FIBA bares Asia Cup new format

A new format of competition that is expected to draw out the best from the competing field is set for the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup even as qualifiers from East Asia and Southeast Asia are still being awaited.

Australia, New Zealand, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and Syria have already qualified for the tourney set Aug. 10-20 in Beirut.

The Philippines is tipped to qualify from the SEABA competition while East Asian powers China, South Korea, Japan and Chinese Taipei are likely to easily find their way to the Asia Cup as well.

A total of 16 teams will assemble in Beirut, separated into four brackets in the group phase.

The competitors play a single round in each group with the best teams automatically advancing to the quarterfinals.

The bottom teams are automatically eliminated while the second and third teams from each group will need to go through a qualifying phase for the quarterfinals.

The qualifying phase features four matches of No. 2 team versus No. 3 squad. The winners advance to the Final Eight with the four early qualifiers.

Then it’s a knockout battle all the way to the finale.

But first, the Philippines needs to top the SEABA Championship at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on May 12-18 to make the Beirut joust.

Gilas Pilipinas placed second in the last two FIBA Asia Championships in Manila and in Changsha, China.

However, the road to the top in the continental competition has become tougher now with the merger of Australia and New Zealand with the old Asian competitors.

Australia is ranked higher than China in the world ranking at No. 10. New Zealand is at No. 20, five notches higher than Iran and seven up on the Philippines.