The 22nd FIBA-Asia Champions Cup will start today, May 28, 2011 to be held at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City, Philippines. The Philippines which was the host of the said tournament will welcome different teams from Asia. The Philippine Team Smart Gilas Pilipinas will be fighting against the Saudi-Ittihad team at around 6:00 PM Philippine time.
It is the third time that the newly-bred squad Smart Gilas Pilipinas will go up against the best in Asia. The Toroman-mentored players will be reinforced by two PBA veterans Asi Taulava and Dondon Hontiveros. They will rely also on the service of naturalized center Marcus Douthit.
The Smart-Gilas during their first and second appearance was able to placed fifth which surprised those tougher ball clubs. They were now considered as one of the top contenders beside playing a home court advantage, the chemistry of the team had been proven also. They were able to defeat the visiting Saudi Team during their tune-up games last Thursday with a score of 99-66.
The FIBA Asia Champions Cup was one of the preparations for the qualifying round of FIBA Asia’s limited seat to the 2012 London Olympics. Philippine Team Smart-Gilas Pilipinas belongs to the Group A during the preliminary round. Group A teams was composed of ASU from Jordan, Dohuk of Iraq, KL Dragons from Malaysia, Ittihad of Saudi Arabia and Smart Gilas Philippines.
Meanwhile the other remaining groups was composed of the tougher teams considered as the group of death by some basketball analysts. Iran, Syria, UAE, Lebanon and Qatar comprised the groud B. Group B teams includes some NBA veterans.
The tournament will follow a single-round robin elimination or preliminary round in both groups. It will be followed by a knockout quarterfinal round in which the top four teams will be going up against each other. The advantage belongs to the top 2 finishers on both groups.
The complete list of schedule of games are listed below for reference purposes only. All the other information can be accessed by visiting the official website of the 22nd FIBA Asia Champions Cup.
Here are the list of schedule:
- May 28 – Saturday: 2PM – Iraq VS Jordan 4PM – Syria VS I.R. Iran 6PM – Philippines VS Saudi Arabia 8PM – U.A.E. VS Lebanon
- May May 29 – Sunday: 2PM – Saudi Arabia VS Iraq 4PM – Qatar VS Syria 6PM – Malaysia VS Philippines 8PM – I.R. Iran VS U.A.E.
- May 30 – Monday: 2PM – Jordan VS Saudi Arabia 4PM – Iraq VS Malaysia 6PM – Lebanon VS I.R. Iran 8PM – U.A.E. VS Qatar
- May 31 – Tuesday: 2PM – Syria VS U.A.E. 4PM – Malaysia VS Jordan 6PM – Qatar VS Lebanon 8PM – Philippines VS Iraq
- June 1 – Wednesday: 2PM – Saudi Arabia VS Malaysia 4PM – I.R. Iran VS Qatar 6PM – Lebanon VS Syria 8PM – Jordan VS Philippines
After the preliminary round it will be followed by the QUARTERFINALS on June 3, Friday and SEMI-FINALS on June 4, Saturday and the FINALS will be held on June 5, Sunday.
