46 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

Canada's quest to qualify for the men's basketball tournament at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will take place at home.

 

FIBA announced Friday that Canada will play host to one of the four final Olympic qualifying tournaments. Victoria, B.C., and the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre will be the site of the six-team tournament which takes place Jun. 23-28, 2020.

 

Three similar tournaments will also be played in Split, Croatia, Kaunas, Lithuania and Belgrade, Serbia. 

 

https://www.cbc.ca/s...ia-bc-1.5360620

 

 

The road to Tokyo for the men will see 24 teams compete in four qualifying tournaments of six teams each, with seven teams qualified directly from the recent FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019.

 

 

https://www.fiba.bas...ounced-for-2020

 

 

The four remaining places in the 12-team Tokyo 2020 Olympic field are reserved for the winners of each of the four FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, set to take place on June 23-28, 2020. 

 

 

The list of teams qualified for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments:

 

Angola 
Brazil
Canada
China
Croatia 
Czech Republic
Dominican Republic
Germany
Greece
Italy
Korea
Lithuania
Mexico
New Zealand
Poland
Puerto Rico
Russia
Senegal
Serbia 
Slovenia
Tunisia
Turkey 
Uruguay
Venezuela

 

The official Draw Ceremony for both the men's and women's FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments will take place at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball, FIBA headquarters, on November 27, 2019. The draw will divide qualified teams from the five FIBA regions into geographically balanced groups and the ceremony will be livestreamed via the FIBA YouTube channel and also the FIBA Facebook account.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 15 November 2019 - 11:45 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

it would be pretty grueling but i wonder if each team will pay a full round-robin.  that would mean 5 games in 6 days.

 

perhaps it's more likely they will divide into 2 groups/pools of three teams.  so then 2 qualifying games against your pool-mates then a semi-final pair of games and a final.   winning and 2nd-place teams would then play a total of 4 games.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 15 November 2019 - 11:53 AM.

[m3m]

In previous years it's been 2 groups of 3 teams for a round robin.  Top 2 teams in each group continue on to knockout.  

[Victoria Watcher]

In previous years it's been 2 groups of 3 teams for a round robin.  Top 2 teams in each group continue on to knockout.  

 

ah very good.

 

so it will look like this:

 

3 games group a round robin

3 games group b round robin

 

2 semi-final games - a1 vs. b2 and a2 vs. b1 (or similar)

1 championship game 

 

(then not sure if they do 3rd 4th 5th place etc.)

 

so at least 9 games for fans to attend.

[shoeflack]

Schedule will be:

 

June 23 - Group play: Pool A 2v1, Pool B 2v1

June 24 - Group play: Pool A 2v3, Pool B 2v3

June 25 - Group play: Pool A 1v3, Pool B 1v3

June 26 - Off

June 27 - Semis: A1vB2, A2vB1

June 28 - Final

[Victoria Watcher]

yes.  apparently there is no 3rd or 4th place games.  

[Victoria Watcher]

Ticket information and schedule will be announced Nov. 27.

 

This is considered bigger than Victoria hosting the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup of soccer at Royal Athletic Park and the 2019 IIHF world junior hockey championship at the Memorial Centre because it is not an Under-20 competition but will feature full national teams.

 

“Not having to travel overseas for the qualifier and having the home-nation crowd behind them will be huge for our national team,” said Ken Shields, former Canadian national team and University of Victoria coach.

 

Shields is predicting Canada’s NBA players will play in the qualifier after most passed on the 2019 FIBA World Cup over the summer in China, citing a variety of reasons.

 

“They have to play,” said Shields.

 

“They grew up playing basketball here. Their country needs them. All the other teams in the world will have their NBA players.”

 

Canada has not qualified for the Olympics in men’s basketball since two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash of Victoria captained Canada to Sydney 2000.

 

“Where is a better place for our team to come to for Olympic qualifying than at the hometown of Steve Nash?” said Shields.

 

“Our Canadian players will have full access to CARSA at UVic for their training camp. They will be well looked after here.”

 

https://www.timescol...ment-1.24009776

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 15 November 2019 - 03:42 PM.

[m3m]

The Canadian NBA players won’t play. We might be lucky to get one or two nba scrubs. We’ll definitely be getting one or two Scrubbs

[Victoria Watcher]

The Canadian NBA players won’t play. We might be lucky to get one or two nba scrubs. We’ll definitely be getting one or two Scrubbs

 

there's only about 20 canadian players in the nba.  slim pickings anyway.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 15 November 2019 - 04:25 PM.

[m3m]

Contrary to my previous post suggesting that no big names will play, several big names have confirmed they will be playing including Jamal Murray, arguably Canada's best baller:

 

https://www.tsn.ca/c...ummer-1.1404456

 

Also, the draw has now been released, Canada is in Group A with China and Greece (yikes) and if they top their group, will play the winner of Group B (Czech Rep., Turkey, Urugauy) for a spot in the olympics. 

[shoeflack]

Greece will be tough to get past, especially if they have Giannis Antetokounmpo on the roster (last season's NBA MVP for the non-NBA fans).

 

But how amazing would it be to see Giannis play in Victoria...very cool opportunity.

[Victoria Watcher]

The Greek Freak will land on Blanshard Street.

Greece, featuring the reigning National Basketball Association MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, has been drawn into Canada’s group for the FIBA men’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifying tournament June 23-28 at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.


https://www.timescol...oria-1.24021391

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 28 November 2019 - 03:53 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Fans can sign up to receive advance information on tickets, pricing, volunteering opportunities and other event details at basketball.ca.

Canada will face Greece and China in Group A, while Uruguay, Czech Republic and Turkey have been drawn into Group B for the Victoria FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament June 23-28 at the Memorial Centre.

The tournament winner will advance to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Canada Basketball also announced plans are in the works for a Greater Victoria-wide community cultural festival to run during the Olympic tournament to celebrate the qualifier and the sport of basketball, with details to be announced.

 

 

https://www.timescol...uary-1.24040320

[pennymurphy2000]

Thanks Victoria Watcher for the link! Really hoping we can get tickets.

[Victoria Watcher]

Thanks Victoria Watcher for the link! Really hoping we can get tickets.

 

TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY, JANUARY 31 FOR VICTORIA FIBA OLYMPIC QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT

 

Team Canada to face #7 ranked Greece in opening matchup

 
Canada Basketball announced today that ticket packages for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments 2020 hosted in Victoria, B.C. will start at 10:00 am PST on Friday, January 31st. The tournament runs June 23 - June 28 and the winner of the tournament will qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games.
 
Nine-game ticket packages can be purchased online through selectyourtickets.com or in-person at Victoria’s Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre box office (1925 Blanshard Street, Victoria B.C).

[Victoria Watcher]

The City of Victoria is pegged to spend up to $90,000 to host the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) event this summer.

 

https://www.vicnews....all-tournament/

_______

 

The money would come out of the city’s contingency fund, and go alongside $1.25 million from the federal government, $350,000 from the province, $750,000 from corporate sponsorship, and an anticipated additional $160,000 from other other municipalities.

 

According to the report, the estimated economic impact to the city could be $6 million.

 

Discussions will happen on Thursday morning, with the decision likely to be ratified at city council Thursday night.

The tournament takes place at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre from June 23 to June 28.

 

 

 

 

 

what if council says no?  what are the chances of that $160k materializing from the other municipalities?  this is a pretty expensive event for a relatively non-basketball community here. $2.7m in government and corporate inputs to generate $6m in activity.  somehow i suspect we were "lucky" enough to get it because places like toronto (nhl nba and concerts) and vancouver (nhl and concerts) could not guarantee the dates in their arenas.

 

if it sells well it should take in $4m at an average ticket price of $60 per game (range is $30 to $150).  is that part of the $6m? 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 04 February 2020 - 06:37 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

moderators can fix the dates of the thread title here.

 

https://www.timescol...date-1.24116455

 

Nothing is guaranteed regarding the pandemic, but FIBA is hoping for a semblance of normalcy next year. The world governing body of basketball announced the new dates for the Tokyo Olympic qualifying tournaments scheduled for Victoria, Split in Croatia, Kaunas in Lithuania, and Belgrade in Serbia.

 

 

They will be conducted within the period of June 22 and July 4, 2021. The Victoria qualifying tournament, featuring host team Canada, will be played at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 11 April 2020 - 04:57 AM.

[Jackerbie]

Looks like the official dates are June 29 - July 4, with the Olympic Games held July 23 - August 8

[shoeflack]

Friends of Basketball Victoria has announced a three-week basketball festival attached to the qualification tournament next summer.

 

https://wethewestfest.com/

[Mike K.]

Holy smokes.

 

It's being described as the biggest event of its kind in the nation.