Gilas stumbles in latest FIBA ranking

Gilas Pilipinas logo (Wikimedia Commons, Fair Use)

MANILA — Gilas Pilipinas got a rare downgrade in its FIBA World Men’s Rankings as the latest update was released on Thursday.

Gilas dropped three spots from 27th to 30th overall as eight nations ranked below the Filipino squad in the previous FIBA rankings moved up significantly.

Four of them, Italy, Ukraine, Georgia, and Czech Republic, each moved up by a whopping 19 spots, while a fifth country, Latvia, blitzed by 17 places.

The early exit of Gilas in the FIBA Asia Cup last August greatly affected its ranking.

Despite the fall, Gilas remains in the Top 5 in the FIBA Asia-Pacific Zone as longtime rival South Korea, which was 30th overall in the last update, dropped four spots to 34th in the world.

New Zealand now holds the 27th spot — and fourth in the Asia-Pacific — after zooming by seven notches, enough to overtake Gilas.

USA, Spain, Serbia, and France remain the top four nations in the world respectively, but Argentina moved back to Number 5 after switching places with Lithuania, which moved to sixth place.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Australia (ninth overall) and Iran (22nd overall) both occupy the top two spots, while China slipped to third after dropping 10 spots in the world rankings to 24th overall.

Expect the world rankings to be updated more often from hereon as the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers will begin next month.