News Summary
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- The Nepal Basketball Association has announced a 12-member team for the FIBA Asia Cup Pre-Qualifiers, led by captain Sadish Pradhan.
- Vinod Maharjan is appointed as vice-captain, with Sushil Gurung as head coach and Ashish Nyaupane as assistant coach.
- The FIBA Asia Cup Pre-Qualifier tournament is scheduled in Dubai, where Nepal aims to make a strong impression at the Asian level.
September 3, Kathmandu – The Nepal Basketball Association has announced a 12-member squad for the FIBA Asia Cup Pre-Qualifiers taking place at the end of August in the UAE.
Sadish Pradhan will captain the team, with Vinod Maharjan serving as vice-captain. The squad includes Shreyas Bahadur Shah, Nischal Maharjan, Ajay Kushwaha, Ashim Shrestha, Saurav Shrestha, Sudip Paudel Kshetri, Kamal Thapa, Simon Gurung, Pema Sherpa, and Pranay Man Shrestha.
Sushil Gurung is appointed as head coach, and Ashish Nyaupane as assistant coach.
Nepal is placed in Group A for the FIBA Asia Cup Pre-Qualifier matches, which will be held from August 26 to 31 in Dubai, UAE.
Nepal’s opening match will be against the UAE on August 26. Following that, the team will face Kuwait on August 28, Bahrain on August 30, and Oman on September 1.
This tournament offers Nepal the opportunity to assert its competitiveness on the Asian basketball stage.
Group B includes Kazakhstan, Palestine, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Kyrgyzstan. Group C features Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, while Group D comprises Thailand, Mongolia, Vietnam, and Fiji.
Matches for Group B will be held in Kazakhstan, Group C will compete in Malaysia, and Group D’s qualifiers will take place in Mongolia.
FIBA has stated that the top three teams from each pre-qualifier group will progress to the second round. In this round, qualified teams will be divided into two groups of six teams each.
The top four teams from each second-round group will qualify for the FIBA Asia Cup 2029 qualifiers.
The qualifiers will feature the best eight teams from the pre-qualifier phase along with the top 16 teams from the FIBA Asia Cup 2025, creating a 24-team main qualifying tournament. From this tournament, the top 16 teams will secure their spots for the FIBA Asia Cup to be held in 2029.
