MANILA (Philippines) – The Philippines were the very first team drawn out of the pots at the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers Draw which was held on June 8 at Shangri-La Bengaluru. Philippines hero, Jimmy Alapag, was assisting the procedures of the draw and couldn’t help but let out a smile as he saw that he had picked out the name of his own country. The Philippines were placed into Group A, shortly followed by Korea, Indonesia, and Thailand.

“Landing in Group A with Indonesia, Thailand, and Korea gives us a great chance of qualifying for FIBA Asia Cup 2021 because the top two teams in the group after three home-and-away windows will automatically get spots,” says Al Panlilio President of Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP). “The third-ranked teams of Groups A to F will still have to figure in another set of games to make it to the Final 16.”

One of the major highlights of the draw was when Korea were drawn into the same Group as the Philippines, reminding fans all over of Asia of their previous matchups in the past. The two teams obviously have had storied clashes against each other and at least two more battles at the Asia Cup Qualifiers will probably be added to the list.

“It’s always a challenge taking on Korea and I know this as I was also part of the team that battled them in the Asian Games,” Panlilio says of the rivalry. “We know what they bring to the table but we can’t focus too much on the history between the two teams. One thing I’m very excited about is playing against them on our homecourt because we all know how special the last one turned out to be.”

The last time the Philippines played against Korea was at the FIBA Asia Cup 2013 with a ticket to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014 on the line.

The Philippines and Korea are the two strongest teams in the Group and are currently preparing the upcoming FIBA Basketball World Cup in China. However, they cannot underestimate the two other teams, Indonesia and Thailand. The Philippines, in particular, should already be aware of the potential of these two Southeast Asian teams.

“Thailand and Indonesia are definitely improving in the past few years,” Panlilio admits. “The Thais have even hosted FIBA events in the past because they know it’s also important to learn as much as they can from the stronger teams in the region. From 1999 to 2017, it was always either Indonesia or Thailand that challenged the Philippines in the gold medal match of the SEA Games so they’re definitely improving.”

“The most important thing for us is not to take them lightly. We need to play with enough respect for our opponents because they will be preparing for us.”

Nonetheless, the focus of the Philippines national team will be less on their opponents and more on their own preparations. They have a busy schedule coming up ahead and it will take a lot of planning to make sure they achieve the most from both competitions.

“Right now our focus is still completely on the upcoming FIBA World Cup, the biggest basketball competition in the world,” says Panlilio. “After that, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas will work alongside the [Philippines Basketball Association] PBA to map out our plan of attack for the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers because holding three different windows will require a lot of logistical adjustments.”

FIBA