Phl, Italy, Serbia, Angola in elims
SHENZHEN – The Philippines will join Italy, Angola and Serbia in the first round of World Cup eliminations following the FIBA 32-nation draw last night here.
The top finisher among five Asian countries, excluding Japan, in the FIBA World Cup on Aug. 31-Sept. 15 will claim an automatic ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Eight countries will represent Asia/ Oceania in the 32-nation World Cup where the first round of competition is scheduled in eight different cities in China. Aside from host China, the seven qualifiers from the combined region are Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Iran, Japan, Jordan and the Philippines.
In qualifying for the Olympics, Australia and New Zealand will be reclassified under Oceania, leaving South Korea, Iran, Jordan, the Philippines and China to dispute the Asian ticket with host Japan assured of a slot. The top Asian finisher in the World Cup will be awarded an outright berth in the Tokyo Games.
The top African finisher, the top two Americas finishers, the top two European finishers, the top Oceania finisher and the top Asian finisher in the World Cup will gain automatic entry into the Olympics. The luck of the draw will play a role in determining how far certain countries go in the race for Olympic slots among contenders in the five FIBA zones.
Before the draw, the Philippines was assigned to Pot 6 with Canada, Montenegro and South Korea. That meant Gilas will play the first round in one of four possible cities – Wuhan, Foshan, Nanjing and Dongguan. It also meant the Philippines will not be in the same bracket as Canada, Montenegro or South Korea.
Under the seeding process, the Philippines was in a group with three of the following 11 countries – Serbia, Argentina, Lithuania, Greece, Russia, Brazil, Italy, Nigeria, Senegal, New Zealand and Angola. The 12 countries which the Philippines will not face in the first round are China, US, Spain, France, Puerto Rico, Turkey, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Tunisia and Ivory Coast.
“Anything can happen,” said SBP president Al Panlilio. “If we’re able to advance to the second round and the other five Asian countries, for some reason, don’t, then we go to the Olympics. If the other five Asian countries land in groups where the opposition is formidable, they may not make it to the second round. In our case, we just have to be prepared to deal with the teams we’re drawn to play.”