The Philippine national men’s basketball team drew some tough luck after finding themselves grouped with powerhouse squads in the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila in July.
The tournament draw was conducted in FIBA’s House of Basketball in Switzerland on early Wednesday morning in the Philippines.
Gilas Pilipinas is going to face former European champions France, expected to be led by NBA players Tony Parker, Boris Diaw and Nicolas Batum, and Oceania runner-up New Zealand in Group B of the Manila tournament.
Teams that will also travel to the Philippines on July 4 to July 10 are Canada, which boasts of young NBA star Andrew Wiggins, Turkey and Senegal which are bracketed in Group A of the competition.
| OQT BELGRADE | OQT MANILA | OQT TURIN |
|---|---|---|
| Group A | Group A | Group A |
| Serbia | Turkey | Greece |
| Angola | Senegal | Mexico |
| Puerto Rico | Canada | Iran |
| Group B | Group B | Group B |
| Japan | France | Tunisia |
| Czech Republic | New Zealand | Croatia |
| Latvia | Philippines | Italy |
Each group will play in a round-robin basis, with the top two advancing to the knockout stages.
Matches will be played at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Filipinos are aiming to win the tournament to advance to the 2016 Rio Olympics, a stage the country hasn’t reached for the past 44 years.
WATCH FIBA OLYMPIC QUALIFYING DRAW VIDEO
source: interaskyon.com
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