5 countries that could surprise at FIBA World Cup

Many of basketball's top stars have pulled out of the FIBA World Cup to prepare for the upcoming NBA campaign.

The U.S. and Canada have been hit hardest, while Australia and the Dominican Republic have lost key pieces in Ben Simmons and Karl-Anthony Towns, respectively.

With plenty of marquee names absent, the tournament is suddenly more wide open than it has been in recent years.

Here are five countries that could capitalize on the opportunity and surprise in China:

Japan

Japan returns to the World Cup for the first time since hosting the 32-team tournament in 2006. The nation will field one of its strongest squads in quite some time, led by Washington Wizards lottery pick Rui Hachimura and Memphis Grizzlies small forward Yuta Watanabe. Both players were unavailable for most of the Asian qualifiers but were highly productive when they did suit up.

Hachimura is coming off a standout junior season at Gonzaga, during which he averaged 19.7 points on 59.1 percent shooting - including a 41.7 percent clip from distance - and earned consensus first-team All-American honors. The 21-year-old also claimed the Julius Erving Award as the nation's top small forward. Hachimura's inside-out game should pair nicely with a similarly versatile Watanabe, who demonstrated great playmaking, energy on the glass, and ball-handling during his G League rookie season.

Japan was top-five among Asian countries in multiple offensive categories during qualifiers, including field-goal percentage, 3-point percentage, and free-throw percentage. The full-time additions of Hachimura and Watanabe should only bolster its offensive firepower.

Nigeria

Nigeria's mix of youth and veterans should form a serious contender to advance out of Group B and perhaps even further, considering the weaker Group A nations it could meet in the following round.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Josh Okogie and Louisville star Jordan Nwora are set to usher in a new era of Nigerian basketball. Okogie started 52 games during his rookie NBA season and showed plenty of promise at both ends with his athleticism and quickness. Nwora, meanwhile, had a breakthrough sophomore year with the Cardinals, averaging 17 points and 7.6 boards per contest to win the ACC's Most Improved Player award.

Veteran wing Al-Farouq Aminu gives D'Tigers a solid perimeter defender who can guard multiple positions with his length, while 35-year-old forward Ike Diogu remains productive after posting 15.5 points and 6.3 boards per contest across 12 African qualifiers. Nigeria bulldozed its way to the World Cup with a 10-2 record in qualifying play and topped all competing nations in points (89.4) and assists (19.5) per game.

Montenegro

Montenegro has yet to make a mark in international play during its brief history as an independent country, but that could change with All-Star center Nikola Vucevic in the fold. The Orlando Magic big man posted career highs in points (20.8), rebounds (12), assists (3.8), and three-point percentage (36.4) this past campaign.

Vucevic's post skills are a huge asset in FIBA play, where big men tend to dominate on smaller courts featuring more physicality and less spacing. His ability to create for others gives the 28th-ranked country the option to run its offense through him in the post or in pick-and-roll situations, as the Magic often did last season. Power forward Bojan Dubljevic, who led the team in points (18.2) and rebounds (6.8) per contest across six European qualifiers, will assist Vucevic in the frontcourt.

Montenegro's pre-World Cup performances give cause for optimism. The country dropped an eight-point decision to third-ranked France after leading by eight heading into the fourth quarter, as a full-strength Les Bleus squad needed a final-frame rally despite an off-game from Vucevic. Fifth-ranked Argentina also had some trouble against Montenegro before eventually pulling away in the second half for an eight-point exhibition win.

Germany

Dennis Schroder spearheads Germany's medal aspirations. The Oklahoma City Thunder point guard averaged 23.5 points and 7.5 assists per contest during qualifiers and should carry the bulk of the offensive load again in China. Schroder is one of the fastest players in the Association and Germany head coach Henrik Rodl has done a good job surrounding him with players who can perform at a similarly high pace.

Germany's offense was also quite formidable without Schroder for two-thirds of qualifying. The 22nd-ranked country posted a 9-3 record and led all European nations with 84.8 points per game. Daniel Theis of the Boston Celtics and Maxi Kleber of the Dallas Mavericks should provide some secondary scoring and rebounding, while the reserve unit features sharpshooter Niels Giffey and Washington Wizards 2018 second-round pick Isaac Bonga.

The Germans are well-positioned to advance out of Group G ahead of 18th-ranked Dominican Republic - which is without Towns and Al Horford - and 49th-ranked Jordan. Die Mannschaft also has the added confidence of a win over group favorite France in the round of 16 at EuroBasket 2017.

Philippines

The Philippines posted a 1-4 record in the preliminary round in Spain five years ago, but three of those defeats were by four points or fewer. Gilas Pilipinas will count on the lessons learned from that experience to vault into the second round.

Naturalized citizen Andray Blatche is among the returning players and will be the go-to offensive option once again. The 32-year-old was one of the top performers in the last World Cup, averaging 21.2 points and a tournament-leading 13.8 boards across five appearances. Five-time Philippine Basketball Association MVP June Mar Fajardo will likely spell Blatche and occasionally play alongside him, giving the Filipinos another rim-protecting big man who can produce offensively and crash the boards.

The biggest X-factor could be point guard Kiefer Ravena, who's set to succeed longtime national team members Jimmy Alapag and Jayson Castro as the Philippines' floor general. The 25-year-old is coming off an 18-month FIBA suspension for a failed drug test but looked very much ready to take the reins beforehand: Ravena was sixth in tournament scoring at the 2017 FIBA Asia Champions Cup, posting 20.6 points per contest on 53 percent shooting from the floor.