THREE slots are still up for grabs for the final qualifying tournament for the FIBA Asia Cup.
Still to be disputed are the last berth in the Eastern Region and two others in the Western Region which are expected to be completed as the qualifiers officially comes to a close in the next two days,
The final qualifying will feature the six third-placed teams in their respective groups vying in a tournament to determine the last three countries advancing to the tournament proper in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in August.
Those already qualified to the main tournament set August 5-17 are Australia and South Korea (Group A), Philippines and New Zealand (Group B), China and Japan (Group C), Jordan and Iraq along with host Saudi Arabia (Group D), Iran and Qatar (Group E), and Lebanon (Group F).
Jericho Cruz, Guam looks to join Gilas Pilipinas in Saudi
In the Eastern Region, Jericho Cruz and Guam are in a tight battle with Mongolia for the third spot in Group C.
Both teams carry an even 1-4 record.
Mongolia denied Guam the outright third place in their bracket after scoring a 74-63 win over the home team last Friday.
Guam will take on China this Sunday, while Mongolia faces Japan in a pair of games whose outcomes will have a say which country will going to advance.
In the Western Region, it’s India and Kazakhstan battling for the no. 3 seed in Group E, while it’s anybody’s ballgame in Group F where Bahrain, Syria, and United Arab Emirates are all still in contention.
India (1-4) is set to take on Qatar, while Kazakhstan (2-3) will face Iran.
Bahrain and Syria are tied in Group F for second spot with 2-3 slates, while just behind them is UAE at 1-3.
Syria and Bahrain meet each other on Sunday with the winner joining Lebanon outright in the Asia Cup.
Meanwhile, Lebanon (5-0) goes up against UAE.
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