2015 FIBA Americas Basketball Preview: Road to Rio
By Jay Rosales
Aug 13, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; USA Team Blue stands at attention during the presentation of the National Anthem before the USA Basketball Showcase at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Schedule and Format
The 10 qualified countries have been drawn into two groups (FIBA Ranking):
Group A – Brazil (9), Mexico (19), Dominican Republic (20), Uruguay (26), Panama (33)
Group B – Argentina (3), Puerto Rico (15), Canada (25), Venezuela (27), Cuba (58)
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After playing each country in your group once, the top-4 from each advance. In the second round, records are carried over (except for game vs. eliminated country) and one game is played against each of the remaining four countries from the other group.
From there, the top-4 countries qualify for the semi-finals, while the 5th place team will qualify for next year’s FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Semi-final losers advance to the 3rd place game and join the 5th place team at next year’s qualifier. Semi-final winners qualify for Rio.
However, if one of those finalists is Brazil, the second qualifying spot is then awarded to the winner of the 3rd place game.
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