Basketball's governing body will try to lure NBA stars to play in some World Cup qualifiers after creating a new format with more matches in their home countries.
The path to the revamped 2019 World Cup includes round-robin qualifying groups played in six separate fixture windows over a 14-month span starting November 2017.
"Having the home and away games brings basketball back to the countries themselves," FIBA secretary general Patrick Baumann told The Associated Press in an interview. "Eventually this will benefit the whole sport around the world."
Baumann acknowledged that having NBA stars regularly on national team duty was "something we would love," but that players will decide how much time to commit.
World Cup qualifiers in June and September 2018 would be most attractive to top players, he suggested. FIBA aims to schedule matches in late-June to avoid clashing with NBA playoffs.
Baumann said the governing body has good relations with the NBA, and kept the league and franchise owners informed "since Day 1" of a two-year project to improve the existing calendar.
"Countries like Greece and Russia have never seen their national team play in the last decade at home," Baumann said.
Some continental events have been removed from a packed four-year tournament cycle.
Source: http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8565415
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