By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
As FIBA announced, the 32 games played during the February window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers registered an average occupancy rate of 80 percent.
The top five audiences of the European Qualifiers in the February window were:
1 Georgia – 9,000 (against Germany)
2 Spain – 8,573 (against Montenegro)
3 Sweden – 8,045 (against Turkey)
4 Russia – 7,457 (against Bosnia and Herzegovina)
5= Latvia (against Turkey) & Ukraine (against Sweden) – both 6,500
France and Italy, who both sold out their home games in the first window, repeated the feat in the second window and rewarded their fans by remaining unbeaten (4-0) and thereby ensuring they will advance to the Second Round.
Austria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Germany, Israel, Poland, Russia, Sweden and Ukraine registered their first sellouts of the Qualifiers.
The 8,045 spectators in attendance for Sweden’s thrilling 59-58 win over Turkey set an attendance record for a senior men’s national team game in the country.
More than 10,000 spectators at home games of Brazil, China and Philippines
The massive crowds registered during February’s Qualifiers extended well beyond Europe.
In the Americas, Brazil played both games of the second window at home in Goiania and rewarded the combined 20,500 spectators on hand by beating Colombia 84-49 on Thursday and Chile 83-58 on Sunday to book the team’s place into the Second Round.
In Asia, China faced New Zealand on Friday in Dongguan with 10,000 spectators seeing star player Yi Jianlian make his debut in the Qualifiers and erupt for 37 points.
On Sunday, close to 10,500 packed Manila’s Mall of Asia Arena to cheer on Philippines as they defeated Japan 89-84 and booked their ticket for the next phase of the Qualifiers.
Altogether, the total attendance of all 72 games played during the February window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Qualifiers was in line with that of November, as more than 300,000 spectators once again took in the action right across the globe.
Photo Credit: FIBA