Gilas Pilipinas climbs, pushes down Germany in FIBA rankings

MANILA, Philippines — Even after missing the Olympics, Gilas Pilipinas showed improvement in the latest FIBA world rankings.

Gilas, previously No. 28, improved by a notch. The national squad holds a total of 36.8 points, according to FIBA.

The update on the global ladder, which was released on August 21, placed the Philippines over frequent FIBA World Cup and Olympics participant Germany.

The Germans—who have been banking on the services of NBA veteran Dirk Nowtizki and recently, up-and-coming guard Dennis Schroder—dropped nine spots in the rankings.

Gilas, placed third in Asia, have now inched closer to frequent tormentor Iran, who currently sits 25th in the global ladder. Zone leader China remains unopposed at 14th.

United States remain atop the standings.

"The ranking is calculated within the scope of a two Olympic Games [cycles], including qualifying competitions at zone level," FIBA explained.

The Philippine squad missed a chance to compete in the recently concluded Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, after crashing out of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying tournament held here in  July. They finished the tournament without a win.

A massive revamp of the lineup was announced last night in preparation for the FIBA Asia Challenge set in Tehran, Iran, this September.