The final games were supposed to be conducted at the newly constructedMetropolitan Indoor Stadium, but because the venue was not finished in time, competition was postponed by a year from the original date. Organizers moved outdoors to theEstadio Nacional de Chile, where the events were watched at by a crowd of at least 16,000.
Preliminary round: Three groups of four teams play each other once; top two teams progress to the final round, bottom two teams relegated to classification round.
Classification round:
First round: Two groups of three teams (A1, B2, C1 and A2, B1, C2) play each other once.
Second round: Top teams from each group play for eighth, second placers play for tenth, and last placers play for twelfth.
Final round: All top two from preliminary round group play each other once. The team with the best record wins the championship.
^abFIBA demoted the Soviet Union and Bulgaria to the bottom two places after they refused to play against Formosa, forfeiting the game,due to political reasons.