The 2025 FIBA Asia Cup is just around the corner, and the Australian national team is gunning for a rare three-peat. The Boomers will continue to field their B team. Despite this, the pre-tournament FIBA Asia Cup 2025 odds expect Adam Caporn’s men to make another deep tournament run.
Australia are bunched with Qatar, South Korea, and Lebanon in Group A. Group B will feature Guam, Japan, Syria, and Iran. Group C has China, Jordan, India, and hosts Saudi Arabia. Group D comprises Chinese Taipei, New Zealand, Iran, and the Philippines.
Each team will play the other teams in their group in a single round-robin format, and every top seed will gain direct access to the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, the second and third seeds of each group will play in the qualification for the quarter-finals.
Before we get into the tournament proper, here are some of the latest FIBA Asia Cup 2025 updates, courtesy of SBOTOP.
Australia and Lebanon set for gigantic Group A clash
Australia will commence their three-peat bid with a game against South Korea tomorrow in a winnable contest. After that, they will face Lebanon in a grudge match this Friday before wrapping up their group stage campaign against Qatar on Sunday. Many believe that the winner of the Australia-Lebanon game will likely take the top seed.
Lebanon pushed Australia to the limit during their last meeting in the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup final. However, the latter held on to remain undefeated in the tournament and claim their second consecutive crown. For Lebanon, their Cinderella run told everyone that they’ve arrived.
Wael Arakji was the eventual tournament MVP, while Thon Maker won Finals MVP. Maker is not on the Boomers’ roster, while Arakji will continue to represent the Cedars, though he will be without his partner-in-crime, Omari Spellman.
Dedric Lawson has taken Spellman’s place in the Lebanese lineup. The 27-year-old forward recently played in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) and the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). On the other hand, Jack White and Dash Daniels are expected to lead Australia, with the former being an NBA and Bundesliga champion and the latter being the younger brother of Hawks guard Dyson Daniels.
China are seeking redemption
China plan to return to winning ways in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup. The Dragons are the winningest team in tournament history with 16 gold medals, including two five-peats from 1975 to 1983 and 1987 to 1995. Their last win was in 2015 against the Philippines in the final at Changsha.
However, they have failed to secure a podium since Australia joined the continental competition in 2017. Since joining the tourney in 1975, China have only missed the play-offs four times. They have suffered back-to-back quarter-final exits in the last two editions of the event.
Guo Shiqiang’s men should fancy their chances this year because of their encouraging performance in the Asian qualifiers, where they finished atop Group C with a 5-1 record and ended their campaign with three straight victories.
Blazers center Yang Hansen was supposed to spearhead the Dragons’ charge in this tournament, but he recently announced his withdrawal to prepare for his rookie NBA season. China will rely heavily on the broad shoulders of Hu Jinqiu, who was one of the team’s standout performers during the qualifiers. The 27-year-old center currently plays for the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).
Philippines get lucky break ahead of opener
The Philippines are considered the dark horse contenders for the FIBA Asia Cup, and they will open their campaign against a slightly undermanned Chinese Taipei team on Wednesday.
Chun Hsiang Lu, who lit up Gilas Pilipinas with his three-point shot in Chinese Taipei’s 91-84 in the qualifiers six months ago, has withdrawn from the tournament due to an ankle injury he sustained a few weeks ago. Ting Chien Lin, Mohammad Gadiaga, Chien-Hao Ma, and the Hinton brothers are expected to shoulder the load for the Taiwanese.
Gilas Pilipinas have come a long way since Tim Cone took over as the head coach. Some of the Philippines’ notable achievements in the past few months include beating Latvia during last year’s Olympic qualifying tournament and defeating New Zealand in the second window of the Asian qualifiers. They also won their last two friendlies against the Macau Black Bears and the Jordan national team.
Justin Brownlee is expected to shoulder the offensive cudgels for the Philippines, and he’ll be backstopped by fellow standouts June Mar Fajardo, Dwight Ramos, Scottie Thompson, CJ Perez, Chris Newsome, and Kevin Quiambao.
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