Getty Luka Doncic and Slovenia take on Venezuela in the 2023 FIBA World Cup opener.
Slovenia and Venezuela will clash in a Group F showdown in the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Okinawa, Japan, on Saturday at 7:15 a.m. ET.
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If you’re in the United States, you can only watch the game on ESPN+:
ESPN+ includes every FIBA World Cup game, plus dozens of other live sports, every 30-for-30 documentary and additional original content (both video and written) for $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year (or $13.99 per month for a bundle of all three of ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu).
Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch Slovenia vs Venezuela live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com.
Compatible devices for the ESPN app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4 or 5, Xbox One or Series X/S, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Samsung Smart TV, Oculus Go, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
Slovenia vs Venezuela FIBA World Cup 2023 Preview
Slovenia is looking for its first World Cup and is the favorite to win Group F. Led by Dallas Mavericks superstar Luca Doncic, Slovenia is looking to redeem itself after failing to qualify for the Cup in 2019. After also falling to Poland in the 2022 EuroBasket Quarterfinals, Doncic and company are underdogs when it comes to winning the entire tournament.
“We still have a lot of work to do. When we are focused and doing what we need to do, we can be a very dangerous team,” Doncic said, singling out defense and rebounding as the top two things his team needs to work on heading into the tourney. “These are areas we need to work on. I see an opportunity for progress here. Everyone must shut down their player. We have to use our hands more.”
On the other side, Venezuela has won just one of its four qualifying matches dating back to November of 2022, with its lone win a 115-70 victory coming against the Bahamas in February 2023. Venezuela won two games in the first round of the 2019 Cup, though, so don’t count the squad out.
“This is a very difficult process, perhaps people don’t understand it, we play with top-level teams,” point guard Heissler Guillent of Venezuela said about the competition in World Cup play. Cape Verde and Georgia round out the other two teams in Group F, but it will get much tougher after that.
“The group stage for Slovenia (against Venezuela, Georgia, and Cape Verde) should be peaches and cream. The competition will get stiffer from there, though. But if Luka and Slovenia can catch a heater at the right moment, they could beat anyone,” The Ringer’s Seerat Sohi wrote on August 24.
Here’s a look at the rosters for both teams heading into their first round matchup:
Slovenia: Ziga Samar, Aleksej Nikolic, Klemen Prepelic, Mike Tobey, Jaka Blazic, Gregor Hrovat, Ziga Dimec, Zoran Dragic, Bine Prepelic, Gregor Glas, Jokib Cebasek, Luka Doncic
Venezuela: Michael Carrera, Luis Carrillo, Pedro Chourio, Anyelo Cisneros, Nestor Colmenares, David Cubillan, Windi Graterol, Heissler Guillent, Andres Marrero, Edgar Martinez, Jose Materan, Enrique Medina, Anthony Perez, Franger Pirela, Fabrizio Pugliatti, Miguel Ruiz, Yohanner Sifontes, Garly Sojo, Kender Urbina, Gergory Vargas, Jhornan Zamora
Along with a look at the FIBA 2023 World Cup Schedule:
- August 25: Opening ceremony in Manila, Philippines
- August 25-31: First round
- September 1-4: Second round
- September 5-8: Quarterfinals
- September 9: Semifinals
- September 10: Final in Jakarta, Indonesia
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