Victoria Olympic hoops fest likely a go
But what qualifying tournament will look like remains anyone’s guess
Clint Hamilton never thought he would be closely monitoring the words of people as diverse as Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, NBA commissioner Adam Silver and B.C. health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
“In the summer of next year, Japan is determined to host the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games as proof that humanity has defeated the pandemic,” Suga told the U.N. General Assembly last week. “I will continue to spare no effort in order to welcome you to Games that are safe and secure.”
Up to 75 Island-based Olympians and Paralympians are preparing for Tokyo 2020 Plus One under that assumption.
That also means the rescheduled FIBA Olympic men’s basketball qualifier next year from
June 22 to July 4 at Save-onFoods Memorial Centre, chaired by Hamilton, is likely a go.
But what it will look like, in terms of number of spectators allowed in, if any, and the planned city-wide festival aspects, is anyone’s guess.
So, too, are the rosters of Canada, Greece, China, Uruguay, Czech Republic and Turkey. With the 2020-21 NBA season not expected to start until January, the playoffs will be pushed into
summer, limiting the number of NBA players available to their national teams to likely those who missed the playoffs.
Quarantine rules for the players, if still in effect at that time, will also have to be worked out between FIBA and the health departments of Canada, Croatia, Lithuania and Serbia, which are hosting the qualifying tournaments that will decide the final four teams to the 2020 Plus One Tokyo Olympics.
That’s a lot to chew on for the Victoria organizing committee. It had expected at this moment to be basking in the afterglow of a successfully hosted tournament that propelled NBA player-laden Canada to the podium at Tokyo 2020.
More than 2,700 full tournament passes had been sold for last June’s originally scheduled qualifying tournament with single-game tickets expected to be gobbled up quickly when they became available. Then the IOC announced on March 24 that the Tokyo Olympics would be postponed to 2021.
Every sports organizing committee and league must work within the realities of the situation. That’s what the NHL, NBA, NFL, MLB, MLS, European soccer and even the CPL, with Pacific FC, did in conducting seasons in various forms. “We expect the Tokyo Games to proceed and are planning for a number of scenarios for the qualifying tournament,” said Hamilton. “That’s sports in the era of COVID.”
There is much to consider. “Obviously, the NBA schedule will have a significant impact, and Dr. Bonnie Henry regarding the health parameters at that time,” said Hamilton.
“We are still working hard on the We The West Festival to run alongside the tournament. We remain hopeful of delivering what we originally envisioned.”
Or something close to it, in a best case. The Victoria organizing committee knows so much is out of its control. You do what you can.
Canada has not won an Olympic medal in men’s basketball since Victorians Doug Peden and Art and Chuck Chapman captured silver at Berlin in 1936. Canada has not been to the Olympics in men’s hoops since two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash of Victoria captained the national side at Sydney in 2000. There are high hopes the socalled current Golden Generation of Canadian NBA players will end those droughts.
The notable era previous to Nash’s run to Sydney 2000 was when University of Victoria stars Eli Pasquale, Gerald Kazanowski and Greg Wiltjer got Canada to the semifinals at Los Angeles in 1984. Pasquale and Kazanowski followed up with sixth place at Seoul in 1988.