May 14, 2020 - Croatia will have the help of NBA players in the qualifications for the Olympic Games next summer.
Gol.hr reports that the qualifying tournaments for national basketball teams to participate in the Olympic Games in Tokyo, which have been postponed for the summer of 2021, hosted by Split, Belgrade, Kaunas and Canadian Victoria, will be played from June 29 to July 4 next year. The news was decided after consultations between the World Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
At the meeting of the FIBA Executive Board in early April, changes were voted in the competition calendar, where the qualifying tournaments were scheduled from June 22 to July 4, with the representatives of the umbrella basketball organization advocating the start of the competition as late as possible, so that the national teams and players have more time to prepare.
The biggest problem for the realization of this idea was the deadline for the completion of Olympic qualifications for all sports, set by the IOC on June 29, 2021. However, the working group of the IOC Executive Board accepted the arguments put forward by FIBA representatives in talks on qualifying tournament dates and on Wednesday, it was confirmed that the date for all four tournaments would be from June 29 to July 4, according to a district letter sent to national federations on Wednesday by FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis.
Recall, Croatia is one of the hosts of the tournament. Thus, in Split, the Croatia national team will face off against Brazil and Tunisia in the first round, and Russia, Germany and Mexico in the second group. The two best national teams will advance to the semifinals, and only the winning national team of each of the four tournaments will win a place among the 12 national teams that will play at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
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