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MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines tries to make the most of another chance to earn an Olympic men’s basketball spot.
Gilas Pilipinas hopes to break the country’s 52-year Olympic drought as the national team sees action in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) from July 2 to 7 in Riga, Latvia.
The Philippines got bunched with host Latvia and Georgia in Group A during the draw held at the FIBA headquarters in Mies, Switzerland, on Monday, November 27 (Tuesday, November 28, Manila time).
Brazil, Cameroon, and Montenegro will play in Group B of the tournament leg, where only the top team will claim a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Other cities hosting OQT qualifiers include Valencia, Spain; Piraeus, Greece; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Gilas Pilipinas could have gained direct qualification to the 2024 Olympiad during the FIBA World Cup in Manila last August had the team finished as the highest-ranked Asian team.
World Cup co-host Japan, though, nosed out the Philippines to clinch the lone outright Asian spot for the Paris Olympics.
FIBA World Cup champion Germany and Serbia claimed the direct qualification berths from Europe, defending Olympic champion USA and Canada from the Americas, South Sudan from Africa, and Australia from Oceania. France also qualified as host.
Four more spots will be up for grabs during the OQT, where a total of 24 teams will see action in the four legs – 19 by virtue of their placing in the FIBA World Cup and five from the FIBA OQT Pre-Qualifying Tournaments last August.
Here are the groups:
It’s the Philippines’ third consecutive FIBA OQT participation, the first also as a host in Manila in 2016, and the next as a last-minute replacement in Belgrade, Serbia in 2021.
Gilas Pilipinas, then mentored by current Ateneo Blue Eagles coach Tab Baldwin, has yet to win a game in the qualifiers.
In the 2016 edition in Manila, Tony Parker led France to a 4-0 record, beating out Canada, New Zealand, Turkey, and Senegal for an Olympic spot in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Italy also advanced to the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 after besting host Serbia, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the Philippines. – Rappler.com
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