WC qualifiers draw set in Doha

MANILA, Philippines — FIBA will conduct the 2027 World Cup qualifiers draw in Doha, Qatar, on May 13 with eight slots allocated for Asia and Oceania, including the host nation. SBP president Al Panlilio said Gilas assistant coach Sean Chambers will be tapped to attend the event to represent the Philippines. The draw will be held the day before the FIBA Congress is convened in Manama, Bahrain. Panlilio, a member of the FIBA Central Board, will join the Congress on May 14-18.

The qualifiers draw will determine the groups of the 80 countries in Africa, Americas, Asia-Oceania and Europe vying for 32 slots in the World Cup. Host Qatar is guaranteed a ticket but will still participate in the qualifiers. The 16 teams participating in the FIBA Asia Cup in Jeddah on Aug. 5-17 are entered in the World Cup qualifiers draw with NBA legend Carmelo Anthony appearing as FIBA global ambassador.

There are six qualifying windows in FIBA’s schedule. The first is set on Nov. 24-Dec. 2 this year. The second will be on Feb. 22-March 3, the third on June 29-July 7, the fourth on Aug. 24-Sept. 1 and the fifth on Nov. 22-Dec. 1, all in 2026. The sixth and final window will be held on Feb. 22-March 2, 2027. Domestic leagues all over the planet, including the PBA, will halt proceedings during each window. The World Cup will be staged in four venues, the 15,300-seat Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, the 8,000-seat Duhail Handball Sports Hall in Doha, the 8,600-seat Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena in Al Rayyan and the 8,000-seat Aspire Dome in Al Rayyan, on Aug. 27-Sept. 12, 2027.

The 16 Asia-Oceania countries in the qualifiers draw are Australia, China, Chinese-Taipei, Guam, India, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, New Zealand, Qatar, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Syria.

The FIBA Congress will coincide with the enshrinement ceremony of the 2025 FIBA Hall of Fame class that lists Alphonse Bile of Ivory Coast, Andrew Bogut of Australia, Leonor Borrell of Cuba, Pau Gasol of Spain, Fadi El Khatib of Lebanon, Ticha Penicheiro of Portugal, Ratko Radovanovic of Serbia, Dawn Staley of USA and coach Mike Krzyzewski of USA.