BEIRUT (Lebanon) - And now, we breath again. What a window it was filled with packed stands, big victories, and down-the-wire games in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers.
A lot has changed in the past few days with six other teams locking up their spot in Saudi Arabia next year with the hosts.
And it has to be emphasized again, there were some big upsets in this window.
So there will be plenty of movement up and down the Smart Power Ranking for this update. You have been warned.
Here is the Volume 4 of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers Smart Power Rankings.
The teams were ranked taking into consideration forms from the this window, the competition system, and opponent strength among others.
If you feel your team is overlooked or underestimated, don't forget to leave a comment across our social media platforms to show your support… and check again for the update in the next volume!
And here. We. Go.
#1 Australia ⏸
Previous Ranking: 1 Movement: -
We considered knocking the Boomers down a spot because Chris Goulding was one made three-pointer short of knocking down 20 three-pointers in this window.
What a disgrace. /s
In all seriousness, Australia did as expected with a win over Thailand and Korea and in very convincing fashion as well. They are now the highest scoring team in the world across all Continental Cup Qualifiers, too.
It's hard to knock them down in the Power Ranking, not matter how well the teams below them in the Power Rankings are doing.
#2 Philippines ⏸
Previous Ranking: 2 Movement: -
With that said, the Philippines made it really, really hard to not put them up a spot.
The Philippines had already been doing really well as one of the best offensive teams in the world after Window 1 and they didn't let anything get in their way of coming out of Window 2 as the most efficient team in the Continental Cup Qualifiers either.
Not even the mighty Tall Blacks, whom the Philippines handed defeated for the first time ever after four encounters in the past four years.
Everything is clicking for Gilas Pilipinas and they've really hit their stride. Gaining momentum now is great for the Southeast Asian nation as 2025 will be massive opportunity for some big wins.
#3 Lebanon ⬆️
Previous Ranking: 4 Movement: +1
Add qualifying for a chance at revenge against Australia at Asia Cup next year to the list of things Lebanon can celebrate this past week. It has been a stretch of change for Lebanon since the last Asia Cup whether it's the recent head coaching change or the addition of Omari Spellman to the pool of talents, but the Tall Cedars are back to looking like their usual dominant selves.
Of course, it always helps to have a bonafide superstar like Wael Arakji throughout the whole process. The 30-year-old guard averaged 18.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game this window, an all-around impressive output as expected.
#4 Japan ⬇️
Previous Ranking: 3 Movement: -1
There's nothing to be concerned about Japan, even if you see them dropping down one spot in the Smart Power Ranking. They still haven't lost a game. They are playing the way Hovasse expects them to play.
But... that they blew a 19-0 point lead against Guam while fortunately coming away with the win in their first away game might be something to think about. Japan have already clinched Asia Cup qualification, so that's one less they'll have to worry about, but the next window will see them play away games once again.
One of those away games will be against China - who are hungry for revenge.
Okay. Maybe there's a tiny bit to be concerned, but not too much. Yet.
#5 China ⬆️
Previous Ranking: 8 Movement: +3
Australia and the Philippines have cemented their status as the top two teams so far through the Asia Cup Qualifiers, especially in terms of point difference. The Boomers have outscored their opponents by 36.2 points per game, while GIlas Pilipinas are at 31.6 per game. Not too far behind are China.
The East Asian powerhouse have scored, on average, 28.5 more points per game than their opponents - and that's already factoring in a three-point loss to Japan. They steam-rolled the likes of Guam and Mongolia and will have their eyes set on the rematch against Japan on February 20 next year.
China are young and, therefore, a bit in consistent. But that also means that they have a lot of room to grow.
#6 Jordan ⏸
Previous Ranking: 6 Movement: -
Jordan went through another window undefeated and the fans must be wondering what they need to do to crack into the Top 5.
Well, Jordan are doing fine. Ahmad Al Dwairi is one of the best players in the competition. Freddy Ibrahim is one of the best guards in the competition. Amin Abu Hawwas is one of the most efficient scorers in the competition. However, they went off to a slow start against Iraq and never really put them away. And then followed that up by nearly blowing a 31-point lead to Palestine.
They came away undefeated with two more wins and clinched their tickets to Saudi Arabia next year, so Jordan got the job done on that end. Maybe not as convincingly as some might have hoped though.
#7 New Zealand ⬇️
Previous Ranking: 5 Movement: -2
We're not knocking New Zealand down two spots because of their loss to the Philippines. That was more than understandable considering the change in personnel and the fact that the Philippines have been on a tear and playing in front of a massive crowd.
No, this was more about how they nearly allowed a double-digit lead to almost vanish in the second half against Chinese Taipei. The Tall Blacks eventually built the lead back up to as large as it had been, but the damage had been done.
New Zealand are still a high-quality team - with a breakout talent in Sam Waardenberg, there's no doubt about that - but with a rematch against the Philippines coming up in Window 3, the Tall Blacks will have to prove themselves just a bit more.
The bright side is that they'll be playing at home and both themselves and the Philippines are already qualified for the Asia Cup.
#8 Korea ⬇️
Previous Ranking: 7 Movement: -1
Korea welcomed one of their brightest young stars back to the national team for the first time in many years in Lee Hyunjung, but it wasn't as pleasant of a return in the two-game homestand. After squeezing by Indonesia and taking a beatdown to Australia, Korea were most likely more than happy to get that window out of the way and look forward to the future.
The future is still bright though, especially with Lee being productive even if not on his best days, but this window was just something that might want to move on from quickly.
#9 Saudi Arabia ⬆️
Previous Ranking: 10 Movement: +1
So, Khalid Abdel Gabar is back. While he didn't explode with a superstar-like performance, he provided the team with stability, as reflected in his 11.5 Efficiency and 3.5 assists per game.
And this nice TISSOT Buzzer Beater.
Also, no surprises here, but Mohamed Alsuwailem continues to be a monster in the paint, averaging 15.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 5.0 blocks (!) per game while shooting 13-19 from the field.
The Asia Cup hosts are looking more and more ready to welcome any guests that qualify for the competition next year.
#10 Qatar ⬆️⬆️
Previous Ranking: 16 Movement: +6
It might have seemed bold to bump previously winless Qatar up four spots in the previous Power Ranking, but maybe it seems like it might not be enough.
What a window it was for the Gulf nation as they went undefeated in two upsets (according to the FIBA World Ranking Men Presented by Nike), especially the 78-77 overtime win against Iran being the biggest upset of them all.
Now that they have both games against Iran out of the way, Qatar will only have Kazakhstan and India left in their path toward Asia Cup qualification in Window 3. They should feel pretty good about that.
#11 Iran ⬇️
Previous Ranking: 9 Movement: -2
To be fair to Iran, Qatar have proven themselves to be a good team in this window, so to lose to them in overtime is not the worst thing in the world.
With that said, it's not looking so good for Team Melli. There's plenty of talent in the pool, but they still haven't transitioned well from the Golden Generation.
Here's a video of the clutch shot that forced overtime from Matin Aghajanpour, who scored 31 points on 7 three-pointers to make you feel better though:
Hope it helps.
#12 Chinese Taipei ⏸
Previous Ranking: 12 Movement: -
So close.
Chinese Taipei were so close to moonshot in this Power Ranking after pushing New Zealand to the edge, wiping a 17-point deficit down to only 5 heading into the final quarter. And if they did pull off that upset, they would undoubtedly be heading into the Top 10.
Alas, we're only able to keep them in this same spot for now but keep an eye on this team. Al Bachir (16 points per game) is looking more comfortable compared to his debut in the previous Asia Cup Qualifiers. Debutant Brandon Gilbeck earned himself a nickname (Gilblock Mountain) after swatting away 7 blocks against New Zealand and 12 through the entire week.
Things are looking up for Chinese Taipei.
#13 India ⬆️⬆️
Previous Ranking: 20 Movement: +7
We could list out how India won their first FIBA game in three years and how they beat Kazakhstan for the first time in 27 years and how they've found and embraced and identity that seems to work.
But we won't because we just want to show you this video of Scott Flemming dancing in the locker room to celebrate that massive win against Kazakhstan at home.
#14 Thailand ⏸
Previous Ranking: 14 Movement: -
Thailand saved themselves from a drop after rebounding from a crushing loss to Australia in front of a record crowd to ferociously defeat Indonesia on their home turf.
It was an important win as they now sit comfortably away from last place in Group A, an improvement from their previous run in the Asia Cup Qualifiers last cycle.
#15 Guam ⏸
Previous Ranking: 15 Movement: -
We're giving Guam some credit for rallying against Japan at home to nearly pull off the upset. But again, it's still only "nearly".
The loss to China was tough, now that this nightmare of a window is out of the way, Guam can look ahead towards Window 3 and looking up that important second win against Mongolia.
#16 Bahrain ⬇️
Previous Ranking: 13 Movement: -3
Bahrain got themselves a win in this window, but let's think about this for a second: Where would they be if it wasn't for Ahmed Haji's ridiculous 11 threes in the first game?
They needed nearly all of those three-pointers to avoid a come-from-behind attempt by Syria. Worse, they were on the wrong end of the second-largest upset of the window against UAE in a game where they trailed for almost the entire game and as much as 25 points.
It's going to be a tight race towards the end for Asia Cup qualification in Group F and Bahrain could be looking from the outside in when it's all said and done.
#17 Kazakhstan ⬇️⬇️
Previous Ranking: 11 Movement: -6
The slide ends here.
There's not much to say about Kazakhstan. They couldn't match up with India's energy from the start and were playing catch-up all game - not an ideal situation to be in as an away team.
Now, they are dead last in Group E with games against Iran and fast-rising Qatar in the last window.
#18 Iraq ⬇️
Previous Ranking: 17 Movement: -1
It was a weird window for Iraq as they held double-digit leads against both opponents at some point in the game and weren't able to hold on.
In other news, Demario Mayfield finally took a few minutes off, playing just over 38 minutes in both games this window. This concludes the Demario Mayfield minutes watch.
#19 Palestine ⬇️
Previous Ranking: 18 Movement: -1
It was just as weird of a window for Palestine as it was for their Group D buddies Iraq. They were even inspiring as they closed the gap of a 31-point lead by Jordan to only 4 points in the final minute.
That Palestine vs Iraq game on February 21 will potentially mean everything for both teams - with Iraq holding a three-point head-to-head advantage from the results in the Window 1 clash.
#20 Syria ⬇️
Previous Ranking: 19 Movement: -1
Syria continue to slide and while we hate to see it, it had to be done. The passion to battle and fight for wins is there, but the consistency to make it happen was not.
The outlook on a return to the Asia Cup is not so good, though not impossible.
#21 UAE ⬆️
Previous Ranking: 23 Movement: +2
UAE rise out of the dreaded bottom to finally get their first win and it was an impressive one against Bahrain.
Demarco Dickerson recorded the first triple-double of the Asia Cup Qualifiers ever since the implementation of the new qualification system in that win and Qais Alshabebi continues to be a tough guard for any opponent in the post.
There's still a lot more work to do for UAE to qualify for the Asia Cup, but getting that first win is always the biggest first step.
#22 Indonesia ⬇️
Previous Ranking: 21 Movement: -1
If there was a mid-window Power Ranking, Indonesia would have gone up a few spots after the pre-window update for their admirable effort against Korea. Anthony Beane had himself quite a debut with 27 points.
And then it all came crashing down as they allowed Thailand to score an Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers high of 112 points. Rough.
#23 Mongolia ⬇️
Previous Ranking: 22 Movement: -1
Asia Cup Qualifiers rookies Mongolia are still finding the path towards qualification to be a tough one. They showed some life against Japan, but they still seem to be a step behind. The players and fans look hungry for that first win though, so they'll get there at some point.
We'll just have to see if it will be in Window 3 or whether they will have to wait a bit longer.
#24 Hong Kong, China ⏸
Previous Ranking: 24 Movement: -
Again, there is most definitely no other way but up - for Hong Kong, China.
Note:The Power Rankings are entirely subjective and is in no way a true, accurate ranking system. All comments are purely those of the author.
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