NONTHABURI (FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Pre-Qualifiers Eastern Region) — The FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Pre-Qualifiers Eastern Region will be underway in less than two weeks from now. Before we get to find out which 4 teams will advance among the 7 participants, let’s take a look back at how these teams fared the last time they played at the FIBA Asia Cup.

This will be the first time Fiji and Guam have a chance to qualify for the FIBA Asia Cup.

None of the participating teams of Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Macau qualified for the FIBA Asia Cup in 2017.

Singapore (Last Appearance: 2015)

Singapore has a total of 17 outings in the FIBA Asia Cup, most recently in 2015 (then called the FIBA Asia Championship). Armed with a veteran core of Wong Wei Long, Desmond Oh, and Ng Han Bin along with promising youngsters in Delvin Goh and Leon Kwek, Singapore finished 15^th in the tournament with a 1-4 record.

Goh, then 20 years old, was starting to blossom as a star and finished as the tournament’s third best rebounder with 10.4 RPG. Wei Long, Sheng Yu Lim, and Han Bin contributed as the offensive firepower for the team and all averaged in double-digit scoring. It was their first appearance in the FIBA Asia Cup since 2001.

Malaysia (Last Appearance: 2015)

Also in the FIBA Asia Cup 2015 with Singapore was Malaysia. In an attempt to start rebuilding towards the future, Malaysia brought along a relatively young squad led by Kwaan Yoong Jing (25), Tong Wen Keong (23), and Choo Wei Hong (23). Their youth would be too much to overcome as they went winless in the tournament, but it was a good sign for future of Malaysia basketball that they had promising young pieces to develop down the road.

The 2015 run was Malaysia’s 24^th in total, making them the most frequent participants among teams in the Eastern Region Pre-Qualifiers. Malaysia have finished as high as 4^th place in the FIBA Asia Cup, doing so twice in 1985 and 1977.

Thailand (Last Appearance: 2013)

It’s been a while since Thailand has played in the FIBA Asia Cup with the last time being back in 2013 when the tournament was held in the Philippines. They managed one win in five games to finish at 14^th place that year.

Though there are some familiar faces from that 2013 squad that played in the previous qualification round like Darongphan Apiromvilaichai, Thailand has undergone quite a number of changes from then until now. Attaporn Lertmalaiporn, who scored 8.6 per contest in 2013, has fallen out of the rotation as scorers of the younger generation like Chitchai Ananti have stepped up.

Thailand’s better years in the FIBA Asia Cup were in the earlier stages if the competition with back-to-back 4^th place finishes in 1963 and 1965. They are hoping that this next wave of talent will build towards returning to that level of success.

Indonesia (Last Appearance: 2011)

If Indonesia can qualify for the FIBA Asia Cup 2021, it will be nearly a decade since they last qualified for the competition back in 2011. Led by local legend Mario Wuysang, Indonesia finished at 13^th place with two wins over India and Bahrain.

Wuysang has since retired from national team play, but he was nearly at the peak of his powers in 2011 when he led the tournament in assists with 6.4 per contest. Leading scorer Christian Ronaldo Sitepu (13.8 PPG and 6.2 RPG) is also so retired from the national team, but other key pieces like Xaverius Prawiro and Ponsianus Indrawan who played in 2011 also played Indonesia in the SEABA Region Pre-Qualifiers this year.

2011 was the 4^th consecutive FIBA Asia Cup stint for Indonesia and though they have missed the past 3 tournaments, they hope that they can qualify to get things back in track.

Macau (Last Appearance:1987)

Macau has played in the FIBA Asia Cup twice in the entire history of the competition and are now only one step away from making their way back into the scene. Coincidentally, the last time Macau qualified for the FIBA Asia Cup was back in 1987 when the tournament was held in Thailand, where the Eastern Region qualifiers will be hosted at this time.

Over the two FIBA Asia Cup appearances, Macau still remains winless with an 0-12 record. They failed to qualify for the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 when they finished in 6^th place at the EABA Championship 2017.

Though they weren't able to advance in that round, Macau showcased some promising talents like Un Kam Chi, Lai Ka Tong, and Chan Wai Seng. The trio might be an important piece to factor in Macau’s chances on progressing to the FIBA Asia Cup 2021.