FIBA to open bids for Olympic qualifiers

Federation Internationale de Basketball (FIBA) secretary-general Patrick Baumann told a visiting Samahang Basketbol Ng Pilipinas (SBP) delegation in Geneva last weekend the bidding for the pre-Olympic wildcard cage qualifiers is set in September and encouraged Manila to participate because of its proximity to Beijing.

The qualifiers are scheduled on July 7-13, 2008. The Beijing Olympics will take place on Aug. 9-24, 2008.

The Olympic basketball program is only for 12 teams, a format instituted in the last eight stagings since 1976. The previous format was for 16 teams — the last was when the Philippines took 13th place over Japan, Senegal and Egypt at the 1972 Munich Olympics. It was also the last Philippine appearance in an Olympic basketball tournament.

In the Beijing basketball joust, nine slots are reserved for 2006 world champion Spain, host China, the FIBA Continental champions from Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Oceania and the FIBA Continental runners-up from Europe and the Americas. The remaining three slots are for the top three finishers in the pre-Olympic qualifiers where 12 countries — one from Oceania, two from Africa and Asia, three from the Americas and four from Europe — will be invited by FIBA to participate.

It will be the first pre-Olympic wildcard qualifiers since 1964 when Yokohama hosted and the Philippines saw action but failed to advance to the Tokyo Games.

During the SBP delegation’s visit, Philippine Long Distance Tel. Co. chairman Manny Pangilinan mentioned to Baumann that Manila is interested to host the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) regional qualifiers for the FIBA-Asia tournament and the pre-Olympic wildcard qualifiers.

No bidding has been set for the SEABA competition which the Philippines hosted in 2001. If no bids are submitted, Kuala Lumpur will host because it is where FIBA-Asia is based. The SEABA regional qualifiers will be held in April or May with the top finishers advancing to play in the FIBA-Asia tournament in Tokushima, Japan, on July 28-Aug. 5. If China tops the FIBA-Asia tournament, the other finalist will be the second Asian representative to the Beijing Olympics where Asia is guaranteed two tickets because China is seeded as the host nation.

Pangilinan asked Baumann how much it would cost to host the pre-Olympic wildcard qualifiers and wondered if the amount would make him fall off his seat. Baumann said the amount would make the FIBA secretary-general fall off his seat but certainly not a man of Pangilinan’s stature.

Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) commissioner Noli Eala, who attended the Geneva "convention," estimated a rights fee of at least $300,000 to host the event. The amount excludes the cost of board and lodging for 12 teams, including the Philippines

Baumann said it is not a requirement for a host country to play in the pre-Olympic wildcard qualifiers. But if a host country is seeking an Olympic ticket, it would enjoy an edge because of the homecourt advantage.

"Manila would be an ideal city to host the pre-Olympic qualifiers because of its proximity to Beijing ," said Eala.  "FIBA’s idea is to hold the qualifiers a few weeks before the Olympics so teams are able to converge in Asia ahead of time and play their tune-ups in the region."