DUBAI: Pinoy basketball aficionados – and there are millions of them – are up for exciting matches at the upcoming, much-awaited Tokyo 2020 Olympics basketball happening just over 10 months away as pundits say it’s a wide-open, free-for-all showdown with FIBAWorld Cup title defenders United States suffering what has been described by Agence France Presse (AFP) as their “worst” finish; Spain emerged victorious; and Argentina taken aback.
“World Cup bronze medallists France and Australia – who were edged out of the medals but pushed eventual winners Spain all the way in the semifinals – will also be in contention,” Rappler said, citing report from the French news agency.
With the Tokyo Games just around the block, basketball teams will soon be hitting the training camps in preparation for the summer tourney.
“It’s exactly what I knew it to be because I’ve been involved with it before and in this day and age basketball in other countries is not a secret,” AFP quoted USA coach Gregg Popovich as saying in the aftermath of his team’s disappointing seventh-place finish.
“So it’s not like there’s an epiphany or revelation to be made.”
“There are wonderful teams and wonderful coaches all over the world so there’s no surprise in any of that.”
If the United States can convince the likes of double gold medallist LeBron James to play in Tokyo, they will be favorites to make it 4 Olympic titles in a row, AFP said.
But it remains to be seen whether the flak flying Team USA’s way after the China debacle scares the A-listers away or stings them into action, it added.
