SBP sets sights on Iran tilt

MANILA, Philippines – The SBP is sending the Gilas Cadets to compete at the SEABA (Southeast Asian Basketball Association) Stankovic Cup in Bangkok with the goal of finishing first or second in order to qualify for the FIBA Asia Challenge on Sept. 9-18 in Iran.

The SEABA Stankovic Cup is the qualifier for the FIBA Asia Challenge. The top two finishers in Bangkok will book tickets to the 10-team Challenge, the first step in qualifying for the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup.

Reigning FIBA Asia champion China and host Iran are the only seeded teams in the Challenge. The other eight slots will be allocated as follows – one slot for East Asia (likely Japan or South Korea), one slot for Central Asia (likely Kazakshtan), two slots for Southeast Asia (likely the Philippines and Malaysia), two slots for West Asia (likely, Lebanon and Jordan or Palestine), one slot for the Gulf (likely Qatar or Bahrain) and one slot for South Asia (likely India).

The FIBA Asia Cup will be held in September 2017 and is classified as the continental championships. It will be the last regional tournament involving only Asian countries. Starting in 2021, the continental championships will bring together Asia and Oceania in a unified competition once every four years.

In November 2017, the first of six qualifying windows of nine days each for the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China will reel off. Other qualifying windows on a home-and-away basis are set in February, June, September and November in 2018 and February in 2019.

The 2019 FIBA World Cup will welcome 32 countries in the biggest conclave ever. Host China is seeded in the competition. The other teams will be five from Africa, seven from the Americas, seven from Asia/Oceania and 12 from Europe.

For the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, seven teams will directly qualify from the 2019 World Cup or the two best from the Americas, two best from Europe and the best from Africa, Asia and Oceania each. Host Japan has an automatic slot. The four remaining tickets will be awarded to the winners of four Olympic qualifying tournaments involving 24 teams. Each Olympic qualifying tournament will be played by six teams.

The Olympic qualifying format is different this year. In July, there will be three Olympic qualifying tournaments in Manila, Belgrade and Turin. The winners of the three competitions will advance to Rio. For the 2016 Olympics, host Brazil and the reigning World Cup champion US are seeded. The top two teams from the Americas (Venezuela and Argentina) and Europe (Spain and Lithuania) and the champions of Asia (China), Africa (Nigeria) and Oceania (Australia) made it out of the continental tournaments, leaving three slots open for the winners of the three Olympic qualifying tournaments. This will be the last Olympic qualifying tournament employing the format.

Two PBA players were recalled to national duty as Tropang TNT’s Troy Rosario and Blackwater’s Almond Vosotros head the Gilas Cadets lineup that will see action at the fifth SEABA Stankovic Cup in Bangkok on May 22-27.

Rosario, 24, and Vosotros, 26, are rookies in the PBA this season. Rosario averaged 13.0 points in 24 games in the Philippine and Commissioner’s Cup while Vosotros scored 18 points in 12 total outings. They were teammates on the Philippine that brought home the gold medal in basketball at the Southeast Asian Games in Singapore last June.

Six FEU players were named to the 12-man roster by Tamaraws coach Nash Racela, tasked to call the shots in the Stankovic Cup by the SBP. They are Mac Belo, Russell Escoto, R. R. Pogoy, Raymar Jose, Mike Tolomia and 6-9 Davao-born, Fil-Norweigian Ken Holmqvist.

The complete 12-man cast consists of 6-7 Rosario, 24; 5-10 Vosotros, 26; 6-3 Belo, 23; 6-6 Escoto, 23; 6-2 Pogoy, 23; 6-4 Jose, 23; 5-11 Tolomia, 23; 6-9 Holmqvist, 22; 6-4 Kevin Ferrer, 23; 5-9 Jiovani Jalalon; 6-4 Jonas Tibayan, 17 and 6-2 Von Pessumal, 23. The youngest in the team is Tibayan of Chiang Kai Shek High School. Tibayan was on the Philippine team that played at the FIBA Asia U16 Championships last year. He averaged 9.6 points and 6.2 rebounds in the tournament and was impressive in compiling 17 points and 12 boards in Batang Gilas’ 77-74 loss to eventual champion South Korea. The Philippines wound up fifth.