Greece - Greece to host Olympic qualifying tournament
The road to Beijing for Canada's men's basketball team goes through Greece. The FIBA Central Board announced Monday that Athens, Greece will play host to the Olympic qualifying tournament July 14 - 20, 2008 at OAKA Sports Arena. "We are excited about the opportunity to qualify for the 2008 Olympics," said Canada Basketball's executive director, Wayne Parrish. "Last year's successful finish in the FIBA Americas was the first step in Team Canada's journey to qualify for the Olympics for the first time since 2000."
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The road to Beijing for Canada's men's basketball team goes through Greece.
The FIBA Central Board announced Monday that Athens, Greece will play host to the Olympic qualifying tournament July 14 - 20, 2008 at OAKA Sports Arena.
"We are excited about the opportunity to qualify for the 2008 Olympics," said Canada Basketball's executive director, Wayne Parrish. "Last year's successful finish in the FIBA Americas was the first step in Team Canada's journey to qualify for the Olympics for the first time since 2000."
Canada placed fifth at the Americas tournament and will join Brazil, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Korea, Lebanon, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and Slovenia at the qualifying event, with three Olympic berths on the line.
"Over the last few years our guys have been gearing for 2008," said Leo Rautins, head coach the Canadian men's team. "Last year's finish was the first step, and we are thrilled for the opportunity to go to Athens to complete the process. We currently have athletes competing in nine different countries around the world, honing their skills internationally to come together next summer and fight for an Olympic berth."
Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash has already ruled himself out of the tournament.
The formal draw to determine the four groups for the tournament will take place on Jan. 31, 2008 in Athens, Greece.