FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers final window to push through in Clark in mid-June

The final window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers will be scheduled to resume in June, with Clark, Philippines as one of the venues, according to the FIBA Regional Office Asia on Friday.

In a statement, the FIBA office said that aside from Clark, which will host Groups A, B, and C of the tournament, Ammad, Jordan will also host a bubble for Groups E and F.

The Philippine games will be played on June 16 to 20 while the Jordan games will take place June 12 to 14.

"Organized in protected environment tournaments in order to ensure the health and safety of all participants, these games will determine the ten teams that will join Bahrain and Lebanon, already qualified for the event," the FIBA Regional Office said.

Group A is composed of the Philippines, Korea, Indonesia, and Thailand.

The Philippine national men's basketball team, Gilas Pilipinas, needs just one more win to qualify for the FIBA Asia Cup which will be held in August in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Chinese Taipei, Japan, Malaysia, and China comprise Group B, while Australia, New Zealand, Guam, and Hong Kong make up Group C.

Lebanon, Bahrain, and FIBA Asia Cup host Indonesia are already assured of slots in the August tournament.

FIBA in February decided to give the hosting rights of the qualifier's final window to the Philippines after Qatar cancelled due to coronavirus restrictions.

Clark was originally slated to host the February window. However, the said hosting was cancelled due to travel restrictions imposed by the Philippine government then.

The Philippines last played in the qualifiers in November where they swept Thailand in back-to-back games.

Gilas Pilipinas program director Tab Baldwin, in an interview, said their recent training camp had 'elite' practices before it was cut short due to the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and nearby provinces —Justin Kenneth Carandang/JMB, GMA News