Japan will host the remaining 10 Group B contests in the final window of FIBA Asia Cup qualifying from Feb. 18-22, FIBA announced on Thursday.
The preliminaries for next summer’s FIBA Asia Cup tournament kicked off in late February, but many of the games have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Group B, only a pair of contests, including Japan’s 96-57 win over Taiwan in Taipei during the first window in February, have been completed. The group — which also includes China and Malaysia — was scheduled to resume play in last month's second window in Doha before it was postponed again.
The Akatsuki Five will play five games in the final window, meaning they will likely compete over five straight days.
The Japan Basketball Association said that details will be announced at a later date, including the host city. FIBA Asia lists Tokyo as the site.
The other pools will compete on the same dates. Groups A and C will play in Clark, Philippines; Groups D and F will play in the Bahraini capital of Manama; and Group E will hit the court in Doha.
Despite the postponement of the second window, Japan held a training camp in Tokyo late last month. That ended up being cut short when naturalized player Gavin Edwards tested positive for the coronavirus.
A total of 16 teams will advance to the FIBA Asia Cup finals and earn automatic berths in Asian qualifiers for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines.