Your guide to the FIBA OQT in Manila

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines will once again play host to a major international basketball tournament when it mounts the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. 

The tournament will see a total of 6 nations, including the host, vie for the lone ticket to the Rio Olympics basketball tilt this August. 

Here, Rappler walks you through all the important information for one of the biggest basketball competitions for 2016.

When and where will this take place? 

The tournament in the Philippines will run from July 5 to 10 with all games to be played at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. 

Why is this happening and what is at stake? 

The qualifiers serve as the final opportunity for teams to make it to the basketball Olympics. During the dates mentioned above, 3 tournaments in the Philippines, Italy, and Serbia will happen simultaneously where 3 winners – one from each competition – will make it to Rio. 

Teams participating in the tournaments are runners-up in their respective continental championships, where they failed to secure outright berths. 

At stake for every nation is a chance to compete on the grand Olympics stage. 

For the Philippines and Gilas Pilipinas in particular, the goal is to make history and break a 44-year dry spell of missing the basketball Olympics. The world was still dealing with life post-The Beatles break-up in 1972 when the Philippines last played hoops against the world at the Olympics. 

Winning the OQT is also another huge step forward in the country’s mission to be a strong contender in Asia and to leave an impression with its personal brand of passionate basketball.

Which teams will be participating?

In Manila, the 6 teams are:

Group A: 

• Turkey
• Senegal
• Canada

Group B:

• France
• New Zealand
• Philippines 

A full list of participants in the other OQTs can be found below.

What about the tournament format? 

With a small number of teams competing, the format is a very simple one. This FIBA infographic sums up how it will work.

And the schedule? 

The competition format is also reflected on the schedule. Check out this graphic for dates and times of games.

How about ticket prices? 

Below are prices of tickets, which you can purchase through SM Tickets.

Group Phase ticket prices:

General Admission – P200
Upper Box – P400
Lower Box – P6,800
Patron – P8,500
VIP – P10,000

Semifinals Phase ticket prices

General Admission – P200
Upper Box – P400
Lower Box – P8,000
Patron – P10,000
VIP – P12,000

Finals tickets prices:

General Admission – P200
Upper Box – P400
Lower Box – P10,000
Patron P12,000
VIP – P14,000

Will there be NBA players? 

There most certainly will be NBA players to admire and cheer on. 

Although a number of stars such as Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett, Andrew Nicholson, Dwight Powell, and Nik Stauskas from Canada as well as Evan Fournier, Ian Mahinmi, and Rudy Gobert from France won’t be around, there will still be guys like France’s Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs) and Nicolas Batum (Charlotte Hornets) to look forward to.

Canada will also have Toronto Raptors’ guard Corey Joseph and Detroit Pistons forward Joel Anthony. Newly-minted NBA champion Tristan Thompson of the Cleveland Cavaliers is reportedly also set to play for Canada. 

There is also Omer Asik of the New Orleans Pelicans suiting up for Turkey. 

Where else can I follow the games and results? 

Rappler will be liveblogging and livetweeting the entire OQT from start to finish. You can visit rappler.com/gilasoqt for the latest live blogs, stories, photos, and videos for the tournament. 

We will keep you updated as well through Twitter via @RapplerSports. – Rappler.com