MANILA, Philippines – The much-anticipated game between Gilas Pilipinas and Chinese Taipei will happen at the end of the group stages.
Gilas coach Chot Reyes opted for a lighter opponent in Saudi Arabia before taking the early acid test against Jordan and Chinese Taipei.
The nationals’ last assignment in the group stages has been marked by the local fans after Chinese Taipei withdrew its earlier invitation to the Jones Cup, where Gilas Pilipinas is the defending champion, due to the political tension between the two countries.
In the official schedule good for the first three days of the preliminary round in the 27th FIBA-Asia Championship set Aug. 1-11 that has been approved, six games will be played in the main venue, the SM Mall of Asia Arena, while two will be staged at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, the secondary playing court.
Two-time champion Iran takes on Malaysia at 11 a.m., Jordan faces Chinese-Taipei at 1:15 p.m., Japan meets Qatar at 3:30 p.m., defending champion China tangles with South Korea at 5:45 p.m., Gilas Pilipinas tests Saudi Arabia at 8:30 p.m. and Lebanon clashes with Hong Kong at 10:30 p.m. – all the SM MOA Arena.
Over at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Kazakhstan faces Thailand at 6 p.m. and India meets Bahrain at 8:30 p.m.
The top three finishers in the FIBA Asia meet will qualify to the FIBA World Cup next year in Madrid.
Bracketed in Group A are Jordan, Chinese-Taipei, Saudi Arabia and Gilas Pilipinas. In Group B are Japan, Qatar, Lebanon and Hong Kong. In Group C are China, South Korea, Iran and Malaysia, and in Group D are Kazakhstan, Thailand, India and Bahrain.
On Day 2, Aug. 2, at the MOA Arena, China meets Malaysia at 11 a.m., Chinese-Taipei battles Saudi Arabia at 1:15 p.m., Japan tangles with Hong Kong at 3:30 p.m., South Korea faces Iran at 5:45 p.m., Gilas Pilipinas takes on Jordan at 8:30 p.m., and Qatar collides with Lebanon at 10:30 p.m.
At the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Thailand clashes with India at 6 p.m. and Kazakhstan faces Bahrain at 8:30 p.m.
On Day 3, Aug. 3, at the MOA Arena, Malaysia and South Korea meet at 11 a.m., India and Kazakhstan tangle at 1:15 p.m., Lebanon and Japan face off at 3:30 p.m., Iran and China clash at 5:45 p.m., Gilas Pilipinas and Chinese-Taipei collide at 8:30 p.m., and Saudi Arabia and Jordan meet at 10:30 p.m.
And at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Bahrain and Thailand clash at 6 p.m., and Hong Kong and Qatar meet at 8:30 p.m.
The top three teams from each group, with their win-loss records, move up to the second round, with the qualifiers from Groups A and B comprising the six-team Group E, and those coming from Groups C and D making up the six-team Group F.
The top four finishers then meet in the crossover knockout pairings in the quarterfinals to determine the four semifinalists, who then collide in crossover fashion to decide the finalists.