipriano 7

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Attendance: 12,900

27 August 2006 20:00

Greece	95–64	China
Scoring by quarter: 11–18, 30–18, 26–6, 28–22
Pts: Papaloukas 19 Rebs: Kakiouzis 7 Asts: Papaloukas 6		Pts: Wang S 16 Rebs: Yao 8 Asts: Chen, Zhu, Sun 2

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Attendance: 12,900

Quarterfinals

29 August 2006 16:30

Spain	89–67	Lithuania
Scoring by quarter: 28–11, 19–19, 18–12, 24–25
Pts: Gasol 25 Rebs: Gasol 9 Asts: Navarro, Rodríguez 3		Pts: Lavrinovič 17 Rebs: Kleiza 14 Asts: Kleiza 5

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Attendance: 8,700

29 August 2006 19:30

Argentina	83–58	Turkey
Scoring by quarter: 25–16, 18–7, 32–17, 8–18
Pts: Nocioni 21 Rebs: Delfino 8 Asts: Sánchez 6		Pts: Akyol 11 Rebs: Peker 6 Asts: Demirel 4

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Attendance: 8,700

30 August 2006 16:30

Greece	73–56	France
Scoring by quarter: 12–8, 22–16, 19–19, 20–13
Pts: Papadopoulos, Fotsis 14 Rebs: Diamantidis 8 Asts: Diamantidis 5		Pts: Gelabale 12 Rebs: Piétrus, Diaw, Turiaf 6 Asts: Gomis, Jeanneau, Piétrus, Diaw 2

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama

30 August 2006 19:30

United States	85–65	Germany
Scoring by quarter: 23–21, 17–18, 27–13, 18–13
Pts: Anthony 19 Rebs: Wade, Bosh 7 Asts: Paul 5		Pts: Okulaja, Nowitzki 15 Rebs: Okulaja, Nowitzki 9 Asts: Femerling 2

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama

5th–8th classification

	Classification round				Fifth place
	31 August
	Lithuania	84
					2 September
	Turkey (OT)	95
					Turkey	56
	31 August
					France	64
	France	75
	Germany	73
					Seventh place
					3 September
					Lithuania	77
					Germany	62

Semifinals

31 August 2006 16:30

Lithuania	84–95 (OT)	Turkey
Scoring by quarter: 10–19, 17–4, 21–17, 27–35, Overtime: 9–20
Pts: Songaila 17 Rebs: Lavrinovič 7 Asts: Lavrinovič 4		Pts: Kuqo 24 Rebs: Gönlüm 8 Asts: Arslan 5

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama

31 August 2006 19:30

France	75–73	Germany
Scoring by quarter: 17–16, 21–15, 15–26, 22–16
Pts: Gomis 17 Rebs: Gelabale, Diaw 8 Asts: Diaw 3		Pts: Nowitzki 29 Rebs: Okulaja 10 Asts: Okulaja 4

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama

Seventh place playoff

3 September 2006 16:30

Lithuania	77–62	Germany
Scoring by quarter: 30–17, 17–24, 11–13, 19–8
Pts: Lavrinovič 18 Rebs: Kleiza 7 Asts: Javtokas 3		Pts: Nowitzki 18 Rebs: Okulaja, Nowitzki 6 Asts: Roller 3

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama

Fifth place playoff

2 September 2006 16:30

Turkey	56–64	France
Scoring by quarter: 7–20, 13–15, 23–14, 13–15
Pts: Atsür 15 Rebs: Gönlüm 11 Asts: Atsür, Arslan, İlyasova, Gönlüm 1		Pts: Pietrus 12 Rebs: Pietrus 9 Asts: Diaw 3

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama

Semifinals

1 September 2006 16:30

Greece	101–95	United States
Scoring by quarter: 14–20, 31–21, 32–24, 24–30
Pts: Spanoulis 22 Rebs: Kakiouzis 6 Asts: Papaloukas 12		Pts: Anthony 27 Rebs: Howard 7 Asts: James 5

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Attendance: 17,000

1 September 2006 19:30

Spain	75–74	Argentina
Scoring by quarter: 15–21, 25–17, 20–18, 15–18
Pts: Garbajosa 19 Rebs: Gasol 11 Asts: Navarro 5		Pts: Ginóbili 21 Rebs: Scola 8 Asts: Ginóbili 4

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Attendance: 17,000

Third place playoff

2 September 2006 19:30

United States	96–81	Argentina
Scoring by quarter: 21–27, 29–22, 19–13, 27–19
Pts: Wade 32 Rebs: James 9 Asts: James 7		Pts: Scola 19 Rebs: Sánchez, Nocioni 6 Asts: Sánchez 6

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Attendance: 16,700

Final

Main article: 2006 FIBA World Championship final

3 September 2006 19:30

Greece	47–70	Spain
Scoring by quarter: 12–18, 11–25, 11–11, 13–16
Pts: Kakiouzis 17 Rebs: Kakiouzis 9 Asts: Papaloukas, Diamantidis 3		Pts: Garbajosa, Navarro 20 Rebs: Jiménez 11 Asts: Garbajosa, Rodríguez 4

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Attendance: 18,500 Referees: Carl Jungebrand (FIN), Terry Moore (USA), Pablo Alberto Estévez (ARG)

Scene from the final

Spain's Gold Medal ceremony

Since the inaugural competition in 1950 the five competing countries for the title had always been two of Argentina, United States, Soviet Union, Brazil and Yugoslavia, one of which always being either United States or Yugoslavia. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia took its place in the finals of 1994 and 1998, and after the breakup of Yugoslavia, FR Yugoslavia took its place in the finals of 1998 and 2002. The 2006 final was the first and only one in which none of these five teams competed.

The final was an unexpectedly one-sided affair, with Spain dominating from the beginning and limiting Greece to just 47 points, fewer than the Greeks had scored in any single game in the tournament, and less than half what Greece had scored against the US in the semifinals. Spain won despite having lost power forward Pau Gasol, who was ultimately named the tournament's most valuable player, to injury in a semifinal match against Argentina.

Final standings

2006 FIBA World Championship final rankings.

• Teams that were eliminated at the round of 16 are officially tied for 9th.
• Teams that were 5th at their preliminary rounds are officially tied for 17th.
• Teams that were 6th at their preliminary rounds are officially tied for 21st.

Rank	Team	Record
1	Spain	9–0
2	Greece	8–1
3	United States	8–1
4	Argentina	7–2
5	France	6–3
6	Turkey	6–3
7	Lithuania	5–4
8	Germany	5–4
9	Angola	3–3
	Australia	2–4
	China	2–4
	Italy	4–2
	New Zealand	2–4
	Nigeria	2–4
	Serbia and Montenegro	2–4
	Slovenia	2–4
17	Brazil	1–4
	Japan	1–4
	Lebanon	2–3
	Puerto Rico	2–3
21	Panama	0–5
	Qatar	0–5
	Senegal	0–5
	Venezuela	1–4

Awards

2006 World Championship winner
Spain First title

Most Valuable Player
Pau Gasol

All-Tournament Team

Main article: FIBA Basketball World Cup All-Tournament Team

• Pau Gasol
• Jorge Garbajosa
• Carmelo Anthony
• Manu Ginóbili
• Theodoros Papaloukas

Leading scorers

No.	Player	Team	PPG
1	Yao Ming	China	25.3
2	Dirk Nowitzki	Germany	23.2
3	Pau Gasol	Spain	21.3
4	Carlos Arroyo	Puerto Rico	21.2
5	Larry Ayuso	Puerto Rico	21.2

Referees

For the World Championship, FIBA selected 40 professional referees.

Group A Aibara, Nobuyasu Avanessian, Heros Aylen, Michael Chlif, Abdellilah Dovidavičius, Virginijus Facchini, Fabio Jungebrand, Carl Moore, Terry Matthew Trías Iglesias, Álvaro Darío

Group B Muhimua Joao, Abreu Belošević, Ilija Carrión, José Aníbal Chiti, Alejandro César Noujaim, Rabah Ryzhyk, Borys Sudek, Petr Viator, Eddie Yang Maogong

Group C Arteaga, Juan Carlos Cerebuch, Guerrino Estévez, Pablo Alberto Homsy, Mike Amir Mercedes Sánchez, Reynaldo Antonio Miyatake, Yosuke Muhvić, Dubravko Pukl, Saša Rush, Eddie Fernanzo Vázquez, Jorge

Group D Bachar, Shmuel Brazauskas, Romualdas Butler, Scott Jason Delgado Casadiego, Daniel Alfredo Hirahara, Yuji Jovčić, Milivoje Maranho, Cristiano Jesus Martín Bertrán, José Antonio Simão, Domingos Francisco

Sponsorship

• McDonald's

External links

• FIBA World Championship 2006 official website
• FIBA official website
• EuroBasket.com FIBA Basketball World Cup Page