JERICHO Cruz and Guam will travel to Chinese Taipei for a shot at a berth to the FIBA Asia Cup tournament in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in August.
Taiwan and Manama Bahrain were selected to host the qualifying tournament for third-placed teams to determine the last four countries that will complete the 16-team cast in the Saudi Arabia meet.
Chinese Taipei, Guam, and Thailand will compose Group G, while Group H is made up of Bahrain, India, and Iraq.
The Group G qualifier is set from March 19-21, while the Group H meet is slated from March 21-23.
A 91-84 winner over Gilas Pilipinas during the final window of the qualifier this week, Chinese Taipei finished third in Group B, Guam in Group C, and Thailand in Group A.
READ: Cone takes blame for Gilas shock loss to Chinese Taipei
Meanwhile, Iraq was third-place in Group D, India in Group E, and Bahrain in Group F.
Guam actually finished tied with Mongolia in Group C with identical 1-5 records, but it clinched the No. 3 seed in its bracket behind a better point differential.
The top two teams in each group will advance and play in Saudi Arabia together with the 12 other teams which earlier advanced including Gilas.
The PBA would be on a break on March 19-21, making Cruz available to play for Guam in the final qualifier. The season-ending Philippine Cup won’t start until April 4.
Meanwhile, Syria secured the 12th spot in the FIBA Asia Cup tournament proper, as it eked out a thrilling 89-87 win over Bahrain in the final window of the meet this week.
The Syrians escaped with the win after Mosti Rashed missed a desperate game-winning three for Bahrain at the final buzzer of the game played at the Al-Gharafa Sports Club Multi-Purpose Hall.
Syria (3-3) took the No. 2 seed in Group F behind undefeated Lebanon, which closed out its campaign with a perfect 6-0 record thanks to a 91-88 victory over United Arab Emirates.
At the end of three windows, the 12 teams earning berths to the main tournament in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from August 5-17 are Australia and South Korea (Group A), New Zealand and Philippines (Group B), China and Japan (Group C), Jordan and Saudi Arabia (Group D), Iran and Qatar (Group E), and Lebanon and Syria (Group F).
A total of 24 teams were divided into six groups of four teams each and competed over three windows of the qualifiers held last February 2024, November 2024, and February 2025, with the top two teams from each group clinching berths in the Saudi Arabia meet.
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