FIBA Oceania caging rankings released

The FIBA Oceania rankings have been published in the December edition of the FIBA Oceania Bulletin.

As expected, Australia is ranked No. 1 in both the men’s and women’s divisions.

Australia earned 862 ranking points in the men’s division to finish ahead of New Zealand (716.25 points). Completing the Top 10 are Guam (245), New Caledonia (212.5), Fiji (203), Samoa (123), American Samoa (93), Tahiti (91.5), the Marshall Islands (42), and Palau.

The CNMI is ranked No. 17 getting 13.5 points.

Also on the list are Papua New Guinea (36.5), Vanuatu (28.5), the Cook Islands (27.75), the Federated States of Micronesia (27.5), Nauru (22.5), Kiribati (12), and Tonga (11).

The CNMI gained a higher ranking in the women’s division with its female players placing No. 11 after getting 27.25 points.

Australia has 1654 to pace New Zealand (631.75), Fiji (332), Tahiti 9201.25), New Caledonia (187.25), Samoa (127.5), American Samoa (122.25), PNG (86), Palau (60.5), Guam (48.75), Nauru (22), FSM (20), the Marshall Islands (20), Vanuatu (19), the Solomon Islands (15.75), the Cook Islands (15.5), and Tonga (1.75).

Overall, the Top 5 is composed of Australia (2525), New Zealand 91348), Fiji (535.5), New Caledonia (322.5), and Guam (293.75), while the CNMI is ranked 13th with its total points of 49.75.

The ranking system is similar to the one used by FIBA to rank national teams in worldwide basis. Basketball Association of Northern Mariana Islands secretary general and FIBA Oceania Board member Michael A. White was tasked to produce the rankings.

White in an email to Saipan Tribune sent a copy of the criteria used in the rankings.

The rankings are calculated within the scope of an eight-year cycle. For an event held every four years, such as the Olympics and Pacific Games, the last two competitions are taken into account. For biennial events, the last four are considered. For annual meets, the last eight are included on the list.

Each event is assigned a weight with the FIBA World Championships and Olympics getting the most points with five each. For each event, points are assigned based upon a team’s placing.

A gold medal finish gives a team 50 points, 40 for silver, 30 for bronze, 15 for fourth, 12 for fifth, 10 for sixth, nine for seventh, nine for eighth, seven for ninth, six for 10th, five for 11th, four for 12th, third for 13th, and two for 14 th, and one for 15th and 16th.

The points earned by a team in an event are multiplied by the weight assigned to that event.