DESPITE its defeat over South Sudan on Thursday, Gilas Pilipinas, believe it or not, can still make it to the Paris Olympics. But for it to happen, all the stars must align for the national team.
There is still another path for Gilas to enter the Olympics and that’s through the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament that will be held next year where 24 teams will be grouped into four, with the top team in each group going into the next round.
READ: How Gilas Pilipinas can save Olympic dream
But before going to the OQT, the Philippines must take care of business in the World Cup as they go up against China on Saturday.
But there is a new team that stands in the way of Gilas in its bid to make it to the OQT.
New Zealand now in the equation
Procedures of the OQT include that “one best next team from Africa, Americas, Asia/Oceania, and 16 following best next ranked teams from the World Cup” will be invited to play. These are the teams that have not gained outright passage into the 2024 Paris Olympics.
With that, Oceania team New Zealand has also come into the picture to Gilas Pilipinas’ bid to be invited to the OQT.
Among the teams that have 1-3 win-loss records in the World Cup, New Zealand has the best point difference with -36, making them in line to grab that “best next team from Asia/Oceania” slot. Despite a 0-4 record, Gilas Pilipinas still has a -42 point difference that remains better that other Asian teams Lebanon, China, Iran, and Jordan, and just within striking distance against New Zealand.
Lebanon also in the mix
Despite its own struggles in the group stage, Lebanon has also put itself in the mix of at least an OQT invite. The Cedars defeated Cote d’Ivoire, 94-84, to also join the teams with 1-3 win-loss record. The Wael Arakji and Omari Spellman-led Lebanon team play winless Iran on Saturday in Jakarta.
New Zealand faces Egypt on Saturday, 4:45 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena, on the day that Gilas Pilipinas will also play China at 8 p.m. at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. Lebanon will go up against Iran at 9:30 p.m. Manila time at the Indonesia Arena.
So on Saturday, a Philippines win over China, a New Zealand loss to Egypt, and a Lebanon defeat against Iran might, and we mean a big might, still mean an invitation to the OQT for Gilas Pilipinas. The “best next team from Asia/Oceania” could go down to point difference for the 1-4 win-loss record teams.
The last tier to gain an invitation to the OQT is the “16 following best ranked teams from the World Cup” which could be a hundred-to-one shot since in 2019, no team from the World Cup was able to gain an outright invitation by finishing with a 1-4 win-loss record.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph