Interbasket

With the wins by Argentina (over Brazil) and the United States (over Puerto Rico) in the 2007 Tournament of the Americas, two more berths to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing have now been determined.

Argentina and the United States have joined Afrobasket Champions Angola, Oceania Champions Australia, host nation China, surprising Asian-Champions Iran, and 2006 World Champions Spain. So far, there has been no real surprises other than Iran defeating Lebanon in the Asia Championships (China did not field their A-Team as they were the host team and earned an automatic berth).

Seven of the twelve teams have been determined for the 2008 Olympic tournament. With the upcoming EuroBasket to determine two more national teams to represent Europe.

So how does FIBA detemine which twelve teams qualify for the Olympics? I have the following breakdown:

- Host Country (1): China
- 2006 World Champions (1): Spain
- Asia Championship (1): Iran
- Afrobasket (1): Angola
- Oceania Championship (1): Australia
- Americas Championship (2): USA and Argentina
- Eurobasket (2): TBD
- World Olympic Qualifying (3): TBD

After Eurobasket 2007, there will three remaining wild card spots that need to be determined by another qualifying tournament to be held in July 2008. This qualifier will include twelve teams from around the world that placed in varying positions (2-5th place) from each regional championships.

Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Korea, Lebanon, New Zealand, and Puerto Rico have already qualified for this tournament, with the final four spots to be determined by the Eurobasket runners-up that place 3-6, unless Spain places in the top-two, then it will be the teams that finish in places 4-7.

Angola locked up a berth for the 2008 Olympics after winning the 2007 AfroBasket against Cameroon Saturday. Angola won 86-72 led by Eduardo Mingas‘ 18 points and Afrobasket MVP Joaquim Gomes (13 points, 5 rebounds). With the silver medal in hand, Cameroon will also be heading to Beijing. The game wasn’t as lopsided as some would expect , as Cameroon used their size and energy to keep up with the Angolans. Cameroon was buoyed by Brice Vounang’s 18 points and 10 rebounds, Patric Bouli’s 16 points and Gaston Essengue’s 14 points.

This is Angola’s ninth African Championship.

[related thread] [source]

(more…)

The African regional championships have begun. Afrobasket 2007 will be held this year in Luanda, the largest city and the capital of Angola. The tourney features 16 teams from across the continent - Angola, Cameroon, Cape Verde Island, Central African Republic, Congo, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, and Tunisia.

The main question, as with most African tournaments in recent memory is Can Angola be beat? and not just that, can they be defeated when the tournament is being held in Luanda? Olumide Oyedeji believes that many African teams can defeat the perennial African champions, but most teams on this continent lack Angola’s dedication. [article]

If Angola’s first game was any indication, it’s going to be a difficult task to unseat the defending champions. Angola defeated Afrobasket first-timers Rwanda 109-66. Angola was led by Olimpio Cipriano’s 17 points. Joaquim Gomes added 15 points and Eduardo Mingas posted 14.

Elhadji Ndoye scored 15 points for Senegal helping to defeat Mali last night in their opening Afrobasket game played in Angola. Senegal, the defending Afrobasket silver medalists, will play Egypt next.

Games will be continue until the 25 of August. (Originally published (08/18/2007)

[related thread] [article]