No strong teams or weak teams in FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers says KBA President Pang Yul
ASIA – KBA President Pang Yul emphasizes on strength in Group A as Korea reserve plans for Asia Cup Qualifiers until after World Cup campaign.
Seoul (Korea) – The first-ever FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers Draw was held in Bengaluru on June 8 and the results pitted Korea in Group A along with three other nations from Southeast Asia.
"We are in Group A with Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand," Korean Basketball Association (KBA) President Pang Yul said. "It was a good draw ceremony and I would like to say thank FIBA's Regional Office in Asia for this great event. The result was also okay for us."
Korea have firmly planted themselves among the best basketball nations in Asia over the years, a fact that still remains true today. They are already headed towards their 8th FIBA Basketball World Cup this summer and finished at 3rd place at the recent FIBA Asia Cup 2017. However, the level of talent in the region has risen and the gap between the top and the bottom continues to become narrower.
"I think the competitiveness of our group is as similar as the other groups," said Pang of the teams in the group.
"Nowadays, all teams in Asia are becoming more competitive. There are no strong teams or weak teams. I think all teams are strong enough to win."
Among one of the stronger teams that Korea will face at the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers is the Philippines. Both nations have a rich history in basketball and their paths have crossed time and again, leading to heated battles against each other
"In Asia, the Philippines are one of the best teams," Pang admitted. "At this moment, it is pretty difficult to evaluate the team as we have the World Cup, but we will be for sure preparing for the game against the Philippines soon."
There are plenty of talented players that Korea could line up for their national team at the Asia Cup Qualifiers, depending on however the team might want to play. As there is still some time left until then, the national team can continue to scout and weigh in on their options before arriving at the most appropriate selections.
"We haven't had any discussion in this regard [of team lineups] yet as we have the 2019 FIBA World Cup first. We will try to figure that out after the World Cup," Pang said.
FIBA