“We decided not to go to Bahrain with the men’s national team scheduled for the 27th and 30th [of November] through the board of directors on the 2nd,” the Korean Basketball Association (KBA) announced.

“Considering the health of the national team, I thought it was right not to go to Bahrain,” an official of the federation, News Naver’s Min Joon Gu, shared in a report. 

The long-time rival of the Philippine national basketball team which is led by naturalized big man Ricardo Ratliffe, now known as Ra Gun A, still holds the undefeated spot in Group A with a 2-0 win-loss record.

The team was set to face off Gilas Pilipinas on November 27 and Indonesia on November 30.

While Gilas Pilipinas, likewise undefeated with 1-0, could take the same path taking into account not being able to start off training due to pending clearance from the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Names have surfaced in the media but the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) has yet to make an official announcement covering its line-up for the November window.

In addition, SBP has yet to appoint a new tactician to man the bench with three weeks left before the start of the qualifiers.