TEHRAN – Iran are drawn in Group E along with Saudi Arabia, Syria and Qatar in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.

The draw ceremony was held in Bangalore, India on Saturday.

The new format of qualification for the FIBA Asia Cup is similar to that of the FIBA World Cup in which the 24 participating teams, who have been pooled into six groups, will play a home-and-away format to be played in November 2019, February 2020, and November 2020.

The top two teams in each group will automatically advance into the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup with the next four teams to be determined through a quarterfinal tournament in February 2021 among the third placers in all six groups.

Group A: Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea

Group B: China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, and Malaysia

Group C: Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Guam

Group D: Bahrain, Lebanon, India, and Iraq

Group E: Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Syria

Group F: Jordan, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, and Palestine