USA Basketball to play Greece, Germany at Abu Dhabi

USA Basketball will play a pair of games in Abu Dhabi thissummer on its way to the World Cup in the Philippines.

The federation announced an agreement with Abu Dhabi’sDepartment of Culture and Tourism on Wednesday, and as part of thatdeal the U.S. will bring Germany and Greece there for games inAugust.

The U.S. will host the three-game series, and it’ll mark thefirst time that the men’s national team will play in the UnitedArab Emirates. The Americans will play Greece on Aug. 18 andGermany on Aug. 20; Germany and Greece will play there on Aug.19.

“USA Basketball is thrilled to work with DCT Abu Dhabi to bringthe USA Basketball Showcase to Abu Dhabi,” USA Basketball CEO JimTooley said. “This is the first time our men’s national team willplay in the UAE and we’re excited to engage with fans from acrossthe globe, while also offering our players and coaches memorableon- and off-court experiences.”

The U.S. is ranked No. 2 in the world by FIBA, with Greece No. 9and Germany No. 11. The Americans will announce their World Cuproster this summer, before gathering in Las Vegas for training campunder coach Steve Kerr of Golden State and assistants ErikSpoelstra of Miami, Tyronn Lue of the Los Angeles Clippers and MarkFew of Gonzaga.

“It’s set to be an unforgettable summer in Abu Dhabi and it’s anhonor to host the first USA Basketball Showcase in the UAE,” saidSaleh Al Geziry, DCT Abu Dhabi’s director general of tourism.

The NBA played games in Abu Dhabi for the first time last year,sending Milwaukee — including Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, whopresumably could be part of these matchups — and Atlanta there inOctober for a pair of preseason games. The NBA plans two morepreseason games in Abu Dhabi later this year, in advance of the2023-24 season.

It will be the second weekend of exhibitions abroad for the U.S.on its way to the World Cup. Spanish officials announced earlierthis year that the Americans, Luka Doncic-led Slovenia and Spainare set to play in Malaga from Aug. 11-13 as part of the 100thanniversary celebration of Spain’s national federation.

Spain — ranked No. 1 by FIBA and the reigning World Cup champion— will play No. 7-ranked Slovenia on Aug. 11. The U.S. and Sloveniawill play Aug. 12, and the Americans will face Spain on Aug.13.

The World Cup starts Aug. 25 and continues through Sept. 10.Games will be played in the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan; theU.S. will play all of its games in Manila.

The World Cup draw, when the 32 participating teams will findout their opening opponents, is April 29.