Jude P. Roque
The moment FIBA announced the merger of the Asian and Oceania regions, we knew it would be an uphill climb not only for Gilas Pilipinas but also for perennial Asian powers like Iran, China and Korea to win the gold in the FIBA Asia Cup. The merger now placed the top two teams from Oceania in the Asian Championship, and it’s been Australia and New Zealand ruling the zone for the longest time. And so, in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup in Beirut, Lebanon that concluded yesterday, two of the top basketball nations in the world saw action, and as expected, made it to the medal round. The Oceania region has been dominated by Australia, which won 19 out of the 22 tournaments. New Zealand prevailed thrice, and settled for second 19 times.