PHILIPPINES DROPS TO 41ST IN FIBA RANKING
4 min readFrom the 33rd position, the Philippines slumped to No. 41 in the recent FIBA World Ranking, presented by Nike, as of September 18, 2022.
The Philippines garnered a total of 306.4 points to still be on top of its Southeast Asia counterparts Indonesia (80th), Thailand (102nd), Singapore (113th), Malaysia (117th), Vietnam (139th), Brunei Darussalam (153rd), Cambodia (158th), and Myanmar (159th).
Philippines ranking
Gilas Pilipinas finished eighth overall in the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup in Indonesia in July where they absorbed a 102-81 beating from the Japanese. It was the worst finish for the national team since 2007 when a PBA-reinforced team with also coach Chot Reyes at the helm placed ninth.
The humiliating defeat was also the Philippines’ first loss to Japan in the FIBA Asia Cup in 19 years.
Gilas Pilipinas currently holds a 3-3 mark in the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers. The team will next see action in the fifth window matches against Jordan on November 10 and against Saudi Arabia on November 13.
The new ranking came on the heels of the continental championships and the third and fourth windows of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers.
Top ranking in FIBA
The United States of America, Spain, Australia, and Argentina all kept their top four positions.
The top-ranked team amassed 760.7 points but reigning world champion Spain came close in second only trailing behind with barely two points (758.9 points).
Spain, who reached the Quarter-Finals of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, captured the gold medal at the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 while Olympic champion the USA only settled with a bronze in the AmeriCup.
The race to the number one spot will get more exciting with the last two FIBA World Cup 2023 Qualifiers’ last two windows.
Australia’s 75-73 win over Lebanon in the FIBA Asia Cup 2022 on July 24 solidified their third position, improving to 741.1 points from 691.9 points.
Australia went 5-0 in the Asian Qualifiers, defeating China twice and pulling off victories over Japan, Iran, and Bahrain. Lebanon, however, made the biggest move in Asia, going up 10 positions to 43 after reaching the Asia Cup Final as well as Asian Qualifiers wins over Saudi Arabia, Jordan, India, and the Philippines.
Argentina outlasted Brazil, 75-73, on September 12 to annex the FIBA AmeriCup 2022 title to help them reclaim their fourth spot from seventh place with 736.1 points.
Rank 5th to 10th
Rounding up the top 10 are France (712.9) in fifth place, Serbia (711.5) sixth, Slovenia (703.5) seventh, Lithuania (673.7) eighth, Greece (670.8) ninth, and Italy (647.6) 10th.
Tunisia benefited from winning the FIBA AfroBasket 2021 last summer, climbing seven spots in the current FIBA ranking while Finland also climbed via the Qualifiers and EuroBasket Europe saw teams gaining in the ranking as well as pulling off with strong performances in the windows.
Finland triumphed over Sweden, Croatia, Israel, and Estonia to become the first European team to qualify for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 and then reached the EuroBasket Quarter-Finals of EuroBasket to rise from 34th to 25th.
Montenegro, meanwhile, jumped from 24 to 18th after beating France, Portugal, Bosnia, and Herzegovina in European Qualifiers and advancing to the Round of 16 of EuroBasket.
Belgium used wins over Slovakia, Serbia, and Great Britain in addition to a Round of 16 showing at EuroBasket to move up seven spots to 29th.