Gilas remains 31st in Fiba World Rankings

August 14 ------ THE Philippines remained at no. 31 in the Fiba World Rankings after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, keeping Gilas Pilipinas as the sixth-best team in Asia-Pacific. Fiba released its updated men's rankings as the Filipinos' Asian rivals saw a bit of an uptick in their placings in the list. Gilas Pilipinas impressed in its campaign in the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers, sweeping Korea twice and a dominant win over Indonesia as it leaned on the leadership of Dwight Ramos, as well as the excellent plays from Kai Sotto and naturalized center Ange Kouame, to top Group A and clinch its seat for the continental tilt set for July 2022. The young Filipino crew also showed great resolve in the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade, but failed to upset higher-ranked teams Serbia and Dominican Republic and bow out of the group stages.

Australia remained the best-ranked Asia-Pacific team as the Boomers, which finally got to the Olympic podium with a bronze medal, placing third-best in the world behind the leadership of Patty Mills. Iran is still second in Asia at 22nd overall as it moved a spot higher after making its first Olympic appearance since Beijing 2008, while New Zealand stayed put at 23rd. China (28th) and Korea (29th) also rose a rung higher, respectively, in the updated ranking list. After the Philippines, Japan saw the biggest move in the continent, leaping seven places to now be at no. 35 after hosting the Olympiad and solid showings from Rui Hachimura and the Akatsuki Five. They are followed by Jordan (39th), Lebanon (56th), Chinese Taipei (68th), Qatar (71st), and Kazakhstan (72nd).

United States is still the top-ranked nation in the world, especially after Kevin Durant secured the Americans' fourth straight Olympic gold medal. Spain remained at second despite the Ricky Rubio-led crew bowing out as early as the quarterfinals in Japan. Luka Doncic also powered Slovenia to no. 4 in the world, jumping 12 places after winning the Kaunas OQT and a stunning fourth-place finish in Tokyo. Olympic silver medalist France rounded out the top five as it moved two spots up behind the solid play of Rudy Gobert. Completing the top 10 in the men's rankings are Serbia, Argentina, Italy, Lithuania, and Greece.

The Fiba World Rankings looks at an eight-year competition cycle which accounts for two Olympics, disregarding the lost year of 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The rest of the top 20 are as follows: Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Brazil, Turkey, Venezuela, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Dominican Republic.

Other big movers in the rankings are Costa Rica, which moved 22 spots to 84th; Nicaragua, which rose 19 spots to 97th; El Salvador which moved 12 places to 121st; Syria which leapt 10 spots to 82nd after booking its ticket to the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup; Guam which jumped eight spots to 77th after excellent performances from Jericho Cruz and Daren Hechanova; and Uganda which moved up eight spots to 90th. Unfortunately, the list also saw great drops, the biggest being Andorra which fell 19 spots to 99th after its inactivity since 2018. Others which fell include Croatia, which slid seven spots to 21st after failing to win the Split OQT; Malta, which fell 11 spots to 93rd; and Guyana which dropped eight spots to 108th.

Source: spin.ph