FIBA grants Brazil automatic bid for 2016 Olympics

The path to an Olympic berth for every team in the FIBA Americas just got a little easier.

Brazil has been granted an automatic berth into both the men's and women's basketball tournaments for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, FIBA announced Sunday.

Normally, the host nation's automatic bid into the tournament is a certainty, but the Brazil Basketball Confederation (CBB) reportedly had an outstanding debt of an estimated $1 million owed to FIBA. The FIBA board met in Tokyo this weekend to discuss a handful of matters, including whether or not Brazil would have its automatic berth taken away.

The CBB made a "firm commitment" to pay the outstanding debt. Brazil had previously offered to repay the debt on a schedule extending to 2019, but a FIBA spokesman said at the time that a July 31 deadline was firm.

Brazil's automatic berth is great news for other teams in the Americas. With USA Basketball having punched their ticket by winning the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup and Brazil now receiving automatic entry, two of the top three ranked teams in the region don't need to use the 2015 FIBA Americas or the 2016 Olympic Qualifying Tournament to gain entry.

The 2015 FIBA Americas tournament, which begins Aug. 31 in Mexico, will send two teams to the Olympics and three to the qualifying tournament, separate of Brazil and the U.S., the latter of whom is not participating. That's great news for Argentina, Canada, and others.

Brazil sent a strong signal that it knew this ruling was coming earlier in the month, when it released a FIBA Americas roster that looked more like a development squad than a team out to win the tournament.