JOHOR BAHRU (FIBA Asia U16 Championship) - FIBA Asia has decided to allow the late confirmation of Saudi Arabia to participate in the inaugural FIBA Asia U16 Championship to be held from Nov 19-27.

The Gulf sub-zone team will now replace Myanmar in Group A of the competition along side China, India and Jordan.

The other three groups remain the same.

"This is the first time this championship is being conducted. Therefore we have to be more accommodative and adjusting. It's not that we are altogether flexible, but we are not too rigid either," said FIBA Asia Secretary General Dato' Yeoh Choo Hock.

"And more importantly, Saudi Arabia are a regular participant in all our competitions. That's the main reason we allowed the late confirmation," he added.

The top two teams from the Championship will qualify for the inaugural 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship to be played in Hamburg, Germany from July 2-11, 2010.

Groupings for the preliminary round:

Group A: China, India, Jordan, Saudi Arabia.
Group B: Bahrain, Japan, Kazakhstan, Philippines.
Group C: Korea, Kuwait, Singapore, Syria.
Group D: Chinese Taipei, Iran, Malaysia, Thailand

FIBA Asia