THE Philippines rose one rank higher to No. 37 in the latest Fiba World Ranking Men following the first window of the continental qualifiers across the world.
Gilas Pilipinas overtook Nigeria after the sweep of the first window of the Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers where they defeated Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei, both in blowout fashion.
The Philippines is the top Fiba Asia team to climb in the Fiba standing with Australia (5) dropping one spot, and New Zealand (21), Japan (26), Iran (27), Lebanon (28), China (29), and Jordan (32) staying in their previous rankings released after the Fiba Basketball World Cup last year.
Korea also rose one place to No. 50.
Gilas Pilipinas is scheduled to see action in another Fiba tournament in July, the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia where it will take on host Latvia and Georgia in the group stage.
If the Philippines ends up in the top two, Gilas will face either Brazil, Cameroon, or Montenegro in the semifinals and for the right to play for the lone Olympic berth in the tournament.
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