SBP scraps Asia Cup bubble owing to travel ban

There will be no home court to defend for Gilas Pilipinas in the third window of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers as the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas announced Tuesday that it has scrapped its planned hosting owing to the travel prohibitions set by the country.

SBP President Al Panlilio said in the statement that they remain steadfast on its commitment to international basketball “after taking a huge hit during the pandemic.”

After Gilas swept its assignments in the second window in Bahrain last year, the national federation was given the hosting nod for the final window as it offered Angeles, Pampanga as its venue for its own bubble that is supposed to be played from February 18-23.

“The SBP offered to welcome not just Group A where we belong, but Group C as well because we were confident we’d be able to host a safe environment where world-class basketball players can showcase their skills without having to worry about anything else,” said Panlilio. 

However, the new strain of the coronavirus was the primary reason of the travel ban, in which Gilas’ archrival South Korea and Group C’s Australia and Hong Kong are among those who are included by the order from the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The current travel ban will last until the end of January, but with the new strain and the still uncontrollable crisis, there is a high possibility that it will be extended.

That means that SBP had no choice but to surrender its hosting duties, alongside Japan who are supposed to host Group B but ceded it to Qatar instead.

Despite the setback, Panlilio hopes that they can get another chance to host international games once again.

“We are working with FIBA to look for possible solutions to this situation,” he then said.

Gilas currently sits on top of their group unbeaten with three wins in as many games with six points, which can be moved up to seven owing to  South Korea's absence in the second window. It can qualify for the competition proper alongside Bahrain, Lebanon and host Indonesia with just a win in their final three games of the qualifiers.
FILE PHOTOS: FIBA