By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Gilas Pilipinas will have its final chance to book a ticket to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) following New Zealand’s withdrawal.
Due to the ongoing restrictions caused by the havoc of the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Federation of New Zealand announced its withdrawal from the prestigious basketball tournament.
In its official statement, FIBA announced that the next ranked country after New Zealand will automatically qualify as a replacement squad which the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) accepted with open arms.
“Philippines will replace New Zealand at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2020 in Belgrade, Serbia as the next best team from the Asia-Oceania Region in the FIBA World Ranking presented by Nike,” wrote FIBA in their statement.
There will be four venues for the FIBA OQT: Serbia (where Gilas Pilipinas belongs), Canada, Croatia, and Lithuania.
To clinch that coveted Tokyo seat, Gilas Pilipinas must take down Serbia and Dominican Republic first.
