INQUIRER Sports

GENEVA?Basketball?s global governing body has asked the International Olympic Committee to include four more teams at the 2012 London Games.

The International Basketball Federation (Fiba) said Friday that having 16 instead of 12 countries would deliver bigger audiences and a more efficient tournament.

?The game has exploded and it?s time to recognize that,? Fiba secretary general Patrick Baumann told The Associated Press. ?The ratings will just skyrocket and it?s going to be good for the IOC, good for us.?

The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), the Philippines? national federation for the sport, agrees with the latest Fiba plea.

?This is a welcome move by Fiba,? said SBP executive director Noli Eala. ?The expansion of the Olympic basketball competition is something we have been batting for, particularly with respect to Asia.?

The men?s tournament has had 12 teams since the 1976 Montreal Games but has grown in stature since NBA players were first allowed to play, at Barcelona in 1992.

Asia, Fiba?s biggest basketball zone, only gets two slots in the Olympics.

Baumann said basketball was now second only to athletics in popularity with Olympic viewers.

?We have delivered our part of the bargain to the IOC and the Olympic Games,? he said. ?I think we can deliver even more if we had four more teams.?

Baumann said basketball?which will campaign on the slogan ?Not Bigger But Stronger??had the depth to justify an increased lineup.

Last year?s successful Beijing tournament was won by a US team including LeBron James, while nations such as Brazil, France, Italy and Serbia?and players such as San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker?watched at home.

?There is a mismatch between the real value of the game around the globe, its universality, and the fact (these countries) can?t come to the games,? Baumann said. ?Our world championship is for 24 countries and we could easily play with 32.?

A 16-team tournament would also deliver cost savings to the IOC and future organizing committees, Baumann said.

Playing to a natural bracket, rather than in six-team groups, would cut two days from the current schedule, allowing matches to be completed in 13 days.

Though Baumann is a member of the IOC, he will play no part in the decision. The IOC program commission will deliver a report to the 15-member Executive Board, which is scheduled to decide at its meeting in Berlin in August.