By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The FIBA World Ranking Men has been updated following the February 2018 window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Qualifiers.
The ranking takes into consideration rating points of games played in top official FIBA competitions and their Qualifiers during an 8-year period, which now spans from 2011 to 2018.
France managed to snatch the 3rd place from Serbia by one point thanks to staying undefeated in qualifiers. They won two games in this window, a tough one against Russia after overtime 75-74, and Belgium 64-49.
Argentina also jumped by one place, staying at fifth now, while Greece entered the top 10 with a two-place jump, now being ninth.
The official announcement also mentions:
Mexico, Canada and Uruguay made some of the biggest moves up the ladder for teams from the Americas. The Mexicans are up to 13th, while Canada find themselves in 23rd place. Uruguay registered a first-ever away win over higher-ranked Argentina in the Americas Qualifiers and the historic result went a long way toward helping them move up the world order from 39th to 34th.
In Asia, Korea jump up four places to 31st after compiling a 1-1 mark in the February window. Kazakhstan bounced back from a loss at the hands of mighty Iran with victory over Qatar to improve to 3-1 overall, resulting in a five-place increase that moves them to 67th.
In Africa, Senegal move up one spot into 35th place after getting their Qualifiers underway with 2 wins and 1 losses in Group D. Mozambique, who hosted Group D action in Maputo, made good use of the homecourt advantage to also register two wins and one loss and, in the process, climb up to 76th in the world.
Numerous teams that played at the World Cup in 2010 are impacted by the loss of these points in the latest ranking. Lithuania, who stood on the third step of the podium in Istanbul, fall just outside the top 5 into sixth place, while Turkey – who battled the Americans in the title game on home soil – drop five spots to 18th.
Angola (-4 to 37th), Brazil (-2 to 11th), China (-4 to 28th) and New Zealand (-8 to 38th) are among the other teams to fall down the global pecking order because the points they earned in 2010 are no longer factored in.
The FIBA World Ranking Men is updated following every window of the World Cup 2019 Qualifiers.
Photo Credit: FIBA