FIBA officially handed the hosting of Asia Cup Qualifiers to the Philippines

The Philippines has been officially named as host of the third and final window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers where Groups A, B, and C will play in a bubble setting in Clark, Pampanga from June 16 to 20, 2021.

The FIBA Regional Office Asia has finally made the official announcement late Friday night after the matches were postponed in February due to restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 situation.

Group A is composed of the Philippines, Korea, Thailand, and Indonesia, Group B is comprised of Chinese Taipei, Japan, Malaysia, and China, while Australia, New Zealand, Guam, and Hong Kong form Group C.

Unbeaten in Group A with a 3-0 card, Gilas Pilipinas needs to win at least one of its last three qualifying matches to punch a ticket in the FIBA Asia Cup and be part of the 10 teams who will join Bahrain and Lebanon who are already qualified in the tournament.

Gilas is scheduled to take on archrival South Korea twice and former Gilas coach Rajko Toroman’s Indonesia in the final window of the Qualifiers.

Meanwhile, Jordan will serve as host for Group E and F at the city of Amman from June 12 to 14. Group E is made up of Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, while Kazakhstan, Palestine, Sri Lanka, and Jordan form Group F.

Group D already completed their qualifying games in the original schedule in the February window.

FIBA however clarified in their statement that “FIBA will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and communicate any further updates regarding its competitions if necessary.”

Gilas Cadets has been training for the tournament in a bubble set-up in Calamba since March but was called off prematurely due to the rising numbers of COVID cases in the region.

Images from FIBA