A TICKET to France for the 2024 Paris Olympics will be up for grabs for Asian teams competing in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, and a possible meeting between China and the Philippines could be pivotal.
Gilas Pilipinas is in Group A with Italy, Dominican Republic, and Angola, while China is in Group B with South Sudan, Serbia, and Puerto Rico. The two groups will then merge for the second group stage (top two) or for the classification phase (bottom two).
READ: Dordevic says Gilas 'lacking in quality'
In 2019, no Asian squad made it to the second group stage, so any Asian squad that picks up two wins in the first group stage will be a heavy favorite for one ticket allotted for the region to the Paris Games.
Jordan is in an unbelievably difficult group with Team USA, New Zealand, and Greece, and Japan will need all the help it can get against Germany, Finland, and Australia, especially with Rui Hachimura not in the lineup..
Iran is grouped with Spain, Brazil, and Cote d’Ivoire, and Lebanon will be a heavy underdog against Canada, Latvia, and France.
Asian teams only scored wins against other Asian or African squads in the last FIBA Basketball World Cup, so the Philippines, China, and Iran got a bit of luck from the draw.
If the Philippines and China perform similarly in the first group stage, then a meeting will be inevitable.
Back in 2019, Iran finished with the same 2-3 win-loss record as China, but Iran qualified for the Olympics due to a better points difference. It was a frustrating finish for the Chinese side as the team had high hopes, being the host of the tournament.
Now China is out for revenge led by Serbian head coach Sasha Dordevic and 2016 NBA draftees Wang Zhelin and Zhou Qi.
Incidentally, Dordevic, then coaching Serbia, said Gilas "was obviously lacking in quality" after a 126-67 rout of the Filipinos at the 2019 World Cup in Foshan.
However, Gilas Pilipinas, already hard at work at home following its European training camp, is out to make the most of homecourt advantage as it targets to win as many games as possible in front of the Filipino fans.
Both Gilas Pilipinas and China will play all their group stage games, including their possible matchup, at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
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