FIBA Asia qualifiers schedule released; Gilas-Korea clashes set for final window

The faceoff between Gilas Pilipinas and South Korea, one of its chief rivals in Asian basketball, has now officially been set for the final window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.

According to a FIBA update on Thursday, the national team will make their gallant stand against Korea on June 16 and June 20 in the tournament which will be played in Clark. The Philippines will also play Indonesia on June 19.

Aside from Group A where the Philippines, Korea, Indonesia, and Thailand belong, the country will also host Group B (Chinese Taipei, Japan, Malaysia, China) and Group C (Australia, New Zealand, Guam, Hong Kong) in the window which will run from June 16-20.

Amman, Jordan will also host its own bubble for Group E (Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar) and Group F (Kazakhstan, Palestine, Sri Lanka, Jordan) from June 12-14.

Gilas Pilipinas needs just one more win to qualify for the FIBA Asia Cup which will be held in August in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Clark was supposed to host the final window earlier this year, but it was cancelled due to travel restrictions. Qatar was given the rights for hosting after, but it was again postponed.

After that, FIBA gave the hosting rights anew to the Philippines in February.

Gilas Pilipinas program director Tab Baldwin said they had begun ramping up practices during their last training camp before it was cut short due to the imposition of enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and nearby provinces last March.

Gilas will be fielding a young team to the qualifiers, but this might include Kai Sotto, who recently committed to play for both the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament and the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers despite joining a new team in Australia's NBL. —Justin Kenneth Carandang/JMB, GMA News