The 1959 FIBA World Championship was the 3rd FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. It was hosted by Chile from 16 to 31 January 1959. Amaury Antônio Pasos was named the MVP.
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.
Competing nations
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.
Preliminary round
Group A
Source: FIBA archive Rules for classification: 1) 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 Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored. Notes:
^ a b cHead-to-head record: Brazil 1–1 (1.06 GAvg), Soviet Union 1–1 (1.00 GAvg), Canada 1–1 (0.94 GAvg)
Group C
Source: FIBA archive Rules for classification: 1) 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
Source: FIBA archive Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
Group E
Source: FIBA archive Rules for classification: 1) 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
Tenth place playoff
Eighth place playoff
Final round
Source: FIBA archive Rules for classification: 1) 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:
^ a bHead-to-head record: Chile 1–0 Formosa
^ a bFIBA demoted the Soviet Union and Bulgaria to the bottom two places after they refused to play against Formosa, forfeiting the game, due to political reasons.
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