Still Held In Jakarta, FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Postponed Until Next Year

Illustration of FIBA Asia Cup players (Twitter @FIBAAsiaCup)

JAKARTA - The FIBA Asia Cup 2021 has been officially postponed until next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was revealed by the chairman of the organizing committee Junas Miradiarsyah in a virtual press conference, Friday.

Junas said, this decision was taken after going through various considerations. The FIBA Asia Cup 2021 is planned to continue in Jakarta and will be rescheduled to July 2022. However, the date is still under review.

This is the third time the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup schedule has changed. Previously, FIBA had also pushed back from August 3-15 2021 to August 17-29 2021.

"The main factor of this delay is the spike in the COVID-19 pandemic. We have convinced FIBA through a recommendation from the Ministry of Health. However, we must respect the decision of FIBA and the participating countries if that is the best option," Junas said as quoted by Antara.

Update on FIBA Asia events calendarhttps://t.co/yEwkexg5bY

— FIBA Asia Cup (@FIBAAsiaCup) July 23, 2021

Regarding the July 2022 election as the latest schedule, Junas said that it had complied with the recommendations and various considerations.

"We have been looking for a schedule so that it can still be carried out this year. However, FIBA has an agenda, as well as other countries. So, the July 2021 election will adjust to the existing calendar," Junas added.

The news of this delay has also been conveyed to the Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora) and also to President Joko Widodo. "Because this is also the government's agenda. So we have already conveyed it."

Previously, FIBA through its official website had announced the postponement was made after careful evaluation together with other stakeholders.

"The 2021 FIBA Asia Cup will be played as planned in Jakarta, Indonesia, but has been rescheduled to July 2022, right after the FIBA Asia Basketball World Cup Qualifiers," FIBA said in a statement on its official website, Friday.