The Men's Basketball competition at the 2008 Olympics begins on Aug. 10. But before we get to Beijing, we've got to fill the final three spots in the draw. Right now, only nine teams have qualified for the Olympics. The final three spots will be determined by the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Athens, July 14-20.
Twelve teams are competing for the three spots. They qualified for the qualifying tourney by their finish in last year's regional tournaments. The field has some teams that can not only qualify for the Olympics, but also have the ability to win a medal in Beijing.
Greece is the 2005 European champion which beat the United States and won silver at the 2006 World Championships. They feature some of the best players in Europe, including point guard Theo Papaloukas.
Germany was the runner-up to Greece at Eurobasket 2005 and is always a tough out with Dirk Nowitzki and now Chris Kaman.
Puerto Rico defeated the USA on its way to a sixth-place finish at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and finished third in last year's FIBA Americas tournament. The Puerto Ricans have two NBA point guards, Carlos Arroyo and J.J. Barea, running the show.
Brazil and Canada finished third and fourth, respectively, at FIBA Americas last year. While Brazil is missing its NBA contigent, Canada will have Samuel Dalembert manning the middle.
And Croatia and Slovenia are both solid European teams with NBA-level talent.
Original Story:
http://www.nba.com/features/olympicquali....
Twelve teams are competing for the three spots. They qualified for the qualifying tourney by their finish in last year's regional tournaments. The field has some teams that can not only qualify for the Olympics, but also have the ability to win a medal in Beijing.
Greece is the 2005 European champion which beat the United States and won silver at the 2006 World Championships. They feature some of the best players in Europe, including point guard Theo Papaloukas.
Germany was the runner-up to Greece at Eurobasket 2005 and is always a tough out with Dirk Nowitzki and now Chris Kaman.
Puerto Rico defeated the USA on its way to a sixth-place finish at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and finished third in last year's FIBA Americas tournament. The Puerto Ricans have two NBA point guards, Carlos Arroyo and J.J. Barea, running the show.
Brazil and Canada finished third and fourth, respectively, at FIBA Americas last year. While Brazil is missing its NBA contigent, Canada will have Samuel Dalembert manning the middle.
And Croatia and Slovenia are both solid European teams with NBA-level talent.
Original Story:
http://www.nba.com/features/olympicquali....
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