PR N°18 - Schedule for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men

GENEVA (FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men) - FIBA and the Hellenic Basketball Federation are happy to announce the competition schedule for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men that will be played in Athens (Greece), in the 18.000 OAKA Sports Arena, located in Maroussi, from 14th to 20th July 2008.

The following nine teams have already booked their tickets for the Olympic Basketball Tournament for Men that will take place in Beijing, China, from 10th to 24th August 2008: China (host), Spain (World Champion), Angola (African Champion), USA (Champion of the Americas), Argentina (Americas runner-up), Iran (Asian Champion), Russia (European Champion), Lithuania (European Bronze medallist) and Australia (Oceanian Champion)

The remaining three men's berths for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will be decided in this 12-team FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament that will feature the following participants: Cameroon and Cape Verde (Africa), Puerto Rico, Brazil and Canada (Americas), Lebanon and Korea (Asia), Greece, Germany, Croatia and Slovenia (Europe) and New Zealand (Oceania).

Listed below are the composition of the four groups, as well as the complete tournament schedule. Please note that all tip-off hours are local time in Athens, Greece.


1. Composition of groups:

Group A: Brazil, Greece and Lebanon
Group B: Cape Verde, Germany and New Zealand
Group C: Canada, Korea and Slovenia
Group D: Cameroon, Croatia and Puerto Rico


2. Preliminary Round:

14th July 2008:

13:00 hours:New Zealandvs.Cape Verde
15:30 hours: Korea vs. Slovenia
19:30 hours: Croatiavs. Cameroon
22:00 hours: Greecevs. Lebanon


15th July 2008:

13:00 hours:Sloveniavs.Canada
15:30 hours: Cape Verdevs. Germany
19:30 hours: Cameroonvs. Puerto Rico
22:00 hours: Lebanonvs. Brazil


16th July 2008:

13:00 hours:Canadavs.Korea
15:30 hours: Puerto Ricovs. Croatia
19:30 hours: Germanyvs. New Zealand
22:00 hours: Brazilvs. Greece

The teams placed 1st and 2nd in each group will advance to the Quarter-Finals; the teams placed 3rd in each group will be eliminated and may return home.


17th July 2008: Rest Day


3. Quarter-Finals:

18th July 2008:

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

The games of the Quarter-Finals will be played at 13:00 hours, 15:30 hours, 19:30 hours and 22:00 hours. The order of games will be confirmed after the end of the Preliminary Round.


4. Semi-Finals:

19th July 2008:

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

The Semi-Final games will be played at 19:00 hours and 21:30 hours. The order of games will be confirmed after the end of the Quarter-Finals.

The two winners of the Semi-Finals will qualify for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The two losers will play the game for the 3rd place (Game 19 below) for one remaining Olympic spot.


5. Finals:

20th July 2008:

Game 19 (20:00 hours): Loser 17 vs. Loser 18

The winner will qualify for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.


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, while the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Women will take place in the Czech Republic.