PR N°28 - FIBA launches new nations ranking

USA leads in all categories

GENEVA (FIBA) - Following the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Men which concluded last Sunday in Istanbul, Turkey, FIBA have launched a completely new ranking system, the International Basketball Federation announced on Friday.

The United States of America (USA) currently rank supreme in all categories, including the new youth rankings for Boys and Girls which have been added in the new system.

In the Men's Ranking, Turkey made a huge leap from 18th to sixth after their runners-up finish at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

For the first time ever, the U19 and U17 FIBA World Championships for Boys and Girls as well as all U16 and U18 continental championships weigh in to determine the new FIBA categories for Boys and Girls.

Therefore the new FIBA ranking now includes five categories: Men, Women, Boys, Girls and a Combined Ranking that takes into account results from all genders and all age categories. The new system makes for a more accurate pecking order of the world's basketball nations.

"I am very happy to see these new and complete world rankings including the youth categories," said FIBA Secretary General and International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Patrick Baumann.

"This is a great initiative and one that has been a long time coming. We have to make sure we reward the countries that perform well in youth competitions because the young players coming through the junior ranks are the best investment in the future of basketball."

"With the new system in place, we can see that the USA have overtaken Argentina in the Men's Ranking and now top all categories. This is a reflection of the talent and commitment they have both in Men's and Women's teams at Junior and Senior level," Baumann added.

Here is a look at the top 10 in each category.

Top 10 - Men's Ranking:
1 United States of America 892.00
2 Spain 720.00
3 Argentina 665.00
4 Greece 489.00
5 Lithuania 462.00
6 Turkey 301.00
7 Italy 300.00
8 Serbia 234.00
9 Australia 224.00
10 China 219.70

Top 10 - Women's Ranking:
1 United States of America 940.00
2 Russia 920.00
3 Australia 825.00
4 Brazil 426.00
5 Spain 420.00
6 Czech Republic 313.00
7 China 297.00
8 France 264.00
9 Korea 252.00
10 Cuba 238.00

The Women's Ranking will be updated after the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Women in the Czech Republic (23rd September-3rd October).

Top 10 - Boys Ranking:
1 United States of America 306.00
2 Lithuania 204.80
3 Serbia 176.80
4 Argentina 162.00
5 Greece 150.60
6 Canada 135.00
7 France 132.40
8 Australia 117.00
9 Croatia 110.80
10 Spain 110.60

Top 10 - Girls Ranking
1 United States of America 360.00
2 Spain 237.20
3 Canada 163.00
4 Serbia 156.00
5 France 148.80
6 China 133.00
7 Russia 121.80
8 Argentina 116.20
9 Sweden 100.80
10 Brazil 99.00

Combined Ranking (Men, Women, Boys, and Girls):
1 United States of America 2,498.00
2 Spain 1,487.80
3 Russia 1,302.00
4 Australia 1,233.00
5 Argentina 1,129.40
6 Lithuania 909.80
7 Brazil 768.80
8 Greece 755.40
9 France 715.20
10 China 707.90

About the FIBA Rankings
The rankings are calculated within the scope of a two Olympic Games cycle (including qualifying competitions at FIBA Zone level) and take into consideration all World Championships, Olympic Games and Continental Championships events.

Whenever a new championship is played, the oldest championship of that category drops out. The FIBA Ranking is then recalculated.

For the complete FIBA ranking in each category as well as the precise method on how it is calculated, visit www.fiba.basketball.