PR N°60 - Twelve teams qualified for 2016 Rio Olympic Games following conclusion of 2015 continental championships

MIES, Switzerland/RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics) - The first part of the process to determine the 24 teams - 12 men's and 12 women's - that will compete in the Men's and Women's Olympic Basketball Tournaments (6-21 August 2016) at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games concluded on Saturday.

Between 11 June and 3 October 2015, a total of 68 men's teams and 50 women's teams from across FIBA's five regions - Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania - took part in continental championships, all looking to punch their ticket for next year's Olympics in Brazil. 

Seven (7) men's teams and five (5) women's teams have qualified directly for the 2016 Rio Games via this summer's competitions. They are:
 
MEN
Africa: Nigeria
Americas: Venezuela and Argentina
Asia: China
Europe: Spain and Lithuania
Oceania: Australia
 
These teams join the USA, who booked their place for Rio 2016 as winners of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, and the host country Brazil.

Click on graphic to enlarge

WOMEN
Africa: Senegal
Americas: Canada
Asia: Japan
Europe: Serbia
Oceania: Australia
 
These teams join the USA, who booked their place for Rio 2016 as winners of the 2014 FIBA Women's World Championship and the host country Brazil.

Click on graphic to enlarge

Fifteen (15) men's teams and twelve (12) women's teams that fell short of qualifying directly for Rio 2016 will have another shot at fulfilling their Olympic aspirations after securing places at the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQTs) and the 2016 FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament (WOQT) respectively. They are:
 
MEN
Africa: Angola, Tunisia, Senegal
Americas: Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico
Asia: Philippines, Iran, Japan
Europe: France, Serbia, Greece, Italy, Czech Republic
Oceania: New Zealand
 
Along with these 15 teams, another three (3) will compete as hosts of the three OQTs to be held simultaneously from 4-10 July 2016. Each OQT will consist of six (6) participating teams, with the winning team from each event earning a berth for the Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament at the Rio Games.
 
WOMEN
Africa: Cameroon, Nigeria
Americas: Cuba, Argentina, Venezuela
Asia: China, Korea
Europe: France, Spain, Belarus, Turkey
Oceania: New Zealand
 
These teams will compete in a single 12-team WOQT, with the top five teams earning berths for the Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament. The hosts of the WOQT will be selected from the 12 qualified teams.
 
Candidates to organise the three OQTs and the WOQT will be announced by the end of October. The bidding process to determine the hosts of the four OQTs will conclude on 23 November, when FIBA's Executive Committee will award the four events. Thereafter, the draw for the four OQTS will take place on 24 November, applying geographical and quality principles in order to balance the events/groups.

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About FIBA
FIBA (fiba.com) - the world governing body for basketball - is an independent association formed by 215 National Basketball Federations throughout the world. It is recognised as the sole competent authority in basketball by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

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