FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2016: Basketball Dates, Schedule, Teams, More
The road to Rio continues for 18 countries fighting for three spots at the Olympic Games next month. The 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments kick off on July 4.
There are three separate tournaments in three different locations around the world, with Italy and Serbia starting first. They will be followed by the event in the Philippines that starts on July 5.
The teams in each tournament are divided into two groups playing in a round-robin format before the top two in each group advance to a head-to-head matchup in the semifinals and a champion is then crowned.
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Groups
| Italy | Greece, Mexico, Iran | Tunisia, Croatia, Italy |
| Serbia | Serbia, Angola, Puerto Rico | Japan, CZE, Latvia |
| Philippines | Turkey, Senegal, Canada | France, New Zealand, Philippines |
Schedule
| Monday, July 4 | Italy | Greece vs. Iran | 6 a.m. |
| Monday, July 4 | Italy | Tunisia vs. Italy | 9 a.m. |
| Monday, July 4 | Serbia | Japan vs. Latvia | 6 a.m. |
| Monday, July 4 | Serbia | Serbia vs. Puerto Rico | 9 a.m. |
| Tuesday, July 5 | Italy | Iran vs. Mexico | 6 a.m. |
| Tuesday, July 5 | Italy | Italy vs. Croatia | 9 a.m. |
| Tuesday, July 5 | Serbia | Puerto Rico vs. Angola | 6 a.m. |
| Tuesday, July 5 | Serbia | Latvia vs. CZE | 9 a.m. |
| Tuesday, July 5 | Philippines | Turkey vs. Canada | 6:30 a.m. |
| Tuesday, July 5 | Philippines | France vs. Philippines | 9 a.m. |
| Wednesday, July 6 | Italy | Mexico vs. Greece | 6 a.m. |
| Wednesday, July 6 | Italy | Croatia vs. Tunisia | 9 a.m. |
| Wednesday, July 6 | Serbia | Angola vs. Serbia | 6 a.m. |
| Wednesday, July 6 | Serbia | CZE vs. Japan | 9 a.m. |
| Wednesday, July 6 | Philippines | Canada vs. Senegal | 6:30 a.m. |
| Wednesday, July 6 | Philippines | Philippines vs. New Zealand | 9 a.m. |
| Thursday, July 7 | Philippines | Senegal vs. Turkey | 6:30 a.m. |
| Thursday, July 7 | Philippines | New Zealand vs. France | 9 a.m. |
| Friday, July 8 | Italy | Group A Winner vs. Group B Runner-Up (Semifinal No. 1) | TBD |
| Friday, July 8 | Italy | Group B Winner vs. Group A Runner-Up (Semifinal No. 2) | TBD |
| Friday, July 8 | Serbia | Group A Winner vs. Group B Runner-Up (Semifinal No. 1) | TBD |
| Friday, July 8 | Serbia | Group B Winner vs. Group A Runner-Up (Semifinal No. 2) | TBD |
| Saturday, July 9 | Italy | Semifinal No. 1 Winner vs. Semifinal No. 2 Winner (Final) | 9 a.m. |
| Saturday, July 9 | Serbia | Semifinal No. 1 Winner vs. Semifinal No. 2 Winner (Final) | 9 a.m. |
| Saturday, July 9 | Philippines | Group A Winner vs. Group B Runner-Up (Semifinal No. 1) | TBD |
| Saturday, July 9 | Philippines | Group B Winner vs. Group A Runner-Up (Semifinal No. 2) | TBD |
| Sunday, July 10 | Philippines | Semifinal No. 1 Winner vs. Semifinal No. 2 Winner (Final) | 9 a.m. |
Teams to Watch
Per the official FIBA rankings, France (No. 5) and Serbia (No. 6) are the highest-ranked teams playing in the qualifying tournaments.
The French team took home a gold medal at the 2013 FIBA Eurobasket tournament by knocking off Spain, which won a silver medal at the London Olympics one year earlier, in the semifinals and Lithuania in the championship game.
France's lineup looks like the most formidable of any team playing this week with Tony Parker, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw all scheduled to play.
Parker has already had one emotional moment with his home country, scoring 14 points in an exhibition match against Japan in his final game in France as part of the national team.
He addressed the crowd after that 91-74 win by letting everyone know the journey wasn't ending there.
"There were a lot of emotions," Parker said, via Jeff Garcia of NBC News 4. "Having come home, the full circle. My family and friends were in the stands, it was really nice. We end this preparation in style with this victory. Now, we must finish the job and qualify for the Olympic Games."
France is still looking up at top teams like USA and Spain heading into the Olympics, but this is a tournament it can use to make a statement that it is a real threat to walk away with an Olympic gold medal for the first time in the country's history after two silver medals in 1948 and 2000.
Serbia has home-court advantage. The country hasn't qualified for the Olympics since 2004, when it finished in 11th place with a 2-4 record.
Things have dramatically turned around for Serbia's basketball team in the last five years, going from an eighth-place finish at the 2011 EuroBasket to fourth in the same event in 2015.
Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, who is on the Serbian national team, explained what basketball means overseas, in general, and specifically in his home country in an article for the Players' Tribune:
"Last year, we were in the National Cup finals against Zvezda. In Europe, especially in Serbia, fans are crazy, especially against Zvezda or Partizan. Those are the biggest teams with a huge history in Serbia. When they play each other, it’s called “the derby.” I’ve played in Oakland, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, and Utah. Utah Jazz have a really good home court. But in Europe, there’s more passion, I think. It’s their life, being a fan for that team.
"
The country has been slowly gaining traction as an international basketball power. There are currently four active NBA players from Serbia, including Jokic, Boban Marjanovic of the San Antonio Spurs and Nemanja Bjelica of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Rade Zagorac is the fourth member of that group after being drafted in the second round this year by the Boston Celtics, who traded his rights to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Jokic and Zagorac are the only two members in that quartet on the Serbian national team, but this is their chance to loudly declare that the country is going to be a dangerous force in the Olympics with a win in qualifying.
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