The top six teams at the 1948 Summer Olympics qualified automatically, as did the winners of the 1950 FIBA World Championship (Argentina), the top two teams at the 1951 EuroBasket (USSR and Czechoslovakia), and the host country (Finland).

Thirteen other nations competed in a qualifying round to determine the last six places in the sixteen-team Olympic tournament.

Group C consisted of Canada, Italy, Turkey, Romania, and Egypt.

The closely contested decisive game ended with Egypt qualifying for the main competition and Italy being eliminated.

Each country was allowed to enter one team of 14 players and they all were eligible for participation.