MIES/MANILA (2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments) - FIBA have confirmed that Filipino commercial television network TV5 will serve as the official Philippine broadcast partner of the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) that will take place in the country's capital of Manila from 5-10 July.

TV5 will have exclusive coverage of one of the three tournaments that will decide the remaining three places for the Olympic Basketball Tournament at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

TV5 has previously broadcast the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship which delivered excellent ratings compared with its rival networks during its timeslot, making it the weekend primetime winner of the ratings game. With this track record matched with Sports5's continuous commitment for world class coverage, the Manila OQT will definitely be something that every household would once more enjoy.

According to Emmanuel C. Lorenzana, TV5 President and CEO: "TV5 and our multi-platform reach have been the gold-standard for sports coverage in the local television scene and we are proud of the opportunity to bring the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments to Filipino homes this coming July. Our track record speaks for itself having covered the fabled journey of our very own Gilas Pilipinas to the [2014] FIBA [Basketball] World Cup in Spain and our exclusive live free-TV airing of all the Gilas team's games starting with the FIBA Asia Championship and now this FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament that we are hopeful to get a seat in the hard-court in Rio."

Patricia Hizon, Head of Sports5, added: "We are deeply honoured by FIBA's continuing recognition of the effort and dedication of our television crew, staff and talents and for the support of Filipino audiences who have watched our past coverage of world-class basketball that FIBA is known for. With our tradition of excellence and commitment to bring monumental sporting events for the whole Philippines to witness, TV5's FIBA OQT coverage will definitely be another great addition to its growing fame as the number one sports channel in Philippine television."

Host nation Philippines will be joined in the Manila OQT by Canada, France, New Zealand, Senegal and Turkey. All games will be played at the Mall of Asia (MOA) and only the winner of the tournament will qualify for Rio 2016. The other two OQTs will take place in Belgrade, Serbia and Turin, Italy from 4-9 July.

FIBA