The main headquarters of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has received official communication from the Korea Basketball Association with regards to its national team’s withdrawal from the Quezon City window of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
The official announcement of FIBA came just 24 hours before Korea’s supposed game against Gilas Pilipinas on Thursday.
“FIBA was informed by Korea Basketball Association (KBA) of its decision not to travel to the Philippines to participate in the second window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers,” read the federation’s statement.
On Tuesday, the KBA decided to withdraw from the competition after one player contracted COVID-19 hours before their flight to Manila. The remaining players in the pool were deemed close contact.
The final 12 players listed in Korea’s pool are Kim Sunhyung of Seoul, Lee Daesung of Goyang, Heo Ung of Wonju, Yang Hongseok of Busan, Lee Weonseok of Seoul, Yeo JunSeok of Korea University, Doo Kyungmin of Daegu, Byeon Junhyeong of Anyang, An Youngjun of Seoul, Lee Kwanhee of Seoul, Lee Seunghyun of Goyang, and Jang Jaeseok of Ulsan.
It was the final straw for the KBA after battling with the virus for the past two weeks.
Initially, Moon Seonggon, Lee Seonghyun, Heo Hoon, Lee Woosuk, Kim Jongkyu, and Ricardo Ratliffe were part of the pool but they yielded positive RT-PCR tests on February 17.
The KBA expanded its pool to 16 on the same day but Lee Jaedo of Changwon, Jeon Seonghyen of Anyang, and Kang Sangjae of Wonju also tested positive on February 20.
On the eve of their flight, Lee Woosuk of Jeonju tested positive forcing the KBA to scrap all their plans.
Now, FIBA will deliberate on the sanctions that will be meted on Korea.
Korea is expected to be forfeited from all of their games while a hefty fine is also expected to be meted.
FIBA also declared that the remaining Group A games will still push through as scheduled.
New Zealand faces India on February 24 at 3:00 PM; Gilas squares off against India on February 25 at 6:00 PM; New Zealand and Gilas will still happen on February 27 at 7:00 PM; while the window closes with New Zealand-India II on February 28 at 3:00 PM.
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All Group A games of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers will stream live on GigaPlay. Download it now on Android or IOS.
The second game of each playdate is also livestreamed on SMART Sports.
