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Mike Chan

Hong Kong will not be sending men’s or women’s basketball teams to this year’s Asian Games in Japan, after organisers slashed the number of teams to the lowest in more than 20 years.
And while there was a last-minute reprieve three years ago in Hangzhou, it seems unlikely that will happen this time around, with just 12 teams per gender invited to take part.
For the men, who had 16 teams competing in Hangzhou three years ago compared with the women’s 12, it is the smallest field since the 2002 Games in Busan.
Games organisers who spoke to the South China Morning Post did not say why the number of teams had been cut. Hong Kong has not been officially told of the decision.
Countries for the tournament at the new 17,000-seat Aichi International Arena will be selected based on regional rankings, leaving the city’s men, No 26, and women, No 21, well short of where they would need to be.

Officials said 26 federations had applied to play, with the hosts and regional heavyweights Iran, China, the Philippines and South Korea all expected to take part in the men’s competition.
With top regional teams Australia and New Zealand not taking part in the Asian Games, Bahrain and India, ranked 13th and 14th respectively, are due to make the cut.
On the women’s side, a similar situation is expected to see Jordan and Kazakhstan invited to take part.
Games spokesman Hiroshi Koshizuka revealed that organisers had initially planned to invite 32 teams – 16 in each competition – but then trimmed that number in December.
The tournament is expected to feature three groups of four, with the top two teams and the two best third-placed sides progressing to the quarter-finals.
Since sending its men’s basketball team to the regional multi-sports extravaganza in 1958, Hong Kong has taken part in 13 of the 17 editions, with a best finish of sixth in 1962. The side failed to qualify in 1966, 1974, 1982 and 1994.
Three years ago, the team were almost excluded from the Hangzhou Games without knowing it, until a dramatic 11th-hour call-up after Lebanon dropped out. A 69-64 win over Mongolia was the team’s only victory in four matches, as they finished ninth out of 16 teams.
The Hong Kong women’s basketball team, on the other hand, has much less history at the regional Games, having only taken part three times since the 2014 Incheon Games, where they finished ninth. A result they matched in China last time out.
With Fiba World Cup participation very much beyond the city’s teams, Hong Kong’s only international competition is the Asian Games, the Fiba Asia Cup and its qualifiers.
Since their historic participation at the 2019 Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers, which ended with six defeats in as many matches between November 2017 and July 2018, Hong Kong men’s senior team have only played 21 official matches across two Asian Games and two editions of the regional cup’s qualifiers.
The women’s senior team have played six matches across the past two Asian Games, plus two more Asia Cup qualifying matches in Ulaanbaatar in April last year. The lack of matches and positive results inevitably hindered the teams from climbing the rankings ladder.
Last Friday, Rosanna Law Shuk-pui, secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, revealed the government would increase its support for the National Sports Associations before the Games and urged teams to go overseas to train and compete.
“Even if they think they may not go far enough [at the Games] or win any medal, it’s important to integrate competition into training,” she said. “Young athletes, in particular, need experience and to develop teamwork.


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Asian Games basketball axe leaves Hong Kong teams on the outside looking in

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Number of men’s and women’s sides for 2026 Games in Japan cut to 12 with Fiba rankings to be used to select who will play

Number of men’s and women’s sides for 2026 Games in Japan cut to 12 with Fiba rankings to be used to select who will play