The website eurobasket.com made a world ranking of the best basketball countries (which can be found in www.eurobasket.com/events/rankings.asp). The top ten countries in eurobasket’s list are: 1. USA 153 points 2. Yugoslavia 140; 3. Lithuania 137; 4. Spain 136; 5. Russia 136; 6. Italy 135; 7. France 133; 8. Australia 132; 9. Slovenia 131; and 10. Greece 130.
Four of the top ten countries -- USA, Yugoslavia, Spain, and Russia -- are currently playing in the World Basketball Championships in Indianapolis.
Among Asian countries, China topped the list as it ranked 24th with 122 points. China’s high ranking can be attributed to its participation in the 1992 to 2000 Olympic Games, and in two of the last three World Championships.
Another feared Asian rival, South Korea, is 46th with 109 points. Japan, which surprisingly qualified in the 1998 World Basketball Championships, is 50th with 106.
The fifth to 12th-ranked Asian countries in the eurobasket.com list earned respectable rankings even if they have not won any Asian championship compared to the Philippines. Saudi Arabia, whom we battered during the 1998 Jones Cup, is fourth best in Asia with 101 points for 61st place. Chinese-Taipei, whom the Philippines thrashed in exhibition games recently and in the 1998 Jones Cup, has 94 points for 71st place.
Lebanon, which was eliminated in the ongoing World Championships in Indianapolis, is 72nd with 94 point. Uzbekistan is 73rd with 94 also, Syria is 76th with 91, Kazakhstan is 79th with 88, Kuwait is 82nd with 88, Jordan is 85th with 87, and Iran is 86th with 86 points.
The Philippines, despite being a former Asian champion and having one of the earliest professional leagues in the world, is ranked a lowly 88th with 85 points. The Philippines’ gold medals from the 1995 to the 2001 Southeast Asian Games (SEAG), and the recent editions of the SEABA championships, did not create any impact in the world rankings.
The Philippines, thus saying, ranked a horrendous 13th in the Asian continent if based from eurobasket.com rankings. This reflects what previous Filipino cage Olympians have been saying all along: that Philippine basketball is on the decline. (To be continued)