FIBA Asia Champ draw capped with sponsor announcement

WUHAN (FIBA Asia Championship) – The draw for the Preliminary Round of the 26th FIBA Asia Championship has taken place today in Wuhan, China.

Twice defending champions Iran will match wits with Qatar, East Asia’s Chinese Taipei and the qualifier from the “Stan” division of Middle Asia in Group B.

Hosts China as per the procedure of the draw opted to play in Group D after Philippines along with United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were drawn.

Lebanon will play in Group A along with Malaysia and recently crowned East Asian champions Korea.

Japan was drawn into Group C along with Indonesia, 2009 FIBA Asia Championship bronze medalists Jordan and Syria.

The Philippines' coach Rajko Toroman’s statement best sums up the depth of the competition that will be held in Wuhan. “It is like nine crocodiles battling for three pieces of meat,” said the Serbian, making clear that “there are at least nine teams with a realistic chance of winning the title.”

14 out of a total of 16 teams have been assigned to compete for only two slots available for the Middle Asia region.

On the one hand, Navoi, in Uzbekistan, will host Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. Those four teams will attempt to win the sole qualifying berth allocated to the ‘Stans’ section of the Middle Asia sub zone. On the other hand, Indian capital New Delhi will host the SAARC teams from July 13th until 15th in order to identify the second qualified team from Middle Asia.

In addition, the draw was also a good opportunity to announce Dongfeng Yueda  KIA Motors Co. Ltd. as the presenting sponsor of the championship. Already sponsor of the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship, the company has renewed its trust in FIBA. Present at the draw, JIANG Yu bin, Marketing Director, reinforced the involvement of Dongfeng Yueda KIA Motors Co. Ltd. with basketball.

Dongfeng Yueda  KIA Motors Co. Ltd. will support this partnership in China through ticket promotions in their retail spaces and a focus on strong public promotion around the two venues with car displays and various activities for the fans.

Dongfeng Yueda  KIA Motors Co. Ltd. being the official car of the competition, the company will also contribute with a fleet of cars to be used during the entire duration of the championship.

The 26th FIBA Asia Championship, at the same time qualifying event for the 2012 London Olympics, will be held from the 15th to the 25th of September in Wuhan. The winner will directly qualify for the Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament, while the teams that finish second and third will compete in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, where three places for the Basketball Tournament will be at stake.

Groupings for Preliminary Round

Group A: Lebanon, Middle Asia 1, Malaysia, Korea
Group B: Qatar, Middle Asia 2, Ch. Taipei, Iran
Group C: Japan, Indonesia, Syria, Jordan
Group D: Philippines, UAE, Bahrain, China.

FIBA