PR N° 53 - FIBA Olympic Qualifier to take place one week later

GENEVA (FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament) - The FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men will be played from 14th to 20th July 2008, the International Basketball Federation has announced today.
 
In order to ensure the highest possible standard and, following the request by its National Federations, FIBA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have decided that the tournament that will decide the final berths for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will be played exactly one week later than initially planned. The new dates will allow the participating teams to enjoy a longer preparation phase and count with the presence of their best players.
 
The following nine teams have already booked their tickets for the Olympic Basketball Tournament for Men that will take place in Beijing, China, from 9th to 24th August 2008: Angola, Argentina, Australia, China, Iran, Lithuania, Russia, Spain and USA.

The remaining three men's berths for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will be decided in the 12-team FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, in a country and city to be determined by FIBA at its Central Board Meeting in Chicago (USA) on 8th and 9th December 2007. The organizers and venues of the tournament will be decided amongst the candidatures received from the 12 participant teams: Brazil, Cape Verde, Canada, Cameroon, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Korea, Lebanon, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and Slovenia.

The dates for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women remain unchanged (i.e. 9th to 15th June 2008). For further information on the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women, please refer to Press Release # 50.

The system of competition for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men will be as follows:

Preliminary Round:

The 12 participating teams will be divided into four groups (A, B, C and D) of three teams each. Each team will play all the other teams in its own group. The teams placed 1st and 2nd in each group will play in the Quarter-Finals; the teams placed 3rd in each group will go home. A total of 12 games will be played in the Preliminary Round.

Quarter-Finals:

Game 13: A1 vs. B2
Game 14: B1 vs. A2
Game 15: C1 vs. D2
Game 16: D1 vs. C2

Semi-Finals:

Game 17: Winner 13 vs. Winner 15
Game 18: Winner 14 vs. Winner 16

The two winners will qualify for the Olympic Games. The two losers will play in the Finals the game for the 3rd place (Game 19 below) for one remaining qualifying place.

Finals:

Game 19: Loser 17 vs. Loser 18


About FIBA

FIBA (www.fiba.basketball), the world governing body for basketball, is an independent association formed by 213 National Federations of basketball throughout the world. It is recognised as the sole competent authority in basketball by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Its main upcoming events are the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments for Men and Women (to take place in the summer of 2008) that will decide the final berths for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and the FIBA World Championships for Men and Women, held every four years. The 2010 FIBA World Championship will be played in Turkey.