1959 FIBA World Championship

The 1959 FIBA World Championship was the third time countries came together to compete in the world's biggest basketball tournament for national teams. It took place in Chile from January 16 to January 31, 1959. Many exciting games were played in cities like Antofagasta, Concepción, Temuco, and Valparaíso, with the final matches held in the capital city, Santiago.

Originally, the final games were planned to be held in a new indoor stadium called the Metropolitan Indoor Stadium. However, the stadium wasn’t ready when the tournament was supposed to start, so the games had to be moved outside to the Estadio Nacional de Chile. Even with this change, the event was very popular, with crowds of at least 16,000 people watching the games.

One of the star players of the tournament was Amaury Antônio Pasos, who was chosen as the Most Valuable Player, or MVP, for his amazing skills and performance during the championship. This event helped bring countries together through the love of basketball and showed the world the excitement of international competition.

Competing nations

Competition format

In the 1959 FIBA World Championship, teams first played in three groups of four. Each team in a group played against the others once. The top two teams from each group moved on to the final round, while the bottom two teams went to the classification round.

In the classification round, teams were split into two new groups of three. They played each other once again. The winners of these groups played for eighth place, the runners-up played for tenth place, and the last teams played for twelfth place. In the final round, the top two teams from the preliminary groups played each other once, and the team with the best record won the championship.

Preliminary round

Group A

Source: FIBA archive points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.

Group B

Source: FIBA archive points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
Notes:

Group C

Source: FIBA archive points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.

Classification round

First round

Group D

The first round of the 1959 FIBA World Championship had many games played in Group D. Teams were ranked by points, head-to-head points, goal average, and points scored.

Source: FIBA archive points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.

Group E

Group E also had many games played during the first round. Teams were ranked using the same rules as Group D.

Source: FIBA archive points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.

Second round

Twelfth place playoff

The twelfth place playoff had several matches to decide the final rankings.

Tenth place playoff

The tenth place playoff also had matches to determine the rankings.

Eighth place playoff

The eighth place playoff determined the final positions for those teams.

Final round

The final round of the 1959 FIBA World Championship featured the top teams competing for the championship title. The event took place in several cities in Chile, with the final games held in Santiago, the capital.

The standings were determined by points earned, head-to-head results, and other tie-breaking rules. Chile, as the host nation, was one of the teams in the final round.

Source: FIBA archive points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
(C) Champions; (H) Hosts
Notes:

Awards

The 1959 FIBA World Championship had awards for the best players. Amaury Antônio Pasos was chosen as the Most Valuable Player, or MVP, of the tournament. This means he was one of the top players in the competition.

Final standings

Top scorers (points per game)

Here are the players who scored the most points on average during the 1959 FIBA World Championship:

1. James T. L. Chen (Formosa) 20.1 points per game
2. Juan "Pachin" Vicens (Puerto Rico) 19.7 points per game
3. Wlamir Marques (Brazil) 18.6 points per game
4. Jerry Vayda (USA) 18 points per game
5. Lio Jin Ron (Formosa) 16.7 points per game
6. Dick Welsh (USA) 16.4 points per game
7. Viktor Radev (Bulgaria) 15.25 points per game
8. Amaury Pasos (Brazil) 15.22 points per game
9. Jose Angel Cestero (Puerto Rico) 14.3 points per game
10. Evelio Droz (Puerto Rico) 13.7 points per game

All-Tournament team

Main article: FIBA Basketball World Cup All-Tournament Team

The All-Tournament team listed some of the best players from the championship. These players stood out for their great skills and performance during the event.