2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournaments

With three spots still on offer at the 2016 Olympic Games, the 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournaments look set to be one of the most exciting and engaging tournaments before the main event in Rio this summer.

The dates for this tournament run between the 4^th and 10^th of July and the tournaments will take place in three different locations. The team that tops the group in all three areas will qualify for the basketball tournament in Rio 2016.

18 teams are taking part in this tournament with six teams being allocated to each individual tournament.

Host venues

Serbia – Belgrade

The Kombank Arena, which was originally referred to as the Belgrade Arena, is the host venue for the Serbian venue for the qualification tournament. The capacity for the venue is 25,300 and its record attendance stands at 24,232 for a 2014 game which took place between Crvena Zvezda and Budivelnyk. The cost of the arena is believed to be €70m.

• Serbia
• Angola
• Puerto Rico
• Japan
• Czech Republic
• Latvia

Italy – Turin

The Pala Alpitour (Palasport Olimpico or PalaIsozaki ) was opened in 2005, in time for the Winter Olympics of 2006 and the venue is situated next to the Olympic Stadium. The venue is a multi-purpose arena which has hosted a wide range of sports and concerts in the Turin area of Italy. The venue has a capacity of 16,600 seats and it is recognised as being the largest Italian indoor arena. There is some debate over the cost of the venue but it is believed that the venue cost between €87m and €111m.

• Greece
• Mexico
• Iran
• Tunisia
• Croatia
• Italy

Philippines – Pasay, recognised as Manila

The Mall of Asia Arena is an indoor arena that is located within the SM Mall of Asia complex. This is in Pasay in the Philippines but for the purpose of this tournament, the area is recognised as being part of the wider Manila area. The venue was officially opened in June of 2012 and while the maximum capacity of the venue stands at 20,000 for sporting events the capacity is capped at 16,000. It is believed that the cost of the venue came in at $77m. The venue serves as one of the host venues of the Philippine Basketball Association.

• Turkey
• Senegal
• Canada
• France
• New Zealand
• Philippines

Betting

The futures market for the individual tournaments are already in place and the favourites for the individual groups are Serbia, available at odds of 1.22, Italy, available at odds of 1.80 and France, available at odds of 1.22.

This means that the bookmakers tip European teams as being most likely to qualify for the Olympic Games and if this pans out, European teams will make up one third of the teams competing for gold at the 2016 Rio Games.

The Philippines are the only host nation not tipped as favourites by the bookmakers and if you want to back them as being boosted by a home crowd, you can find Philippines as 67.00 to reach the 2016 Olympic Games.

Tournaments

Serbia – Belgrade

The teams allocated to the Belgrade tournament are Serbia, who are the host team and who are ranked 6^th in FIBA rankings. Angola were the runner-up in the AfroBasket 2015 tournament and they are currently ranked 15^th in FIBA rankings. Puerto Rico were ranked 5^th in the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship and are ranked 16^th in FIBA rankings. Japan were ranked 4^th in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship and they are ranked 48^th in FIBA rankings. The two remaining spots hail from Europe with Czech Republic ranking 7^th at the EuroBasket 2015 event, and 42^nd in the FIBA ranking with Latvia taking 8^th place in the EuroBasket 2015 event.

The Preliminary round of the Belgrade based tournament takes place over two groups. Group A includes Serbia, Angola and Puerto Rico while Group B contains Japan, Czech Republic and Latvia. The group games will be played out on the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th of July with each group having one game per day.

The first two teams in either group progress to the knockout stage. The knockout stage begins on 8^th of July with the winner of Group A facing the runner-up of Group B and then the winner of Group B facing the runner-up of Group A.

The two winning semi-finalists take part in the Final game on 9^th of July with the winning team qualifying for Rio.

Philippines – Manila

The teams allocated to the Manila tournament are the hosts Philippines who are ranked 28^th in the FIBA rankings. Turkey benefitted from a late wild card selection and the team is ranked as 8^th in the FIBA rankings. They are joined by Senegal, who took 4^th place in the AfroBasket 2015 even and Senegal are ranked as 31^st in the FIBA rankings. Canada are taking part by virtue of their third place finish in the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship 3rd place with the Canadians being ranked as 26^th in the FIBA rankings. France took third place in the EuroBasket 2015 event and are currently ranked as 5^th in the FIBA rankings. New Zealand round out the tournament by being the runner-up in the 2015 FIBA Oceania Championship tournament and are currently ranked as 21^st in the FIBA rankings.

The Preliminary round of the Manila based tournament takes place over two groups. Group A includes Turkey, Senegal and Canada, while Group B contains France, New Zealand and Philippines. The group games will be played out on the 5^th, 6^th and 7^th of July with each group having one game per day.

The first two teams in either group progress to the knockout stage. The knockout stage begins on 9^th of July with the winner of Group A facing the runner-up of Group B and then the winner of Group B facing the runner-up of Group A.

The two winning semi-finalists take part in the Final game on 10^th of July with the winning team qualifying for Rio.

Italy – Turin

The teams allocated to the Turin tournament are the hosts Italy who are joined by their European counterparts Greece who finished fifth in the EuroBasket 2015 event and who are placed at 10^th in the FIBA rankings. Mexico took fourth place in the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship and are positioned 19^th in the FIBA rankings. Iran clinched third place in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship and 17^th in the FIBA rankings while Tunisia took third place at the AfroBasket 2015 event with Tunisia being placed as 23^rd in the FIBA rankings. Croatia are the final team in the group and finished 9^th at the EuroBasket 2015 event and are placed at 12 in the FIBA rankings.

The Preliminary round of the Turin based tournament takes place over two groups. Group A includes Greece, Mexico and Iran, while Group B contains Tunisia, Croatia and Italy. The group games will be played out on the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th July with each group having one game per day.

The first two teams in either group progress to the knockout stage. The knockout stage begins on 8^th of July with the winner of Group A facing the runner-up of Group B and then the winner of Group B facing the runner-up of Group A.

The two winning semi-finalists take part in the Final game on 9^th of July with the winning team qualifying for Rio.