According to Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) President Al Panlilio, the country’s governing body for basketball is ’honored and humbled’ with FIBA trusting them to host a safe bubble not only for group A but for group C as well.

“We are thankful for FIBA’s trust in our capacity to host not just a successful tournament, but more importantly, a safe one,” said Panlilio expressing his gratitude towards FIBA.

“We’re glad to have met their health standards and are looking forward to welcoming Korea, Indonesia, and Thailand as well as Australia, New Zealand, Guam, and Hong Kong.”

Moreover, SBP thanked PBA for gearing them up with organizing a successful bubble as they recently concluded staging the Philippine Cup at Clark Freeport Zone.

“We’re also thankful to the PBA for sharing with us their expertise after successfully hosting the PBA bubble. We’re looking forward to working hand-in-hand with them, the involved Philippine government agencies, and other Philippine basketball stakeholders in this unique opportunity,” said Panlilio.

It was last November when SBP had offered FIBA to host the next window of qualifiers during the FIBA Central Board meeting after the world governing basketball body commended the PBA for its bubble.

Aside from the Philippines, Japan, Bahrain, and Qatar will hold the other bubbles for the third and last window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers. 

To ensure the health and safety of all participants, FIBA chose the hosts that complied with their health protocols and among their criteria were health and travel guarantees.

“In partnership with government and Clark, we will ensure a safe environment for all the countries competing in the February 2021 windows,” said Panlilio.