GENEVA, June 13 (Xinhua) -- FIBA has announced the launch of FIBA Esports Open 2020, the first ever international E-sports competition for national teams organized by the world basketball governing body.

The inaugural series of exhibition e-basketball games will take place from June 19 to 21. The participants include Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Cyprus, Indonesia, Italy, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, New Zealand, the Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine.

Each team will consist of seven players, five on the court and two reserves. Games will be played remotely on NBA 2K, allowing full customization of player uniforms and arena designs.

"FIBA is extremely proud and excited to start its esports journey with the FIBA Esports Open 2020, a pilot project of exhibition games between national teams in collaboration with NBA 2K," said Frank Leenders, director general of FIBA Media and Marketing Services.

"In these challenging times, we feel encouraged by the enthusiasm of some of our national federations who are already active in this space and have been our charter partners during the last few months," Leenders added.