The Saudi national basketball team faces Palestine on Sunday with qualification to the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup, to be held in Indonesia next year, at stake.
In the first match of the final round of qualification, the Kingdom beat India 80-61 in Jeddah on Friday to put itself in a strong position in the three-team tournament organized by the Saudi Arabian Basketball Federation.
The three teams will face each other once, with the top two progressing to the tournament, which has already been postponed twice and will now take place in July 2022.
On Saturday, the Indian team bounced back with a tight 79-77 win over Palestine. The result means that Saudi Arabia will reach the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup alongside India if it defeats Palestine.
If Palestine wins by 36 points or less, it will qualify alongside the Kingdom to the finals. But if Saudi Arabia loses by 37 points or more, it will be Palestine and India that head to Indonesia next year.
The nations that have confirmed their place in the tournament are host Indonesia, Lebanon, Bahrain, Iran, Kazakhstan, Jordan, Syria, the Philippines, South Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Saudi basketball team boosts chance of Asia Cup qualificationSaudi Arabia basketball team eyes 2021 FIBA Asia Cup after long qualifying road that began three years ago
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