Following the Draw for the FIBA Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournaments 2024 this morning, the Tall Blacks now know which countries they will battle on the road to the Paris Olympics.
Today’s Draw in Switzerland has confirmed that the Tall Blacks will travel to Piraeus, Greece from 2-7 July 2024 to participate in one of four Olympic Qualifying Tournaments. Joining New Zealand in Piraeus will be opponents Slovenia, Croatia, Greece, Egypt and Dominican Republic – with the team that finishes first in this tournament earning a ticket to the 2024 Olympic Games.
If New Zealand are able to finish first in this tournament, they will progress to the Olympics for the first time in 20 years; their last appearance coming in Athens in 2004 when they finished 10th overall.
Slovenia will present the toughest challenge for New Zealand, after they finished seventh overall in the FIBA World Cup; the team led by NBA superstar Luka Doncic, who also guided his country to fourth place at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Greece and Dominican Republic can also roll out their big guns in the form of NBA stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Karl-Anthony Towns, while Croatia – a perennial basketball powerhouse – will be looking to return to their winning ways after they failed to qualify for the FIBA World Cup this year.
Both Greece and Egypt are well-known opponents for the Tall Blacks; the Kiwis falling to Greece 74-83 in their third game of the FIBA World Cup 2023, then fending off Egypt 88-86 in their final World Cup game – that win earning New Zealand an invite to next year’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
The FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments 2024 game schedule will be announced at a later stage.
