HALIFAX, NS - Canada Basketball, in partnership with Sport and Entertainment Atlantic, announced that the Scotiabank Centre in downtown Halifax will host the first Senior Men's National Team home game of the new FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifiers.

Canada will open the qualifying process on Friday, November 24, 2017 against Bahamas with tip-off scheduled for 8:00 pm AST.  Tickets for the event are on sale through Ticket Atlantic and range in price from $10 for students and youth to $50 for court side seating.

"Canada Basketball is excited to begin our road to China by hosting our first qualifying game in Halifax.  The introduction of the new FIBA system allows us to showcase our national team to Canadians from coast-to-coast-to-coast and put Canada on display as a world-class destination for international basketball events," said Michele O'Keefe, President & CEO, Canada Basketball

The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifier will be a festival of basketball that will also feature an Atlantic University Sport (AUS) men's game between Acadia University and St. Francis Xavier University.

"We are thrilled to welcome the first FIBA World Cup Qualifying game for Team Canada to Halifax," said Derek Martin, President, Sports & Entertainment Atlantic. As the return of the Final 8 demonstrated, Halifax loves premier Basketball events and we are excited to continue showcasing the very best of amateur basketball."

Along with the doubleheader, Canada Basketball and Basketball Nova Scotia will also be hosting a Steve Nash Youth Basketball Clinic and a coaching clinic among other events leading up to the games.

Beginning in November 2017, the Qualifiers will establish a new road to the FIBA Basketball World Cup China 2019.  The new format will take place over the course of six windows and feature the world's top 80 national teams playing 1,200 games in front of millions of fans all around the globe.

During the first phase, Canada will play home and away games against Bahamas, Dominican Republic and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  The top three teams in the pool following the first phase will move onto a second phase of competition against three new FIBA Americas opponents.

At the conclusion of the six windows, the top seven teams overall in the Americas Region will advance to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China from August 31 - September 15.

Canada's Senior Men's National Team are currently ranked 24th in the world and 8th in the Americas Region.

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