Beirut (Lebanon) – The top seeds of the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers draw have been determined based on each team’s geographical locations and the FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by NIKE.

The 24 teams participating in the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers will be grouped in 8 pots of 3 teams, where the top seeds will be in Pot 1 and Pot 5. Teams from the East Region (EABA, SEABA, and Oceania) will be in Pots 1-4, while teams from the West Region (GBA, WABA, CABA, and SABA) will be in Pot 5-8.

The latest edition of the FIBA World Ranking Men was updated on February 26 and is used to reference the selection of the top seeds for the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers draw. The six nations that will be the top seeds are Australia, China, the Philippines, Iran, Jordan, and Lebanon.

Asia Cup 2017 champions, Australia, are ranked 10^th in the world and the 1^st ranked team in FIBA Asia with 515.0 points. 16-time Asia Cup champions, China, are ranked 3^rd in Asia with 317.9 points. They are followed immediately by 5-time winners, the Philippines, who are ranked at 4^th with 317.6 points. These three nations will be the top seeds in Pot 1.

Asia Cup 2017 runners-up, Iran, are the 2^nd highest ranked team in Asia with 349.5 points in total. Joining Iran as top seeds in Pot 5 are Jordan, who are ranked at 8^th with 223.3 points, and Lebanon, who are ranked at 9^th with 191.3 points.

The complete draw procedures, which will also be based on ranking and geographical principles, will be later published leading up to the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers Draw to be held on June 8 in India.

 FIBA