The FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers November window will open in the Kingdom next Friday (Nov. 27).
Manama will host the games in Groups A and D. Group A teams include Korea, Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand, while Group D features Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, and India.
Delegations and referees have started converging on the Kingdom of Bahrain to take part in the qualifiers which will conclude on November 30.
Match monitors, concerned personalities and officials representing the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) committees will start arriving in Bahrain tomorrow (Sunday).
Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Lebanon are scheduled to arrive in Manama on Monday while India is expected to land in Bahrain on Tuesday.
Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) Secretary-General Ahmed Youssef said that all preparations had been taken at Bahrain International Airport to receive the teams which will stay at the Gulf Court Hotel.
He said that the mandatory health protocols for combating the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) would be implemented during the qualifiers.
“All teams will undergo two COVID-19 tests befor arriving in the Kingdom of Bahrain”, he said, adding that Rapid Tests will also be conducted during the qualifiers in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs, Bahrain Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Health.
The most important criteria in choosing the hosts were health and travel guarantees and compliance with FIBA health protocols, including testing and controlled entry into a secure environment.
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 in September after taking into consideration the health and safety of players, coaches, and officials, and following a recommendation from the Medical and Competitions Commissions.
The two top teams will book a sport in the FIBA Asia Cup 2021, bringing the number of qualified teams to 12.
Six teams which ranked third in the six groups will be divided into two groups to contest the play-offs, and two teams from each group will qualify for the finals, bringing the total of qualified teams to 16.
BNA News
