Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 24) – Gilas Pilipinas Men 3×3 will wait for May 2021 to get a slot in the Tokyo Olympics as the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) announced the new date and place for the inaugural 3×3 Olympic qualifiers.
The city of Graz in Austria will host the 3×3 Olympic qualifiers scheduled from May 26-30, 2021, FIBA disclosed in a press conference during the Olympic Day celebration there on Monday.
The announcement was made following the International Olympic Committee’s decision to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Austria Vice-Chancellor and Sports Minister Werner Kogler said the FIBA 3X3 Olympic qualifiers in their country will promote green and sustainable practices in waste management, energy and water use, mobility and climate protection, regional products and social responsibility.
“The focus of our government in sports is the promotion of trending and green sporting event. The FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament combines modernity and sustainability in a unique way,” said Kogler.
FIBA Executive Director for Europe Kamil Novak underlined that Austria will set the bar high when the country hosts its first FIBA 3×3 official competition, coinciding with the Graz sports year in 2021.
“FIBA is delighted that the road to the Olympics will stop in Graz’s iconic Hauptplatz and that the Austrian authorities have vowed to make it the greenest, most sustainable event to date, which is entirely in line with our concept of reduced ecological footprint of 3×3,” Novak added.
Forty teams, with 20 in each gender, coming from 36 different countries will compete at the FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament at Graz, Austria.
Only six teams, with three squads per gender, will book a slot in the Tokyo Olympics. Host country Japan and top three-ranked nations China, Serbia, and Russia have all automatically secured their spots in the men’s 3×3 basketball event in Tokyo.
Gilas Pilipinas Men 3×3 qualified for a slot in the world Olympic qualifiers after ranking 20th in the final FIBA men’s 3×3 rankings last October.
The country is in Group C of the FIBA Men’s 3×3 OQT, along with Slovenia, France, Qatar, and Dominican Republic.
The Filipino 3×3 ballers team who will try to qualify for the Olympics is composed of Joshua Munzon, Alvin Pasaol, and professional players Moala Tautuaa and CJ Perez.
The Gilas Men 3×3 squad’s recent achievement was their gold medal finish in the 30th Southeast Asian Games in Manila last December, bannered by Perez, Tautuaa, Chris Newsome, and Jason Perkins.
India was supposed to host the inaugural FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament last March, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
