Gilas grouped with China in 2017 FIBA Asia
MANILA – Gilas Pilipinas will have an early collision course with its Asian rival China in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup from Aug. 8 to 20 at the Nuhad Nawful Stadium in Lebanon.
The Philippine men’s basketball squad and China were bracketed in Group B along with Qatar and Iraq during the drawing of lots Tuesday night.
Gilas and China also faced off in the FIBA Asia championship finals two years ago.
In their latest encounter, during the Imperial City Tournament l ast year at the Land Rover Arena in Paladozza, Italy, Gilas scored a 72-69 upset over the Chinese.
Gilas earned a slot in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup after ruling the 2017 Southeast Asian Basketball Association ( Seaba) Cup at the Smart- Araneta Coliseum in May.
Group A features Iran, Jordan, Syria, and India, while Group C has host team Lebanon, Kazakhstan, South Korea, and New Zealand. Group D includes Japan, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, and Australia.
The 2017 edition will have a different format compared to what has been used since 2009. While there would still be a preliminary round-robin of four groups of four teams, the single- elimination final round immediately follows the preliminary round.
In the final round, the teams that finished second and third in their respective groups will play in the qualifications to quarterfinals of the final round, while the group winners automatically qualify to the quarterfinals proper.
The FIBA Asia Cup serves as a replacement to the FIBA Asia Championship as the continent’s premier tournament. Unlike before, the event will not serve as qualifier to FIBA World Cup and the Olympics./