By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
With the finale of the Olympic Games, FIBA’s country ranks changed. Nigeria, Venezuela, Serbia and Brazil all took part in the Rio Games and have had noticeable jumps while Germany, Angola, Iran and Greece have had the biggest falls after failing to qualify for a second straight Olympics.
Serbia (553pts), after winning two of their five games in Group A and then beating Croatia and Australia to reach the Final in Brazil, have leapfrogged Lithuania and France into third place.
They now trail No. 1 USA (1000.0 points), who won a gold medal at the Olympics for a third straight time, and Spain (665.0pts), who finished third.
The Serbians, who suffered a heavy defeat to the Americans in the title game, just as they did at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Madrid, are well clear of No. 4 France (444.0pts), No. 5 Lithuania (442.0pts) and No. 6 Argentina (360.0pts). The Lithuanians and Argentinians played at the Olympics and reached the Quarter-Finals but lost to Australia and the USA, respectively.
Hosts Brazil (323pts)climbed two spots to No. 7 despite not advancing to the last eight. (The ranking is calculated within the scope of a two Olympic Games cycle, including qualifying competitions at FIBA Zone level).
Venezuela (115.4pts), the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship winners, and Nigeria (106.2pts), who finished top of the AfroBasket 2015 podium, were at the Olympics and have risen to No. 15 and No. 16, respectively.