Luck of draw big factor in Olympic qualifiers

MANILA, Philippines - If the Philippines wins the bid to host one of three FIBA Olympic qualifying tournaments on July 4-10 next year, the homecrowd will be as critical a factor as the luck of the draw.

FIBA will conduct a “modified” draw at the House of Basketball in Mies, near Geneva, Switzerland on Jan. 26 to determine where the 18 countries seeking a berth at the 2016 Rio Olympics are playing. The 18 countries will be split six to each of the three tournaments and the luck of the draw could situate the Philippines in either a Group of Death or a Group of Life.

So far, 15 of the 18 countries are known – five from Europe (the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Italy and Serbia), one from Oceania (New Zealand) and three each from Asia (the Philippines, Iran, Japan), Africa (Angola, Senegal, Tunisia) and the Americas (Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico). The three additional countries will be named when FIBA announces the three hosts on Jan. 19.

FIBA provided for three additional slots in the Olympic qualifiers for hosts. If a host is chosen from among the 15 seeds, the next available highest-placer finisher in its continent will move up. If a host is chosen not from among the 15 seeds, it will automatically play in the qualifiers. Only six countries are in contention to host, namely, the Czech Republic (Prague), Germany (Hamburg), Italy (Turin), the Philippines (Manila), Serbia (Belgrade) and 2010 FIBA World Cup host Turkey (no city specified). Germany and Turkey are not among the 15 seeds.

“Having a sixth man in the stadium is a plus for Gilas,” said SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan. “And a big plus for Filipino fans and our country.” When Manila hosted the FIBA Asia Championships in 2013, the Philippines made it to the final but lost to Iran with naturalized player Marcus Douthit on the sidelines. The fans provided Gilas a huge boost.

Pangilinan said the luck of the draw is a major factor. “If we’re unlucky, we might get the strong teams like Greece and Serbia,” he said. “That’s beyond my control.” FIBA clarified that the “modified” draw, as opposed to an “open” draw, will consider geographical and quality principles to balance the competition in the three tournaments. Only the winner of each tournament will book a ticket to Rio.

The tournament will follow a blitz format. The six teams will be divided into two brackets of three. Groupmates will play each other once in the three-day preliminaries. Then, the top two finishers of each bracket advance to the knockout semifinals with the winners to dispute the Olympic slot.

The Philippines played three countries seeded in the Olympic qualifiers at the FIBA World Cup last year. Gilas beat Senegal, 81-79, in overtime and lost to Greece, 82-70, and Puerto Rico, 77-73.

Greece is bannered by three NBA mainstays, namely 7-0 Kosta Koufos of the Sacramento Kings, 6-8 Kostas Papanikolaou of the Denver Nuggets and 6-11 Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks. Also in the roster is 6-5 Nick Calathes, formerly of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Serbia’s stars are 6-10 Nemanja Bjelica of the Minnesota Timberwolves, 6-6 Bogdan Bogdanovic of the Turkish club Fenerbache and 2014 FIBA World Cup mythical five pick 6-5 Milos Teodosic.

“It would be great if Serbia could host one of the Olympic qualifying tournaments,” said Teodosic. “The gym would be full. People in Serbia love basketball. I think if we play in Belgrade, we would have a better chance to go to the Olympics. The qualifiers are a great opportunity for teams who could not get the spots from EuroBasket and other tournaments to have another chance to get to the Olympics. This is a dream for all of us – to go to the Olympics. My generation has never been to the Olympics. Playing for the national team helps each player to have confidence, especially if you play good and go far in that championship.”