Fiba Asia starts

After months on end of arduous preparations, the gargantuan task of making it back to the top of Asia’s basketball hierarchy begins today for the Gilas Pilipinas as they open their campaign against Saudi Arabia in the group stage of the 27th Fiba Asia Men’s Championship at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Gametime is set at 8:30 p.m. with the Gilas, a squad powered by the best from the PBA including Cebuano behemoth and former University of Cebu Webmaster Junemar Fajardo, hoping to make a resounding statement in their bid to snatch one of the three slots for next year’s Fiba World Cup in Spain that are being dangled in this competition.

The Philippines is bracketed in Group A along with Jordan, Chinese-Taipei, and Saudi Arabia, while the rest of the 11 teams are bunched in three different groups.

The top three teams in each group will then carry their respective records in the second round, where they’ll be bracketed in Groups E and F. The top four teams in Groups E and F then advance to the crossover quarterfinals.

According to national team head coach, Chot Reyes, the goal of making it to the semifinals is “doable.”

“Beyond that, any team can beat any team in a one-game situation. Remember that in Wuhan, Jordan upset Iran in the quarterfinals,” Reyes was quoted as saying during the official luncheon of the tournament the other day.

The hostilities actually start in the morning when two-time champion Iran takes on Malaysia at 11 a.m., followed by Jordan vs. Chinese-Taipei at 1:15 p.m. Then, Japan meets Qatar at 3:30 p.m., defending champion China tangles with South Korea at 5:45 p.m. while Lebanon clashes with Hong Kong in the nightcap at 10:30 p.m.

Over at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Kazakhstan faces Thailand at 6 p.m. and India meets Bahrain at 8:30 p.m.