SENEGAL will no longer be participating in the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade after four members of its delegation tested positive for COVID-19.
The Senegalese basketball federation made the announcement early Tuesday morning (Manila time), forfeiting its games against Italy and Puerto Rico.
"Fiba was informed by the National Federation of Senegal about COVID-19 related disruptions to their preparations in Germany. Despite continuous effort from Fiba and the German Basketball Federation to support the Senegalese delegation, the team will not be able to travel to Belgrade and take part in the OQT," the statement read.
Senegal was the bronze medalist in the 2017 Afrobasket and finished in 30th place in the 2019 Fiba World Cup in China.
It was looking to parade 6-foot-4 guard Pierria Henry, who is suiting up for Fenerbahce in Turkey, and former New York Knicks forward Maurice Ndour in the said tilt as the Senegalese team was aiming to make it to the Olympics for the first time since 1980 in Moscow.
That means that Senegal's games against Puerto Rico on Tuesday and Italy on Wednesday are now cancelled.
Italy, Puerto Rico advance in OQT
With Senegal's pullout, Italy and Puerto Rico advance outight to the knockout stages, with the two nations disputing the top seed of Group B.
Group A featuring Serbia, Gilas Pilipinas, and Dominican Republic are unaffected as Fiba reiterated that the health and safety of the participants are well taken care of.
"Fiba will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and communicate any further updates regarding its competitions if necessary," it ended.
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