POT LUCK: Getting Lucky In The Olympic Qualifying Draw
By this time, everyone knows who the 18 countries vying for three Olympic slots are. (in case you don't know, they are France, Serbia, Italy, Canada, Czech Republic, Greece, Angola, Iran, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Croatia, Tunisia, Turkey, Japan, Latvia, Mexico, Senegal and the Philippines) But this time, everyone would also know that we will be hosting one of the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, a distinct honor and a tremendous advantage accorded to our basketball team. With the draw looming in a few hours, let’s take a quick look at which teams would give us the better chance of winning the Manila leg. Caveat: the Gilas lineup I’m using for this comparison includes not just a fit Andray Blatche, but also a fully healed Junemar Fajardo plus Jordan Clarkson. But first, a look at the draw pots: And now, analyzing the probable match ups: POT 1 – Serbia is a host so we’ll never face them. It comes down to France vs Greece and while I would dearly love t... ... See more
