FIBA has yet to issue an official statement on the status of Korea in the 2023 Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers, but its website may have provided hints on the international governing body's final decision.
Korea disqualification
The hub for the Asian qualifiers indicated that the Koreans are already disqualified from the competitions as they were removed altogether in the Group A rankings.
Gilas Pilipinas on Thursday and New Zealand on Friday also took the court at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in full gear as they ran down the mandatory 15-minute clock to formalize their wins by default.
Under Fiba rules, teams which are on the receiving end of wins via forfeiture will reflect a 20-0 victory, with the violating party receiving no classification points.
Teams receive two points for wins and one points for losses under Fiba guidelines.
Working against Korea's case, however, is the Article 20.2.3 in the Fiba rules which state: "If in a tournament, the team forfeits for the second time, the team shall be disqualified from the tournament and the results of all games played by this team shall be nullified."
With Korea stricken out of the list, the Philippines and New Zealand are tied with identical 1-0 records, with their clash on Sunday being a fight for the top spot.
This may also mean that the remaining Group A games will be the second Gilas Pilipinas games against New Zealand and India, which will be set in the third window come June.
Korea had to make the unfortunate decision of pulling out from the February games in Manila after members of its 12-man lineup tested positive for COVID-19 before its flight on Tuesday.
If Fiba indeed does not reschedule these games, Korea faces the prospects of missing out on the 2023 Fiba World Cup after placing 23rd in Spain 2014 and 26th in China 2019.
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