FIBA Asia Cup 2021: Boomers' qualifying game against Hong Kong to be played in Brisbane
The Australian Boomers' qualifying game will be moved from Hong Kong to Brisbane, FIBA announced on Friday. The match, which is currently scheduled to take place in Hong Kong on 23 February (Sunday), has been moved to Brisbane’s Nissan Arena and will take place on the same date at 12:30 pm, local time.
The Boomers will be playing in two qualifying games in four days in Brisbane - first against the New Zealand Tall Blacks on 20 February (Thursday), followed by the Hong Kong game.
FIBA made the decision to change the schedule as a precautionary measure in light of the current coronavirus outbreak. Australia will now play Hong Kong away in February 2021 during the third window of qualifying.
The Boomers are in Group C alongside Hong Kong, Guam and New Zealand, with each team playing a home and away game during the qualifying phase. The qualifiers will be played across three windows set for February 2020, November 2020 and February 2021, with the top two teams in each group qualifying for the FIBA Asia Cup Finals in 2021.
The games in Brisbane will mark the first time the Australian Boomers have played since narrowly missing out on a medal at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China. Players based in the NBA and European leagues will not be available for those games, and this extends to NBL players competing in the pending finals.
The Boomers roster for these two games in Brisbane will be announced once the composition of the NBL Final Four is confirmed.
Ticketing details
Ticketing details for Australia vs Hong Kong on Sunday 23 February: tickets start from $10 children, $20 adults, $40 family of four and $99 for courtside seats.
Tickets for both Boomers games at Nissan Arena are available now from Ticketek.
Australian Boomers FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers schedule
First Window
20 February 2020: Australia vs New Zealand, Nissan Arena Brisbane, 6.30 pm (local)
23 February 2020: Australia vs Hong Kong, Nissan Arena Brisbane, 12.30 pm (local)
Second Window
27 November 2020: Guam vs Australia, TBC
30 November 2020: New Zealand vs Australia, TBC
Third Window
18 February 2021: Hong Kong v Australia, Hong Kong (TBC)
30 November 2021: Australia vs Guam, TBC