MANILA (Enzo Flojo's Asia on My Mind) - The third and final window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers is only a couple of weeks away, and despite the pandemic's continued prevalence, we are fully set on having basketball take center stage once more.

 
It is not going to be a cakewalk, of course, with so many considerations to keep in mind and a wide variety of protocols put in place to ensure the highest degree of safety for everyone involved, be it players, coaches, officials, media or organizers.

We have, in fact, already had several groups displaced thanks in no small degree to the new strains of COVID-19 and heightened restrictions in a couple of host countries. To wit, both Groups A and B have moved host locations. Group B was originally supposed to be held in Tokyo, Japan, while Group A was originally supposed to be held in Clark, Philippines. Both groups will now have their games played in Doha, Qatar, which is now hosting three groups, including Group E.

The other host city is Manama, Bahrain, which will hold games for Group D and Group F. Group C, which includes Australia, New Zealand, Guam and Hong Kong, still have no host city as of this writing.

Needless to say, hosting the third window entails a lot of moving parts, literally and figuratively. From flight schedules to accommodations to practice and game times, hosting events like this is already quite complicated, and that's compounded by pandemic-related protocols, too.

I tip my hat off to Doha and Manama for taking on the gargantuan task of hosting these games, and I wish them well. I also have no doubt that Indonesia are taking a close look at these hostings as Jakarta will host the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 later this year in August.

One thing that has got me quite excited, though, is how teams left and right have begun unveiling their pools for this coming window. Korea, China, Indonesia and the Philippines, among others, have revealed their pool of players for the all-important third window games.

Korea, in particular, seem to be pulling no punches, revealing a full 24-man pool, while China have called up elite players from the Chinese Basketball Association and a coupe of overseas-based talents to make up their 21-man pool.

As for the Philippines, much-ballyhooed rising star Kai Sotto just landed in Manila to join the Gilas Pilipinas training camp, while Indonesia are dead-set on making a splash in the third window thanks to naturalized player Lester Prosper and Indonesian-American Brandon Jawato.

To say that this coming window is set to be the most exciting one yet is an understatement.

Despite so many hurdles and challenges to be managed, we are poised to have a very explosive final window of qualifiers for FIBA Asia Cup 2021. Remember, too, that the sixteen teams who will make it to the Asia Cup are the only teams who will play in the qualifiers for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, so the stakes are nothing to brush off.

I, for one, cannot wait for all these moving parts to converge and to finally see the final window tip off!

Enzo Flojo

FIBA

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