Gilas gets Tokyo hopes revived as New Zealand withdraws Olympic bid

Already being blown dead after its dismal World Cup campaign in 2019, the Philippines gets another shot in reaching the Tokyo Olympics after New Zealand withdrew its respective slots at the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments Friday.

The 25^th-ranked Tall Blacks are not just skipping the 5-on-5 tilt in Belgrade, Serbia from June 29-July 4, but also its spot in the 3x3 edition that are slated in Austria after a decision by Basketball New Zealand to cut costs owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

In its statement, its board had made its difficult decision with regards to its economic outlook, especially when they found out the the cost of travel outweighed their spending forecasts when they play abroad for international competitions. 

For BBNZ chief executive Iain Potter, the board made strategic decisions that are balanced with their financial capability, as well as consulting its decision by its senior players and its respective players’ association.

“The players, staff and the Board realise we are not operating like we did pre-COVID. For an international team, everything is more expensive. In these unprecedented times we must consolidate, or we risk something far greater and that’s not seeing any international basketball for the Tall Ferns or Tall Blacks over the next four-year cycle,” it said in a statement.

Potter added, “The Board spent considerable time weighing up the future of our international teams. They have accepted a level of measured risk, with a deficit forecast for this year that we are backing ourselves to cover through sponsorship and additional funding. But even with the additional commitment, the programme would require another three-quarters of a million dollars to ensure we could participate in all scheduled 2021 events.”

Furthermore, they are now setting their sights in the next cycle for the 2024 edition in Paris, as it confirmed their funding for ‘must-play’ competitions for both its Tall Blacks and the Tall Ferns to qualify via the Asia Cup and the World Cup.

“Ultimately the Board agreed to focus on how we will maintain our responsibility to play in international competitions and ensure we can still compete in the future, and to make sure our men’s and women’s programmes are given equal opportunity,” says Potter, who added that they’ve realized that they are not operating at a pre-pandemic rate.

With that, FIBA has given the OQT spot to Gilas Pilipinas, as it was the next-best team in the men’s World Rankings at 31^st, despite the fact that it finished as the worst of the 32 teams in the most recent World Cup after being denied of a win in their five encounters.

By filling in the spot first reserved to the Kiwis in Group A, Gilas will be playing against 19^th-ranked Dominican Republic and the fifth-ranked host country, who was the defending silver medallist in the men’s Olympic basketball tournament in Rio 2016.

Should they come out of the group and qualify for Tokyo, it could end a very long wait since the Filipinos last played in the premier basketball tournament at Munich in 1972, where Bogs Adornado and Danny Florencio led the nationals to a 13^th-place finish.
FILE PHOTOS: FIBA