The Philippines will host the third and final window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers after all. It’s just a matter of when.
FIBA announced late Friday, February 12 that the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) will host two groups barely a day after Qatar pulled out of hosting the third window due to its rising coronavirus cases.
“Fixing the dates of the ‘windows to be created’ under this unexpected and unordinary situation will still need about 10 days to be finalized,” FIBA Asia executive director Hagop Khajirian said in a statement.
“However, we have already decided to have these games in the Philippines, where SBP will host two groups, and in Lebanon, where [the Lebanese Basketball Federation] will host the third group.”
The Philippines had been tasked to host Group A – where Gilas Pilipinas belongs – and Group C in a bubble in Clark, Pampanga this February, but the SBP called off the hosting due to travel restrictions in the country.
Qatar took over the hosting of Groups A, B, and E.
However, Qatar – as per the order of its Ministry of Public Health –eventually had to cancel its hosting a week before the scheduled start of the third window games.
FIBA said 4 national federations immediately proposed to host the games.
Leading Group A with a spotless 3-0 record, Gilas Pilipinas needs to win at least 1 of its last 3 qualifier games to secure its Asia Cup slot. – Rappler.com
via PK
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