MONTEGO BAY, St James — Jamaica will open its FIBA Americas championships quest on the opening day, August 30, against Canada in the opening game of four scheduled for the Poliedro in Caracas, Venezuela.

The tournament, which is a qualifier for the FIBA World Championships to be held next year in Paris, France, will be held August 30 to September 11 and will see each team play four games in their first-round groups with the top two advancing to the semi-finals.

A semi-final finish will guarantee a place in the World Championships with the top four from the Americas tournament automatically qualifying.

Jamaica are in Group A where they will face Canada, Uruguay on August 31, Puerto Rico on September 2 and Brazil on September 3.

Group B will see Mexico, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Paraguay and Argentina.

Jamaica, who are expected to significantly bolster their team for the trip to Venezuela, qualified for the FIBA Americas after a historic third place in the Centro basketball tournament in Puerto Rico last year, beating Panama 78-54 in the third-place play-offs.