FIBA has announced that Indonesia will be hosting the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup on August 16 to 28, 2021.
"We are very proud to host the Fiba Asia Cup in Jakarta next year. It is an excellent platform for Indonesia to display its basketball potential. It will also help us to prepare ourselves for FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, both as an organizer and a national team," PERBASI president Danny Kosasih was quoted as saying in a press release.
Indonesia’s hosting of the continental basketball competition has been a long time coming. It last hosted this tournament 27 years ago in 1993 in a tournament that saw China upend North Korea to capture the title.
"It will be an exciting couple of years for Indonesian basketball. Hosting the Fiba Asia Cup 2021 and co-hosting the Fiba Basketball World Cup 2023 is a massive step forward towards developing basketball in the country," relayed FIBA Asia president Sheikh Saud Ali Al Thani.
Lebanon was supposed to be the venue for the FIBA Asia Cup but the world governing body for basketball looked for another option because of the Covid-19 crisis.
Since it is the host, Indonesia has gained an outright spot to the continental tournament, which complicates things for Gilas Pilipinas, its group mate in Group A.
The Gilas currently leads Group A with a perfect 3-0 (win-loss) record. However, it has a tough road ahead with two games versus longtime rivals Korea and then, a match versus the much-improved Indonesia. (JNP)