Contents

2006 FIBA World Championship

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)
← 2002 2010 →

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.

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 2023inOkinawa along with the Philippines and Indonesia.

Venues[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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

Competing nations[edit]

The following national teams competed:

Japan qualified as the host country, and Italy, Puerto Rico, Serbia and Montenegro, and Turkey gained FIBA wild-card invitations.^[1] 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[edit]

Group A[edit]

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[a]
4	Serbia and Montenegro	5	2	3	409	352	+57	7[a]
5	Lebanon	5	2	3	357	451	−94	7[a]
6	Venezuela	5	1	4	336	426	−90	6

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[edit]

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

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[edit]

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

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[edit]

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[a]
4	China	5	2	3	424	455	−31	7[a]
5	Puerto Rico	5	2	3	432	440	−8	7[a]
6	Senegal	5	0	5	355	451	−96	5

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[edit]

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[edit]

Argentina	79–62	New Zealand
Scoring by quarter: 21–16, 16–13, 22–15, 20–18
Pts: Oberto23 Rebs: Oberto10 Asts: Sánchez5		Pts: Dickel15 Rebs: Bradshaw5 Asts: Dickel4

Italy	68–71	Lithuania
Scoring by quarter: 20–17, 15–19, 14–14, 19–21
Pts: Rocca, Di Bella15 Rebs: Di Bella9 Asts: Soragna5		Pts: Macijauskas15 Rebs: Javtokas8 Asts: Kalnietis2

Turkey	90–84	Slovenia
Scoring by quarter: 20–19, 24–17, 16–24, 30–24
Pts: Erdoğan24 Rebs: Gönlüm8 Asts: Arslan3		Pts: Nachbar18 Rebs: Nachbar8 Asts: Bečirovič5

Spain	87–75	Serbia and Montenegro
Scoring by quarter: 20–10, 23–21, 23–21, 21–23
Pts: Gasol19 Rebs: Gasol15 Asts: Calderón4		Pts: Miličić18 Rebs: Miličić15 Asts: Popović4

Germany	78–77	Nigeria
Scoring by quarter: 25–22, 23–22, 14–14, 16–19
Pts: Nowitzki23 Rebs: Nowitzki9 Asts: Nowitzki5		Pts: Ibekwe22 Rebs: Ibekwe10 Asts: Muoneke4

United States	113–73	Australia
Scoring by quarter: 27–23, 32–6, 29–20, 25–24
Pts: Johnson18 Rebs: Bosh9 Asts: Hinrich5		Pts: Bogut20 Rebs: Mackinnon7 Asts: Bruton4

France	68–62	Angola
Scoring by quarter: 17–6, 17–18, 15–11, 19–27
Pts: Jeanneau16 Rebs: Piétrus7 Asts: Jeanneau5		Pts: Almeida13 Rebs: Gomes7 Asts: Cipriano7

Greece	95–64	China
Scoring by quarter: 11–18, 30–18, 26–6, 28–22
Pts: Papaloukas19 Rebs: Kakiouzis7 Asts: Papaloukas6		Pts: Wang S16 Rebs: Yao8 Asts: Chen, Zhu, Sun2

Quarterfinals[edit]

Spain	89–67	Lithuania
Scoring by quarter: 28–11, 19–19, 18–12, 24–25
Pts: Gasol25 Rebs: Gasol9 Asts: Navarro, Rodríguez3		Pts: Lavrinovič17 Rebs: Kleiza14 Asts: Kleiza5

Argentina	83–58	Turkey
Scoring by quarter: 25–16, 18–7, 32–17, 8–18
Pts: Nocioni21 Rebs: Delfino8 Asts: Sánchez6		Pts: Akyol11 Rebs: Peker6 Asts: Demirel4

Greece	73–56	France
Scoring by quarter: 12–8, 22–16, 19–19, 20–13
Pts: Papadopoulos, Fotsis14 Rebs: Diamantidis8 Asts: Diamantidis5		Pts: Gelabale12 Rebs: Piétrus, Diaw, Turiaf6 Asts: Gomis, Jeanneau, Piétrus, Diaw2

United States	85–65	Germany
Scoring by quarter: 23–21, 17–18, 27–13, 18–13
Pts: Anthony19 Rebs: Wade, Bosh7 Asts: Paul5		Pts: Okulaja, Nowitzki15 Rebs: Okulaja, Nowitzki9 Asts: Femerling2

5th–8th classification[edit]

	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[edit]

Lithuania	84–95 (OT)	Turkey
Scoring by quarter: 10–19, 17–4, 21–17, 27–35, Overtime: 9–20
Pts: Songaila17 Rebs: Lavrinovič7 Asts: Lavrinovič4		Pts: Kuqo24 Rebs: Gönlüm8 Asts: Arslan5

France	75–73	Germany
Scoring by quarter: 17–16, 21–15, 15–26, 22–16
Pts: Gomis17 Rebs: Gelabale, Diaw8 Asts: Diaw3		Pts: Nowitzki29 Rebs: Okulaja10 Asts: Okulaja4

Seventh place playoff[edit]

Lithuania	77–62	Germany
Scoring by quarter: 30–17, 17–24, 11–13, 19–8
Pts: Lavrinovič18 Rebs: Kleiza7 Asts: Javtokas3		Pts: Nowitzki18 Rebs: Okulaja, Nowitzki6 Asts: Roller3

Fifth place playoff[edit]

Turkey	56–64	France
Scoring by quarter: 7–20, 13–15, 23–14, 13–15
Pts: Atsür15 Rebs: Gönlüm11 Asts: Atsür, Arslan, İlyasova, Gönlüm1		Pts: Pietrus12 Rebs: Pietrus9 Asts: Diaw3

Semifinals[edit]

Greece	101–95	United States
Scoring by quarter: 14–20, 31–21, 32–24, 24–30
Pts: Spanoulis22 Rebs: Kakiouzis6 Asts: Papaloukas12		Pts: Anthony27 Rebs: Howard7 Asts: James5

Spain	75–74	Argentina
Scoring by quarter: 15–21, 25–17, 20–18, 15–18
Pts: Garbajosa19 Rebs: Gasol11 Asts: Navarro5		Pts: Ginóbili21 Rebs: Scola8 Asts: Ginóbili4

Third place playoff[edit]

United States	96–81	Argentina
Scoring by quarter: 21–27, 29–22, 19–13, 27–19
Pts: Wade32 Rebs: James9 Asts: James7		Pts: Scola19 Rebs: Sánchez, Nocioni6 Asts: Sánchez6

Final[edit]

Greece	47–70	Spain
Scoring by quarter: 12–18, 11–25, 11–11, 13–16
Pts: Kakiouzis17 Rebs: Kakiouzis9 Asts: Papaloukas, Diamantidis3		Pts: Garbajosa, Navarro20 Rebs: Jiménez11 Asts: Garbajosa, Rodríguez4

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[edit]

• 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[edit]

2006 World Championship winner
Spain First title

Most Valuable Player
Pau Gasol

All-Tournament Team[edit]

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