'Stand-alone' FIBA Asia Cup crowns continental champ

MANILA, Philippines – The FIBA Asia Cup, formerly the ABC Championship then the FIBA Asia Championship that served as the qualifying event in the past world jousts and Olympics, is now a “stand-alone” event where the winner reigns as the continental champ for the next four years.

Now a merger of Asian and Oceania teams playing once every four years, the Asia Cup showcases its maiden competition on August 8-20 in Beirut, Lebanon featuring 16 squads led by traditional Asian powers China, the Philippines, Iran and Korea, and Oceania rivals Australia and New Zealand.

Host Lebanon, Japan, Kazakhstan, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, India, Qatar, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei also booked spots in the competition that will stake a brand new 55-centimeter silver trophy with a gold-plated band in which “Federation Internationale de Basketball Amateur” is written.

“FIBA Asia is to crown the Asian champ,” said Gilas coach Chot Reyes of the importance of the event.

The FIBA Asia Cup is separate from a new FIBA cycle and tournament format leading to the World Cup and the Olympics Games. The new Asian event is similar with the EuroBasket, AfroBasket and the Americas Championship.

The 2015 FIBA Asia Championship in Changsha, China had proved to be the last of the old biennial Asian meet where the Philippines was the second most dominant team next to China.

The Chinese had won the event 16 times, the Filipinos five times with the last in 1986 in Malaysia, Iran thrice and South Korea and Japan twice each.

The Philippines ruled the maiden ABC tourney in 1960 in Manila then three of the next six editions before China asserted its dominance starting in 1975 in Bangkok.

 Previous to the Chinese dominance on the birth of the PBA, the Filipinos reigned supreme at home front in 1973 with a team led by Ramon Fernandez, Robert Jaworski, Bogs Adornado, Jimmy Mariano and Manny Paner.

 And that led to the Philippines’ participation in the 1974 World Championship in Puerto Rico.

The Philippines would return to the world joust 40 long years later in Spain in 2014 after Gilas Pilipinas placed second to Iran in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship at the MOA Arena.

In the last FIBA Asia Championship two years ago in Changsha, Gilas kept runners-up honors behind champion China.

With the Philippine cage federation under the leadership of businessman/sportsman Manny V. Pangilinan, Team Philippines had been in the Top Four in the Asian wars in the last eight years.

The competition, however, will be a lot tougher now in Beirut with the addition of Australia and New Zealand, No. 10 and No. 20, respectively, in the world ranking.

The Philippines has been drawn with China, Qatar and Iraq in Group B. Iran, Jordan, Syria and India compose Group A, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, Lebanon and Korea are bunched in Group C while Australia is with Japan, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei in Group D.