SAPPORO -- The world's best have finally found their way to northern Japan.
The FIBA World Championship gets under way on Saturday, and teams arrived their sites on Thursday, including the Hokkaido-based American and Chinese teams.
In Sapporo, the venue for Group D, all six teams -- China, Italy, Slovenia, Senegal, Puerto Rico and the United States -- held light one-hour practice sessions Thursday, trying to get the feel of the wooden floor at Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center.