DOHA (Qatar): Qatar will set up a ‘medical bubble’ to host 2021 FIBA (International Basketball Federation) Asia Cup qualifiers which was postponed due to coronavirus pandemic.
After successfully hosting the AFC Champions League West Zone matches in September, Qatar will next month be hosting the remaining group matches of Asia Cup qualification.
Qatar will be the centralized venue for remaining Groups B and E matches, which will be held following FIBA health protocols, including testing and controlled entry into a secure environment.
Group E teams include Qatar, Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. Iran will meet Saudi Arabia and Syria on November 28 and 30, respectively.
Iran sit top of the group with four points, followed by Syria (three points), Saudi Arabia (three points) and Qatar (two points).
The decision to play both windows in bubbles, instead of home and away games, for men’s competitions, was confirmed by the FIBA Executive Committee last month after taking into consideration the health and safety of players, coaches, and officials, and following a recommendation from the Medical and Competitions Commissions.
FIBA will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation in Asia on a daily basis and communicate further updates regarding FIBA Competitions when necessary.
Manama, Bahrain is set to host Groups A and D matches. Group A teams include Korea, Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand. Group D teams include Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, and India.
Amman, Jordan will serve as the site for Group F matches. The teams in Group C include Jordan, Kazakhstan, Palestine, and Sri Lanka.
From the 24 teams participating in the Asia Cup Qualifiers, only 16 will advance to play in the Asia Cup in 2021. The top two teams in the standings from each group at the end of the three windows of the Qualifiers will earn direct qualification to the Asia Cup, resulting in 12 of the 16 teams.
The final four teams to qualify will come from a separate tournament of six teams which are the third-placed teams in each respective group. The fourth-placed team in each group are therefore eliminated from contention.
