THE Philippine national team will test the caliber of the host Saba Battery Basketball Club of Iran at the start of the 2007 Fiba-Asia Champions Cup in Tehran, Iran on May 12 to 20.
The national team, the champion of the Southeast Asian Basketball Association Champions Cup, will play the West Asia Club Champion team on May 13. Saba has just won three straight titles including the Iranian Super League.
On its second game on May 14, the Philippines will play another tough team, the Astana Tigers of Kazakhstan – the Mid-Asia and Kazakhstan Division 1 club champion.
Like Saba, Astana has also won three titles in the Kazakhstan basketball circuit.
The West Asia Club Championship runner-up and the current league leader of the Syrian Basketball League, Al Jalaa, will be the next to play the Philippines on May 15. Al Jalaa will parade three American imports in this tournament.
On its final game of the elimination round, the Philippines will play Al Manama, the Bahrain Club Championship runner-up on May 16. (RCM)
