Rivals Japan and Korea to open EABA 2017
TOKYO (EABA Championship 2017) - Intense rivals Japan and Korea are set to have a collision course at the open of hostilities at the East Asia Basketball Association (EABA) Championship 2017, which will
TOKYO (EABA Championship 2017) - Intense rivals Japan and Korea are set to have a collision course at the open of hostilities at the East Asia Basketball Association (EABA) Championship 2017, which will be held in Nagano from 3-7 June later this year.
大会：第5回東アジアバスケットボール選手権大会 日本(長野県長野市)開催決定のお知らせhttps://t.co/sAXI8uBPd6#JBA_NEWS #AkatsukiFive #FIBA #FIBAAsia #EABA #長野 pic.twitter.com/B2SDp0gUcN
— 日本バスケットボール協会(JBA) (@JAPANBASKETBALL) February 20, 2017
Korea, who are the defending champions, are certainly looking to bring the crown home again and are hoping to gain some momentum as they prepare for the FIBA Asia Cup 2017. Japan, who have never won the event, are aiming to qualify but are also hoping they can unseat Korea from the summit.
Expected to spearhead Korea's charge are national team mainstays Lee JongHyun and Kim SunHyung, while, on the other end, Japan will look to veterans Joji Takeuchi and Makoto Hiejima for leadership.
Completing Group A with Korea and Japan are Macau, who will be hard-pressed to notch a win. Meanwhile, China will be the heavy favorites to sweep Group B, where the defending FIBA Asia Cup champions will be joined by Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong.
The top two teams of each group will earn slots to the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 that will be held in Beirut from 10-20 August, and these teams will also advance to the EABA Championship 2017 Semi-Finals. The winners there will dispute the EABA Championship 2017 crown, while he 3rd place team in each group will play for the sub-zone's' final FIBA Asia Cup berth in a Classification 5th-6th place match.
FIBA