BANGKOK (Thailand) - 2020 has been quite an eventful year to say the least. Nonetheless, we’ve all battle through it all to this final stretch, just before the we get to flip the calendar. Before we head on into 2021, let’s take a quick look back at some of the best memorable moments from this past year!

First Time Ever

Mark this year down as the first time ever that national teams had to play through qualifiers to qualify for the FIBA Asia Cup. The first window was played early in the year in February and the fans rejoiced as they were able to watch their hometown heroes (as well as fierce rivals) play against each other right on their backyard as a result of the home and away format.

There was no shortage of entertainment from start to finish in the first window of the first-ever FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, signaling a great debut for this qualification format.

There’s No Place Like Home

As mentioned, the first-ever FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers placed teams to compete in a home-and-away format. This resulted in some monumental and historic moments that will stand the test of time.

On February 24, Palestine played in their country for the first time ever in a FIBA competition at the Arab American University in Jenin. Fans packed the venue to watch their beloved stars beat Sri Lanka, 102-60. On that same date, Iraq hosted a game against India, marking the first time in a long while that they were able to play in front of their fans. Even throughout the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Qualifiers, Iraq had to use other venues outside the country to host their home games.

As the global game of basketball continues to grow each and every day, we’re hoping that more and more basketball fans will be able to see their national team heroes play live right in the hometowns.

Off to the Olympics

The ladies of China and Korea also made Asia proud this year when they showcased their talents at the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade, Serbia.

Playing against tough competition that included Spain and Great Britain, both teams managed to secure qualifying tickets to play in the upcoming Olympics. They brought the total of teams from Asia to three, joining Japan who will be hosting the games in Tokyo.

As a matter of fact, both teams were able to secure important wins on the same date, February 8. Korea won a close game against Great Britain, 82-79. Meanwhile, China pulled off a major upset of 64-62 against Spain, the third-ranked team according to FIBA World Ranking Presented by Nike for Women's.

Helping Hands

Throughout the tough times of 2020, the basketball community extended a helping hand to those in need. Whether it was national federations, players, or even referees, everyone in the basketball family was ready and happy to do whatever they could to help each other get through whatever they might face together.

Whether it was the Basketball Sport Association of Thailand’s (BSAT) efforts of helping provide masks for those in need to I.R. Iran Basketball Federation (IRIBF) being socially active to Indonesia players auctioning their jerseys for a good cause, among many other examples, everyone put in the effort to help each other out.

There was no basketball being played on the court for a long while lengthy period in 2020, but that didn’t stop the basketball community from dropping assist after assist off the court.

The Return

Asian National team basketball finally made a return in late November, much to the delight of basketball fans hungry to see their favorite stars in action.

The second window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 qualifiers was unique in a sense that it was situated in “bubbles”, but that didn’t stop the ball from rolling and the action from tipping off.

The protected environment called the "bubble" in Doha, Qatar

The teams and fans both showed how hungry they were to play and watch basketball in the games that were played in Bahrain and Qatar. It resulted in another entertaining stretch of watching the game that we all loved and missed.

Headliner

Before closing out the calendar year, the  fans were treated to another memorable moment which also serves as an intro for 2021.

It was announced on December 18, 2020  that Indonesia will be the host of the FIBA Asia Cup 2021. It will be the first time in 28 years that Indonesia has hosted Asia's premier event when China beat DPR of Korea in the Final.

It will be quite a while until the event tips off from 16-28 August, 2021 as there will still be the third and final window of the Qualifiers to be played. Nonetheless, having the host announced as Indonesia certainly raises the level of the hype in the final couple of weeks of the month.

FIBA