Qualification for the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup are currently being held to determine the sixteen participants in this FIBA Asia Cup.
Qualification format
In line with the new FIBA Calendar format implemented since 2017, FIBA Asia began their own qualifiers for 2021 FIBA Asia Cup in 2018. Pre-qualifiers were contested on sub-zone basis and took place during the same second and third windows of FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers. Teams that emerged victorious in the pre-qualifiers qualified to the second round which will commence immediately after the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Teams from the Persian Gulf region played in two different rounds, during the same second and third windows of FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers. The top two teams qualified to the main qualifiers.
The second round was played from 27 to 30 June in United Arab Emirates, during the third window of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification first round. The teams carried their records from the first round to the second wherein only the top two teams advanced to the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Pre-Qualifiers taking place in September that year.
The Southeast Asia Basketball Association pre-qualifier took place in Nonthaburi, Thailand from 26 to 30 June, during the third window of FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian qualifiers. The round-robin format tournament featured six teams participating from which the top four advanced to the pre-qualifiers taking place in September that year.
South Asia Basketball Association started their pre-qualifiers on 26 June 2018, during the third window of the Asian qualifiers.
Regional Pre-Qualifiers
The twelve teams that qualified from the sub-zone pre-qualifiers were divided into two regions: Western Region and Eastern Region. The top four teams from each region joined the top 16 teams in the Qualifiers which was scheduled to be held in November 2019.
Western Region Pre-Qualifiers
The FIBA Asia Cup 2021 pre-qualifiers was held in Bahrain from 11 to 15 September 2018. On 14 August 2018, the competition schedules has been confirmed.
Eastern Region Pre-Qualifiers
The Pre-Qualifiers was held in Nonthaburi, Thailand from 26 November to 1 December 2018. The seven teams were divided into two groups. The top three teams of each group qualified to the second round, where they were pitted against the teams in the opposite groups.
First round
Group A
Group B
Second round
Qualifiers
Qualified teams
Draw
The draw for the main qualifiers was held on 8 June 2019 in Bangalore, India. Eight pots were used for the seeding of the 24 qualified teams based on geographical and ranking principles. The first four pots were allocated for teams in the East Region, covering teams from the EABA, SEABA, and FIBA Oceania and the rest for teams in the West Region which has the GBA, WABA, CABA, and SABA in its scope. The top seeded teams for each region were be allocated in Pot 1 and 5. The top six seeded teams were confirmed on 31 May 2019 based on the FIBA ranking as of 26 February 2019. All times are local.
