The United States qualified for the upcoming Olympics last summer with 8 more teams joining them after this summer. The 5 continental federations had their qualifying tournaments, but FIBA made some important announcements before those even started. First, Brazil was allowed to take its place in the field as the host country after meeting certain conditions. The other announcement was the expansion of the final qualifying tournament in 2016 from 12 teams to 18 teams with an accompanying change in format. Instead of 1 country hosting all of the teams with the top 3 teams advancing, there will be 3 separate tournaments with each winner advancing. 3 of the new spots were directly allocated to the continental federations as Europe got 1 more team to bump its total to 5 teams and Africa and Asia each got another team to join the Americas with 3 teams each. Oceania retains its sole spot. The other 3 spots are reserved for hosts. In the past, only teams who had already earned spots in the tournament were in contention to host. That has changed as all teams who failed to qualify from the Olympics via the continental competitions can apply. If a team that already earned a spot in the qualifying tournament is also selected to host, their continental federation will be able to send an additional team to the tournament.
The first federation to conduct its championship was FIBA Oceania. With only Australia and New Zealand participating, the tournament was held in a two game format with each team hosting a game and the scores of both games being combined to determine the winner. As expected Australia's greater star power and depth helped them win the first game at home 71-59. They then sealed the lone Olympic berth up for grabs by also winning the second game outright 89-79 to win 160-38 overall. New Zealand then had to settle for trying to qualify next summer.
Next, FIBA Africa conducted Afrobasket 2015 in Tunisia. 16 teams competed knowing that only the winner would be able to claim a spot next summer. The tournament uses a unique format, not eliminating any teams after the first round robin stage which splits the teams into 4 groups of 4. All the teams participated in the knockout round, which always creates unpredictability as another last place team was able to eliminate a group winner. The quarterfinals were the key round as a win there was necessary to at least make it to the final qualifying tournament. The hosts actually had the closest game, beating Mali. Nigeria, Angola, and Senegal beat Gabon, Egypt, and Algeria by more decisive margins. In the semifinals, Nigeria needed overtime to beat Senegal and Angola eliminated the hosts. In the end, it was Nigeria winning the final 74-65, bringing them back to the Olympics.
FIBA Americas held its championship in Mexico City, after Mexico's original choice at Monterrey fell through. 10 teams arrived with 9 hopefuls fighting for 2 automatic berths after Brazil received their berth as hosts. The first stage was 2 round robin groups of 5 teams, which eliminated 2 teams, Brazil and Cuba. The remaining teams played 4 more games and tossed out previous results against eliminated teams to create a new giant round robin. The Dominican Republic, Panama, and Uruguay were at the bottom of the standings at the end of this round, taking away hopes of another chance next summer. Puerto Rico finished 5th, giving them another shot at qualification. The semifinal winners would take the automatic spots and Venezuela took one by stunning Canada 79-78. Mexico had used the energy of the home crowd to have a strong tournament, but Argentina's veterans pushed them over the finish line 78-70. Both teams had already qualified, but they still had a trophy to play for as Venezuela competed a 2nd consecutive upset 76-71 to win their 1st title.
Eurobasket was the most anticipated tournament, with 24 teams battling for only 2 automatic spots at the Olympics. The original plans to hold the tournament in Ukraine were scrapped last year and there was not enough time to arrange a single host, so 4 different countries hosted parts of the tournament. France, which was awarded hosting for the knockout round, also hosted Group A at Montpellier. They along with Israel, Poland, and Finland moved on as Russia and Bosnia and Herzegovina were eliminated. Group B was held in Berlin, Germany and Serbia took the top spot, moving along with Spain, Italy, and Turkey, eliminating the hosts and Iceland. Group C was in Zagreb, Croatia, but Greece was able to finish first with the hosts, Slovenia, and Georgia also advancing at the expense of Macedonia and the Netherlands. Group D action took place in Riga, Latvia where the hosts moved on right behind Lithuania, with the Czech Republic and Belgium moving on as well while Estonia fell short and Ukraine suffered another setback. From there, the remaining 16 teams descended on Lille. In the all-important semifinals, Spain beat France 80-75 in overtime and Lithuania beat Serbia 67-64 to complete a set of thrilling games for the two automatic spots. Spain then beat Lithuania, 80-63 to also win the championship. The losers at the quarterfinal stage knew that three of them would definitely also have a chance next summer. Greece beat Latvia 97-90 and Italy beat the Czech Republic 85-70 to grabs their spots in the final qualifying tournament. The Czech Republic beat Latvia 97-70 to take the last spot.
The final tournament was the FIBA Asia Championship, held in Changsha, China. 16 teams arrived knowing that only winning it all would be enough to ensure a spot in the Olympics. The teams started in 4 groups, with only 1 team in each group getting eliminated. Those turned out to be Malaysia in A, Kuwait in B, Singapore in C, and Taiwan in D. The remaining teams in Groups A and B combined to form Group E while the teams from Groups C and D formed Group F. Each team played 3 games with the teams they had not played yet and after tossing out results against eliminated teams, completed a new round robin. Palestine, Hong Kong, Jordan, and Kazakhstan exited at this stage, leaving 8 teams for the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals were important because wins meant that the team would at worst have another shot at qualifying next summer. Iran started by beating South Korea 75-62. Japan beat Qatar 81-67 and then China eased past India 104-58. The Philippines closed out the day by beating Lebanon 82-70. China won one semifinal and the Philippines the other, setting up a showdown for the continent's lone automatic berth. It was China in the end winning in front of the home crowd 78-67 to complete the Olympic picture for this year.
After the results, countries began to contemplate applying to be hosts either to increase their chances to qualify with a home court advantage or to just get back into the qualifying game if they were not among the 15 teams to get spots with their on court results. 9 teams now know that they can plan for next summer and the ultimate international basketball prize.
The first federation to conduct its championship was FIBA Oceania. With only Australia and New Zealand participating, the tournament was held in a two game format with each team hosting a game and the scores of both games being combined to determine the winner. As expected Australia's greater star power and depth helped them win the first game at home 71-59. They then sealed the lone Olympic berth up for grabs by also winning the second game outright 89-79 to win 160-38 overall. New Zealand then had to settle for trying to qualify next summer.
Next, FIBA Africa conducted Afrobasket 2015 in Tunisia. 16 teams competed knowing that only the winner would be able to claim a spot next summer. The tournament uses a unique format, not eliminating any teams after the first round robin stage which splits the teams into 4 groups of 4. All the teams participated in the knockout round, which always creates unpredictability as another last place team was able to eliminate a group winner. The quarterfinals were the key round as a win there was necessary to at least make it to the final qualifying tournament. The hosts actually had the closest game, beating Mali. Nigeria, Angola, and Senegal beat Gabon, Egypt, and Algeria by more decisive margins. In the semifinals, Nigeria needed overtime to beat Senegal and Angola eliminated the hosts. In the end, it was Nigeria winning the final 74-65, bringing them back to the Olympics.
FIBA Americas held its championship in Mexico City, after Mexico's original choice at Monterrey fell through. 10 teams arrived with 9 hopefuls fighting for 2 automatic berths after Brazil received their berth as hosts. The first stage was 2 round robin groups of 5 teams, which eliminated 2 teams, Brazil and Cuba. The remaining teams played 4 more games and tossed out previous results against eliminated teams to create a new giant round robin. The Dominican Republic, Panama, and Uruguay were at the bottom of the standings at the end of this round, taking away hopes of another chance next summer. Puerto Rico finished 5th, giving them another shot at qualification. The semifinal winners would take the automatic spots and Venezuela took one by stunning Canada 79-78. Mexico had used the energy of the home crowd to have a strong tournament, but Argentina's veterans pushed them over the finish line 78-70. Both teams had already qualified, but they still had a trophy to play for as Venezuela competed a 2nd consecutive upset 76-71 to win their 1st title.
Eurobasket was the most anticipated tournament, with 24 teams battling for only 2 automatic spots at the Olympics. The original plans to hold the tournament in Ukraine were scrapped last year and there was not enough time to arrange a single host, so 4 different countries hosted parts of the tournament. France, which was awarded hosting for the knockout round, also hosted Group A at Montpellier. They along with Israel, Poland, and Finland moved on as Russia and Bosnia and Herzegovina were eliminated. Group B was held in Berlin, Germany and Serbia took the top spot, moving along with Spain, Italy, and Turkey, eliminating the hosts and Iceland. Group C was in Zagreb, Croatia, but Greece was able to finish first with the hosts, Slovenia, and Georgia also advancing at the expense of Macedonia and the Netherlands. Group D action took place in Riga, Latvia where the hosts moved on right behind Lithuania, with the Czech Republic and Belgium moving on as well while Estonia fell short and Ukraine suffered another setback. From there, the remaining 16 teams descended on Lille. In the all-important semifinals, Spain beat France 80-75 in overtime and Lithuania beat Serbia 67-64 to complete a set of thrilling games for the two automatic spots. Spain then beat Lithuania, 80-63 to also win the championship. The losers at the quarterfinal stage knew that three of them would definitely also have a chance next summer. Greece beat Latvia 97-90 and Italy beat the Czech Republic 85-70 to grabs their spots in the final qualifying tournament. The Czech Republic beat Latvia 97-70 to take the last spot.
The final tournament was the FIBA Asia Championship, held in Changsha, China. 16 teams arrived knowing that only winning it all would be enough to ensure a spot in the Olympics. The teams started in 4 groups, with only 1 team in each group getting eliminated. Those turned out to be Malaysia in A, Kuwait in B, Singapore in C, and Taiwan in D. The remaining teams in Groups A and B combined to form Group E while the teams from Groups C and D formed Group F. Each team played 3 games with the teams they had not played yet and after tossing out results against eliminated teams, completed a new round robin. Palestine, Hong Kong, Jordan, and Kazakhstan exited at this stage, leaving 8 teams for the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals were important because wins meant that the team would at worst have another shot at qualifying next summer. Iran started by beating South Korea 75-62. Japan beat Qatar 81-67 and then China eased past India 104-58. The Philippines closed out the day by beating Lebanon 82-70. China won one semifinal and the Philippines the other, setting up a showdown for the continent's lone automatic berth. It was China in the end winning in front of the home crowd 78-67 to complete the Olympic picture for this year.
After the results, countries began to contemplate applying to be hosts either to increase their chances to qualify with a home court advantage or to just get back into the qualifying game if they were not among the 15 teams to get spots with their on court results. 9 teams now know that they can plan for next summer and the ultimate international basketball prize.
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