TAIPEI CITY (Chinese Taipei) - Vengeance will surely be the theme when all three teams in Group G compete in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifying Tournament For Third-Place Teams that commences this Wednesday.
Tip-off time is set at 19:00 local time at the University of Taipei Tianmu Gymnasium, with Chinese Taipei hosting Guam in the opening game of the tilt featuring six teams battling out for the four remaining tickets to the prestigious continental showpiece scheduled to take place on August 5-17 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Both teams finished third in their respective groups, with the home team having more momentum entering this week's games after sweeping their Window 3 assignments - first an upset of erstwhile top-seed Philippines at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium before keeping their mastery of Hong Kong in Tsuen Wan.
They're coming into Wednesday's fixture with the mental edge against the Guamanians, too. It could be recalled that they got the best of them back in the Qualifying Tournament For Third-Place Teams in 2021, winning via aggregate that sent the program to its 18th consecutive appearance in the Asia Cup.
But, needless to say, Guam would no longer want to get through another heartbreak, and so they all look at the upcoming game as a golden opportunity to exorcise the ghost of the past - and, hopefully, boost their chances of reaching FIBA's flagship event in Asia for the first time in their history.
They're hoping, too, that everything will click for themselves this time, especially after what had been a rough cruise during the Qualifiers' first three windows where they only had a 1-5 card in Group C.
As intriguing as that first game is, though, never to be forgotten is the other competitor in Group G in Thailand, who have been praying to the heavens that they make it back to the Asia Cup after a decade of absence.
The last time that the Southeast Asian side played in the competition was in 2013 in Manila. They've been on the outside looking in since, missing tournament after tournament while trying to go back via the Qualifiers.
Now, the Group A 3-seed has gotten close to that goal, thus the importance of their first game set Thursday against Guam - a team that they actually have some ax to grind with after what happened the last time out.
It could be recalled that both teams took part in the Asia Cup 2025 Pre-Qualifiers back in 2022 and Thailand were shooting to complete their two-round sweep, only to get foiled by Guam through a 75-69 result.
Given those storylines and all the other things that may spring up, Group G appears to be offering an interesting set of games - and potentially a thrilling race as well in getting those two tickets to Jeddah.
For the complete schedule, click here.
FIBA