Iran drawn in Group D; China in Group A: FIBA Asia U16 Championship
JOHOR BAHRU (FIBA Asia U16 Championship): Seventeen teams drawn will battle it out in the inaugural FIBA Asia U16 Championship to be played in this Malaysian city from Nov 19-27, 2009.
The draw for the preliminary round of Championship was concluded on Monday.
The top two teams from the Championship will qualify for the inaugural 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship to be played in Hamburg, Germany from July 2-11, 2010.
Iran, who are the current champions of the FIBA Asia Championship (for Senior men) as also the FIBA Asia U18 Championship, have been drawn along side Chinese Taipei, Saudi Arabia and Thailand in Group C.
Iran also recently bagged the gold medal at the WABA U16 Championship played in Lebanon, while qualifying for this Championship.
Traditional powerhouses China are drawn in Group A with challenge coming from Myanmar, India and Jordan.
Jordan recently finished second behind Iran in the WABA U16 Championship.
Myanmar make their debut in FIBA Asia competitions.
Group B brings in an interesting round of competition among East Asia’s Japan, SEABA’s Philippines and Middle Asia’s Kazakhstan along with Gulf sub-zone U16 champions Bahrain.
Group C has five teams, one additional team more than the other three groups.
Hosts Malaysia join fellow SEABA nation Singapore, East Asian giants Korea, WABA bronze medalists Syria and Gulf zone’s Kuwait in Group C.
The top two teams from the four groups will advance into the top half of the Quarterfinal round with the eight teams being drawn into two groups of four teams each in the following manner:
Group I: A1, B2, C1, D2
Group II: B1, A2, C2, D1.
The other teams in the four preliminary round groups will head off into the Quarterfinal round in a similar fashion, but playing for the 9-17 positions.
The top two teams from Groups I and II will qualify for the semifinals. The winners of the semifinals will play for the gold medal and the losers for the bronze.
The teams playing the gold medal game will represent FIBA Asia in the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship.
Groupings for Preliminary round:
Group A: China, India, Jordan, Myanmar.
Group B: Bahrain, Japan, Kazakhstan, Philippines.
Group C: Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Singapore, Syria.
Group D: Chinese Taipei, Iran, Thailand, Saudi Arabia.
S Mageshwaran
FIBA Asia
Twelve in fray for inaugural FIBA Asia U16 Championship for Women
PUNE (FIBA Asia U16 Championship for Women): Twelve teams drawn into two groups of six teams each will match wits in the inaugural FIBA Asia U16 Championship for Women to be played in this historic city near India’s financial capital Mumbai from Nov 30-Dec 6, 2009.
The draw for the Championship was conducted on Monday, along side the draw for the FIBA Asia U16 Championship (for Men) at Malaysian city Johor Bahru, which will host the men’s event.
“Since this was the inaugural Championship, we decided to conduct a draw for the preliminary round,” explained FIBA Asia Secretary General Dato’ Yeoh Choo Hock.
“From the next Championship, we will consider dividing the teams will be divided into Level I and II like how we do for the other women’s events,” he added.
The top two teams from the Championship will represent FIBA Asia in the inaugural FIBA U17 World Championship for Women to be played in France from July 16-25, 2010.
Ten of the teams figuring in the FIBA Asia U16 Championship for Women played in the recently concluded 23rd FIBA Asia Women Championship.
Singapore and Hong Kong replace Lebanon and Uzbekistan from the fray that played at Chennai, but neither of them are new comers to FIBA Asia competitions especially among women.
Hosts India have been drawn in Group A, which also features China and Chinese Taipei. Both Singapore and Hong Kong have been drawn in Group A with Philippines completing the challenge.
Korea and Japan head the competition in Group B with challenge coming from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Kazakhstan.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semifinals. The winners of the semifinals will play for the gold medal and the losers for the bronze.
The teams playing the gold medal game would have already qualified for the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship for Women.
Groupings for Preliminary Round:
Group A: China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Philippines, Singapore
Group B: Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka.
S Mageshwaran
FIBA Asia
