The winner of the qualifier has been drawn into Group A for the Tokyo Olympics, which includes the powerhouse United States. The men’s and women’s draw ceremonies for the Tokyo Games hoops tournaments were held Tuesday in Mies, Switzerland.
The other men’s qualifying tournaments are taking place in Split, Croatia, Kaunas, Lithuania, and Belgrade, Serbia. The winner of each tournament will take the final four berths into the Tokyo Olympics.
Canada, Greece, China, Uruguay, Czech Republic and Turkey will battle on Blanshard for the Olympic berth out of the Victoria qualifier. NBA players whose teams are not among the four conference finalists should be available for their national teams for the qualifiers. That makes host Canada, with the deepest pool of NBA talent in the Victoria qualifier, the favourite to advance off the Island into Group A of the Tokyo Olympic tournament.