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Japan will host the remaining 10 Group B matches in the final qualifying window for the FIBA Asian Cup on February 18-22, FIBA announced on Thursday.
Preliminaries for next summer’s FIBA Asia Cup tournament began in late February, but many of the games have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Group B, only a couple of competitions have been completed, including Japan’s 96-57 win over Taiwan in Taipei during the first window in February. The group, which also includes China and Malaysia, was scheduled to resume play in the second window last month in Doha before it was postponed again.
The Akatsuki Five will play five games in the final window, which means they will likely compete for five days in a row.
The Japan Basketball Association said details will be announced at a later date, including the host city. FIBA Asia lists Tokyo as the site.
The other groups will compete on the same dates. Groups A and C will play in Clark, Philippines; Groups D and F will play in the Bahraini capital of Manama; and Group E will hit the court in Doha.
Despite the postponement of the second window, Japan held a training camp in Tokyo late last month. That ended up being cut short when naturalized player Gavin Edwards tested positive for the coronavirus.
A total of 16 teams will advance to the FIBA Asia Cup finals and earn automatic places in the Asian qualifiers for the FIBA World Cup 2023, which will be co-hosted by Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines.
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KEYWORDS
Akatsuki Five, FIBA Asia Cup
