1959 FIBA World Championship

Updated on Dec 18, 2023

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Points James Chen (20.1) MVP Amaury Pasos Host nation Chile		Dates 16 Jan 1959 – 31 Jan 1959 Teams 13 Venues 5

Champion Brazil national basketball team Similar 1978 FIBA World Championship, 1950 FIBA World Championship, 1970 FIBA World Championship, 1990 FIBA World Championship, 1986 FIBA World Championship

The 1959 FIBA World Championship was an international basketball competition hosted by Chile from January 16 to 31, 1959. Amaury Antônio Pasos was named the MVP.

The hosting cities for the competition were Antofagasta, Concepción, Temuco, Valparaíso, with the final stages being held at the capital of Santiago.

The final stages were supposed to be held at the newly constructed Metropolitan Indoor Stadium, but because the venue was not finished in time the games were postponed by a year from the original date and moved outdoors to the Estadio Nacional de Chile, configured in a way that the games were seen by a crowd of 16,000. The United States is represented by the United States Air Force Team.

The Soviet Union refusal to meet Formosa in the final round led to their relegation to the last two places. If Soviet Union would have played that match and have won to Formosa (that was very probable), they would have been the champions of the tournament, but they refused to play because of political differences and lost the title.

Competition format

Preliminary round: Three groups of four teams play each other once; top two teams progress to the final round, bottom two teams relegated to classification round.

Classification round:

First round: Two groups of three teams (A1, B2, C1 and A2, B1, C2) play each other once.

Second round: Top teams from each group play for eighth, second placers play for tenth, and last placers play for twelfth.

Final round: All top two from preliminary round group play each other once. The team with the best record wins the championship.

Final round

The Soviet Union and Bulgaria's refusal to meet Formosa in the final round and led to their relegation to the last two places. If Soviet Union would have played and won to Formosa (very probable), they would have been the champions of the tournament, but they refused to play because of political differences, and lost the title.