The Swiss city of Mies will be the focus of the basketball world later, as the draw for the composition of the three Olympic Qualifying Tournaments will be determined.
The Philippines, Italy, and Serbia were selected by the FIBA Executive Committee from eight prospective bidders to host the tournaments, with the minimum bid being 1.8 million Euros (PhP 93.7M).
Representing the Philippines as a witness for the draw is Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Executive Director Sonny Barrios, who will meet with FIBA's Director of Events Predrag Bogosevljev during his stay in Mies.
The other nations participating in the Olympic Qualifiers are France, Turkey, Greece, Croatia, Latvia, Czech Republic, Iran, Japan, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Canada, Angola, Tunisia, Senegal, and New Zealand.
Barrios says that Pinoy fans will have the "rare and golden opportunity to witness world-class competition in this Olympic qualifier." He adds that this is not "an exhibition or a tune-up or a pocket tournament," and views this competition as the same level as the 1978 FIBA World Cup (then known as the World Championships) that Manila hosted.
The Philippines has only participated in just one Olympic qualifier in its history (1964), but Barrios believes that this time it will be different, since "we will be hosting." He also says that the Qualifiers are a tougher challenge the FIBA-Asia Champioship in Changsha last year, and that the chances of winning it are slim, but believes that the homecourt advantage might be able to tilt the balance into Gilas' favor.
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