Gilas path toward Paris Games known Tuesday

Gilas Pilipinas will finally know its path toward a dream return to the Summer Games in the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament draw at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball on Tuesday, Nov. 28 (Manila time).

The Nationals are joined by 23 other teams who qualified to the OQT through its performance in the 2023 FIBA World Cup and a series of pre-qualifying tournaments. The teams will then be divided into four tournaments across the globe where winners will secure the coveted four remaining slots in the Paris Games next year.

Under the draw principles which are made to preserve the geographical balance across the four tournaments, there are only two European teams in each group and not more than three European squads in each tournament.

Americas, Asia and Oceania, and Africa must also have one team in each tournament. Teams are seeded in six different pots based on the current FIBA men’s world ranking with Gilas placed in Pot 5 alongside Croatia, Ivory Coast and Angola.

Pots 1, 4 and 5 will feed the Group As while Pots 2, 3 and 6 will fill the Group Bs.

This means Gilas is facing a tall mountain to climb in the tournament as it can be grouped with European powerhouses like Spain, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia which are in Pot 1, and New Zealand, Georgia, Mexico and Lebanon. The Nationals can be grouped against two European teams or one from Europe and America. 

In the 2020 OQT, Gilas was grouped with Serbia and the Dominican Republic. The Nationals lost both games but not without a fight with a young crew led by Kai Sotto and Dwight Ramos under head coach Tab Baldwin putting up a gallant stand against foes ranked way higher in the world rankings.

Over at the other pots, Brazil, Italy, Greece and Poland comprised Pot 2, while Pot 3 has Puerto Rico, Montenegro, Dominican Republic and Finland. Pot 6 included Egypt and pre-qualifying tournament champions Bahamas, Cameroon and Bahrain.