Gilas boosts world ranking

Gilas Pilipinas jumped four notches in the latest International Basketball Federation (FIBA) world ranking following its impressive performance in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) recently.

From No. 38, the Filipinos are now at No. 34, thanks to their semifinal appearance in the OQT in which they beat European powerhouse Latvia in the group stage before losing to Brazil in the semifinals of the qualifiers.

The Brazilians emerged as champions and represented the Riga leg of the OQT in the Paris Olympics.

The United States remains on top of the world ranking following its successful title defense in the Summer Games. At No. 2 is Paris Olympics bronze medalist Serbia while World Cup champion Germany is third followed by Summer Games runner-up France and emerging superpower Canada.

Interestingly, South Sudan — the youngest country in the world — made the biggest jump from No. 34 to No. 23 after a strong performance in the FIBA World Cup and the Paris Olympics.

Rounding out the top 10 are Spain, Australia, Argentina, Latvia and Lithuania.

Japan, which had a good run in the Summer Games, is now the top Asian team at No. 21 followed by Iran (No. 28), Lebanon (No. 29), and rebuilding China (No. 30).