News Three tournaments taking this place this week will decide which countries claim the last three places at the Rio 2016 Olympic men's basketball tournament In total, 18 teams are in action across the globe Only the champions of each tournament will make it to the Games in August There are no prizes for coming second In Belgrade, to book their place in Rio, hosts Serbia must see off Puerto Rico, Angola, Japan, the Czech Republic and Latvia in a qualifying tournament that runs from 4 July to 9 July At the same time, in the Italian city of Turin, hosts Italy are fighting it out for an Olympic berth with Tunisia, Greece, Iran, Mexico and Croatia In Asia, the third and final men's basketball place at Rio 2016 is being contested in Manila by hosts the Philippines, Canada, France, New Zealand, Senegal and Turkey After the conclusion of the final match in Manila, the three teams will be drawn into the two groups that have already been decided for Rio 2016   The prize of a place at Rio 2016 guarantees high drama at the three pre-Olympic tournaments Here are five reasons for sports fans to tune in Three times the emotion Three pre-Olympic tournaments mean three finals, three host countries to get to know, three Most Valuable Players, three champions and, of course, the last three spots at the Rio 2016 Games This is the last chance for the teams that want to compete for gold at the very first Olympic Games in South America: only the champions of each tournament will be coming to Rio de Janeiro in August Meetings of giants The three qualifying tournaments will feature six teams, with just one berth up for grabs at each Some traditional basketball powerhouses, who have reached the Olympic and world championship podiums in the recent past, will not make it to Rio 2016 The stakes could not be higher At the tournament in Manila, France (silver medallists at Sydney 2000) andTurkey (silver at the 2010 world championship) will fight for just one place with other well-rated national sides Serbia (silver at the 2014 world championship) will have to overcome Puerto Rico and Latvia in Belgrade, while in the tournament in Turin only one of Mediterranean arch-rivals Greece, Italy and Croatia will be able to book their tickets to Brazil  World championship runners-up Serbia are desperate to win their place at Rio 2016 on home soil in Belgrade (Photo: Getty Images/Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno) Surprises are possible At each of the three tournaments, teams are participating who do not have major basketball pedigree but who could present significant challenges to the favourites Japan and the Czech Republic, the only two teams in the pre-Olympic tournaments who have never competed at the Games, will be bringing impressive speed and strength onto the court respectively The young sides of Iran and Angola could prove to be difficult opponents for some of the older, more established teams Finally,  Mexico’s #12Guerreros, even without star player Gustavo Ayon, are strong contenders for winning an Olympic place Talent in abundance This final stage of qualification for Olympic basketball is packed with global stars It could be the last chance to see some of them in action  France's Tony Parker, one of the game's biggest celebrities, has said that if France does not qualify for Rio, he will bid adieu to Les Bleus in Manila As well as Parker, the French team includes Nando de Colo, voted the best player in last season’s Euroleague  Greece can call upon NBA sensation Giannis Antetokounmpo, known as the “Greek Freak”, to put opposition defences in disarray with his unusual displays of agility for someone who stands 2 11m tall (6ft 11 inches) The list of talent does not end there: Tristan Thompson (Canada), Danilo Gallinari (Italy), JJ Barea (Puerto Rico) and Nemanja Nedovic (Serbia) will all be taking part, whetting sports fans' appetites for the main event in Rio  Tony Parker in action for France at London 2012 (Photo: Getty Images/Christian Petersen) The tough get going Nine teams from around the world have already qualified for Rio 2016 For the three teams that will join them in the draw after the conclusion of the three tournaments, Olympic medals are a very real possibility With the tournament already looking more evenly matched than ever before, Rio 2016 is shaping up to be the most competitive Olympic basketball competition in history