Ningbo to hold warmup tournament for FIBA Basketball World Cup

A news conference on the 2019 International Men's Basketball Tournament, a warmup tournament for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, is held on March 18 in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/zj.zjol.com] 

A warmup tournament for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup will be held in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province from Aug 26 to 28, which will see matches between three of the world's strongest national teams, from Spain, Argentina and Russia, according to a news conference released by the organizing committee on March 18 in the city.

It will be the first sports event for the newly-established Ningbo Olympic Center in the city's Jiangbei district. 

Fernando Manuel Romay Pereiro, chairman of the Spanish Basketball Association Foundation, Vladimir Dyachok, director of the regional development and public basketball division, and Jorge Esteban Comoli, vice chairman of the Argentina Basketball Association, expressed their common wish to win the warmup tournament, as they believed it to be perfect preparation for the World Cup, which will start three days after it ends.

They also hoped that Ningbo citizens will keep supporting the development of basketball and promote the sportsmanship.

There will be more than 10 NBA basketball players in the three teams for the warmup tournament, according to Hu Yu, general manager of the sponsor Zhejiang Putehui Information Technology Co. 

The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup is scheduled to be held from Aug 31 to Sept 15 in eight cities in China, including Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Shenzhen, Foshan and Dongguan.