Eyes on Manila as qualifier begins
THE PHILIPPINES’ capacity as host and as a competing basketball nation is to be spotlighted beginning today as the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament raises its curtains here in Manila.
At play until July 10, the highprofile event will see France, Turkey, New Zealand, Canada, the Philippines and Senegal slug it out for the solitary Olympic spot up for grabs. Venue is the Mall of Asia Arena.
A spot is also at stake in the two other FIBA qualifiers to be played simultaneously in Turin, Italy, and Belgrade, Serbia.
In the Manila qualifier, lumped in Group A are Turkey, Canada and Senegal while in Group B are France, New Zealand and the Philippines. The two top teams from each grouping advance to the semifinals.
Considering its “enormity,” one local basketball analyst said the Manila FIBA qualifier is undoubtedly a must-see event.
“Well, this is the first time we are hosting such event because this is the first time FIBA broke the OQT into three separate tournaments. In the past, they take just the top three out of 12 participants. Now they have 18 countries with a chance to make it to the Olympics,” said Tiebreaker Times basketball writer and analyst Levi Verora, Jr. in an interview with BusinessWorld.
“Outside of the obvious goal to make it to Rio, hosting-wise, we have to impress the basketball world and make them think that we really know how to handle events of such magnitude. Win or lose, I expect we get to host more events whether 3x3, regional, or continental level. Basketballwise, it’s a good way of seeing whether we can match the best countries in the world. We were competitive in the World Cup two years ago so hopefully the Philippine team does the same or even better,” he added.
While some of the National Basketball Association stars who were expected to backstop their respective national teams are not around, including Canada’s Andrew Wiggins, France’s Rudy Gobert, New Zealand’s Steven Adams and Senegal’s Gorgui Dieng, Mr. Verora said it hardly takes the luster off the Manila qualifier.
“I don’t think so. At the end of the day, this is basketball, and I think Gilas fans will just be happy to see their team compete. Plus, it’s still France, it’s still Canada, etc. even without some of their key players. You won’t see this kind of competition that often on home soil,” the analyst said.
Asked about Gilas Pilipinas’ chances, Mr. Verora said that while the Philippines is seemingly at a disadvantage, he is not counting it out outright.
“I think we have a good chance against either New Zealand or France even if we are at a disadvantage on paper. The last time we met France, we lost by just single digits. Against NZ we lost by just one. Much has changed after that in terms of the players’ skills. If we can get one win and advance, anything can happen from there,” the analyst said even as he touted the “well-constructed” unit Gilas has for the qualifier.
Who he thinks will emerge from the qualifier here? Mr. Verora said it is an open tournament.
“Canada and France are the clear favorites. I won’t be surprised if Turkey makes it but the thing is, if Gilas wins just one game, advances to the semifinals, anything can happen from there. We’ve seen a lot of upsets happen in the international basketball scene as well. This Gilas team is very capable of taking down giants.”
FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament games will be aired live over TV5 and online via Sports5.ph.