Gilas takes 31st in Fiba world ranking

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines jumped three rungs up to 31st in the FIBA World Ranking after Gilas Pilipinas’ 21st finish in the recent 2014 FIBA World Championship in Spain.

In the Asian ladder, the Philippines, the regional kingpin from the 50s to the early 70s, jumped past Lebanon to be at fifth, behind only China, Iran, Korea and Jordan.

The United States, Spain, Argentina and Lithuania keep the top four positions while France improved to fifth from eighth following its strong third-place finish in the Spanish joust.

Russia stayed at sixth place followed by Serbia, runner-up to Team USA in the 2014 Worlds, while Turkey, Brazil and Greece, which all easily made the knockout round of the last world meet, round up the Magic 10.

China fell two rungs down to 14th in the world ladder, its position as the top Asian team now under threat from Iran, now at No. 17 following a 20th finish in the World Cup.

Korea had its gains from its WC stint, moving past Jordan to be at No. 3 in the Asian ranking. The Koreans improved to 27th in the world leader board, a notch ahead of the Jordanians.

For Gilas coach Chot Reyes, a mystery was Korea’s bigger improvement than the Philippines’.

“I don’t understand how Korea went +4 and us only +3 when we placed better than them in the last three FIBA competitions,” said Reyes.

Basketball leaders hailed the country’s continued surge in the world ranking.

“It’s exciting time for Philippine basketball. From 34th to 31st is a big jump. Let’s aim for the Top 20 then Top 10,” said PBA board chairman Patrick Gregorio.

“The surge in world ranking means we can also expect a surge in the popularity of basketball in our country and of course our PBA league,” Gregorio also said. “(It’s) a great way to start the 40th season of the PBA. Rest assured, we will continue to support our Gilas Pilipinas.”

“The Philippines’ improvement in the world ranking calls for a careful assessment of how best we can build on this gain,” said PBA commissioner Chito Salud. “We can ask the question what and how can we do better with the current framework. While there’s a lot that can still be finetuned, what I do know is that when we open our hearts and minds to pursuing and achieving a worthy goal, creative and effective approaches emerge.”

Biggest climbers after the WC were Senegal (11 notches up to 30th), Dominican Republic (six up to 20th), Mexico (five up to 19th), Ukraine (five up to 40th) and Egypt (five up to 41st).

Biggest losers were Italy (15 down to 36th), Japan (11 down to 46th), Nigeria (six down to 26th), Greece (five down to No. 10) and Lebanon (five down to No. 34).

The Philippines has been on a steady rise since Samahang Basketbol ng PIlipinas took over from the Basketball Association of the Philippines the rein in Phl basketball.

Under the BAP, the country suffered the embarrassment of seeing the national team finished second to last from a 16-man draw in the Asian championship in 2003 in Harbin, China.

The Philippines improved to ninth in Tokushima in 2007, to eighth in Tianjin in 2009, fourth in Wuhan in 2011 and second in Manila last year.