Asia Cup qualifiers shift to bubble play, too

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas will play inside a bubble once the next windows of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers resume in November and in February 2021.

This as the Fiba executive committee, acting on the recommendation of the medical and competitions commissions, decided to make changes and ditch the original home-and-away format.

“All the games of both windows shall be conducted in bubbles, instead of home and away games, “ FIBA said in a statement yesterday.

The basketball governing body said the bubble hosts will be determined in due course.

It said the games will be held “with the agreement of the host public health authorities and in compliance with the FIBA Health Protocols including PCR testing and controlled entry into a secure environment in the competition city.”

“Each bubble will consist of four or eight teams (one or two qualification groups),” FIBA said.

Gilas was originally set to play on the road against South Korea on Nov. 27 then Thailand three days later for the November window.  Then the Pinoy dribblers were slated to host Indonesia and Korea on Feb. 18 and 21, 2021, respectively.