MANILA
– The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) paved way for the 2020 Tokyo
Olympics in order to avoid conflicting schedules.
In a FIBA Central Board meeting recently, the schedule of its 2021 Asia Cup was
pushed by two weeks from the original Aug. 3-15 to Aug. 17-29.
The schedule adjustment came after the International Olympic Committee decided
to reset the staging of the Olympics to July 23 to August 8 next year due to
the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak.
Gilas Pilipinas is one of the participating teams in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup
qualifiers, and the national team now has a 1-0 win-loss record via a 100-70
victory over Indonesia last Feb. 23.
The next international fixtures of Gilas in the Asia Cup qualifiers are supposed
to be in November this year and in February next year. However, FIBA has yet to
clarify the status of the matches.
Meanwhile, FIBA’s Executive Committee said following adjustments have been made
to the calendar of its major tournaments after careful analysis on the possible
scenarios and through receiving recommendations from its Regional Offices and
Competitions Commission.
“I’m very pleased that in a very challenging period, FIBA has been able to
conduct an internal consultation process so fast and to confirm an updated
calendar for our senior tournaments within almost 2 weeks from the IOC’s
announcement of the new dates for the Olympic Games,” FIBA Secretary
General Andreas Zagklis said in a statement.
“The outcome is a calendar of FIBA major events which remains very
attractive for our fans, with a balanced distribution of top events, keeping
always in mind the welfare and availability of players,” he added./PN
