Al Annabi will be returning to the continental stage after eight years, in time before they host the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2027.
Qatar have been drawn alongside defending champions Australia and higher-ranked Lebanon and South Korea in Group A of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025, set to take place between August 5 and 17 later this year.
The draw held on Tuesday divided 16 nations that qualified for the tournament into four groups, with pre-determined four seeds, based on the current FIBA World Rankings.
The tournament in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah will see Qatar return to the continental stage after eight years.
Qatar’s immediate mission will be to better their 13th-place finish from the 2017 tournament in Lebanon, seeking to build a side formidable enough to compete against the world’s best sides at the FIBA World Cup 2027, which the country is set to host.
Qatar banked on a stellar start to secure qualification for Jeddah from Group E of the qualifiers. A thrilling one-point win over Iran — their first in almost two decades — and a convincing 92-71 win over Kazakhstan ultimately booked Qatar’s ticket to the competition as the side witnessed a surge in form following experienced coach Hakan Demir’s appointment in November.
Al Annabi will start their campaign on August 5 against Lebanon, the finalists of the 2022 edition in Indonesia, which Qatar failed to qualify for.
The Cedars are currently ranked 29th in the world, 58 places above Qatar, whom they recently defeated 72-69 in a friendly in February.
Qatar will then face the 53rd-ranked South Korea two days later, hoping to avenge the 76-64 defeat suffered in the group stage of the Asian Games 2023 held in China.
The most difficult challenge for head coach Demir’s side will come on the final match day against two-time winners Australia.
Ranked 7th in the world, Australia are yet to lose a single game in the FIBA Asia Cup after switching to Asia in 2017.
Two consecutive third-place finishes in 2003 and 2005 remain Qatar’s best performance at the continental stage. Al Annabi had defeated two countries from its current group — Lebanon in 2003 and South Korea in 2005 — in the third-place play-off.
Groups and format
Qatar’s competitors in the qualifiers, Iran, are joined by top-seeds Japan in Group B, followed by Guam and Syria, whereas 16-time winners China, Jordan, India and hosts Saudi Arabia make up Group C.
Chinese Taipei, Iraq and New Zealand will join the Asian Games 2023 gold winner Philippines, in Group D to complete the cast.
Table toppers from each group, after the completion of a single round robin, will automatically qualify for the last eight.
Sides finishing in second and third places will have a shot at qualification via a play-off, with four winners progressing further.
The tournament will be played in one-off knockout matches from the quarter-finals onwards.
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