MANILA – Gilas Pilipinas will have a chance at qualifying for the men’s basketball competition of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics scheduled for late July.
The national men’s basketball team earned an invitation from the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) to take part in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament set on June 29 to July 4 at the Stark Arena in Belgrade, Serbia following the withdrawal of New Zealand.
Basketball New Zealand, in a statement on Friday afternoon, announced its pullout from the qualifier due to “the spike in the number of high-performance events and the costs of sending teams abroad.”
The Philippines, which ranks 31st in FIBA rankings, was tapped to replace the 19th ranked New Zealand. “The Philippines will replace New Zealand at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2020 in Belgrade, Serbia as the next best team from the Asia-Oceania Region in the FIBA World Ranking Men,” FIBA said in a statement last night.
The chance to compete in the Tokyo Olympics qualifier became a surprise for Gilas Pilipinas after a win-less campaign by the Joseller “Yeng” Guiao-mentored crew in the FIBA World Cup in China in 2019.
Gilas Pilipinas will be grouped with host Serbia and the Dominican Republic in the qualifying tournament. The top two teams will crossover with the top two of the group of Puerto Rico, Italy and Senegal. Only one Olympic slot is up for grabs in the qualifier.
Japan and Iran have already qualified for the Asia-Oceania region of the Tokyo Olympics. China will compete in the qualifier in Victoria, Canada while South Korea is part of the qualifier in Kaunas, Lithuania.
Aside from Gilas Pilipinas, the Philippines will also have a representative in the Tokyo Olympics 3×3 basketball qualification tournament set in Graz, Austria from May 26 to 30.
The quartet of San Miguel Beermen’s Moala Tautuaa and Jaymar Perez and incoming Philippine Basketball Association rookie aspirants Joshua Munzon and Alvin Pasaol will head the country’s 3×3 team./PN
