The Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah welcomes Asia’s best basketball players between August 5 and 17. The captivating Red Sea port city is hosting the 31st edition of the FIBA Asia Cup, which was formerly known as the FIBA Asia Championship and the ABC Championship. The prestigious tournament has grown in stature over the past decade, with sides from Oceania being invited to join the hoops party. You won’t want to miss a single game of the FIBA Asia Cup, and you don’t have to.
The first edition of the Asian basketball tournament took place in Manila in 1960. It was staged every two years back then and also served as a qualifying event for the FIBA World Cup and the Olympic basketball competition. However, since 2017, it’s been played on a four-year cycle and is no longer part of the qualifying process for the World Cup or the Olympics.
The Philippines proved to be the standout side in the formative years of the tournament, winning four times in the space of 13 years. Other winners during that early period were Japan and South Korea. South Korea are the only side to have competed in every single edition so far, and they have qualified once again this time around.
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Once China entered the fray for the first time in 1975, the balance of power shifted significantly, and an era of red dragon domination began. Amazingly, from 1975 to 2005, China only failed to lift the trophy on two occasions (the Philippines won in 1985 and South Korea in 1997). The turning point came at the 2007 event, where the Chinese decided not to send their big guns, as they were hosting the 2008 Olympics and had therefore already qualified.
The West Asian teams started to give the traditional East Asian powers a run for their money for the first time, and Iran claimed the honours in 2007. They would repeat the feat in two of the next three editions and became only the third team to successfully defend the Asian basketball crown in doing so.
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Australia became the fourth nation to reign supreme at back-to-back tournaments, following its 2017 and 2022 triumphs. The Boomers, who have a 100% record with 12 wins from 12 games, are now the force to be reckoned with at the event, which is now known as the FIBA Asia Cup since the Asian Championships and the FIBA Oceania Championships merged ahead of the 2017 competition. Australia, ranked 7th in the FIBA World Rankings, is the only side in the global top-20 standings represented in Jeddah. As well as combining tournaments, the event also now only occurs every four years, like EuroBasket, AfroBasket and AmeriCup, which are held two years before/after the FIBA World Cup.
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It’s worth giving Guam a mention. The Micronesia islanders will be taking part in the FIBA Asia Cup for the first time this year and will become the third Oceania side to do so after Australia and New Zealand first qualified in 2017.
Let GOAL give you all the vital information you need to know ahead of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025, including the full match schedule, where all the action is taking place and how you can watch or stream every game live.
When is FIBA Asia Cup 2025?
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FIBA Asia Cup 2025 is the 31st edition of the Asian basketball tournament, being held from Tuesday, August 5th to Sunday, August 17th, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 36 matches will be played during the tournament (along with additional ‘classification’ matches so that the full 1-16 standings are decided). Tickets for the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 are now available, starting from SAR 45.
How to watch FIBA Asia Cup 2025
All FIBA Asia Cup 2025 games will be streamed live on Courtside1891, which is available in a number of regions on DAZN. Courtside 1891 will be showing both live and on-demand content from FIBA's international competitions. These include both FIBA World Cups and their respective qualifiers. Basketball fans will also be able to watch several club competitions on Courtside 1891, including the Basketball Champions League, EuroLeague Women and East Asia Super League.
Here's how much an annual subscription to Courtside 1891 will cost in your region on DAZN.
| Country | Price |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | GBP 24.99 |
| Australia | AUD 34.99 |
| United States | USD 30.00 |
| New Zealand | NZD 50.00 |
| Japan | JPY 4,600.00 |
| Saudi Arabia | SAR 90.00 |
| Philippines | PHP 1,400.00 |
| South Korea | KRW 41,000.00 |
Watch FIBA Asia Cup 2025 from anywhere with a VPN
If you are not able to watch FIBA Asia Cup matches live in your area or if you're travelling, you can use a VPN to tune into the action from wherever you are. A VPN creates a secure connection to bypass geographical restrictions and access your favourite streaming services from anywhere.
We highly recommend using NordVPN, but you can also check out our detailed VPN guide for other options.
What is the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 format?
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The 16 teams playing at the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 are split into four groups of four teams. The top team will directly advance to the quarter-finals, with the second-placed teams playing elimination games against the third-placed teams from another group. The four winning teams of the elimination games will advance to the quarter-finals. After the elimination games, the knock-out phase will follow.
‘Classification’ games will also be played as follows:
- 13–16th place games are for the teams eliminated from the group phase.
- The 9th to 12th place games are for the losing teams of the elimination games.
- The 5th–8th place games are for the eliminated teams in the quarterfinals.
The preliminary stage groups were confirmed during April’s draw in Jeddah and are as follows:
- Group A: Qatar, Australia, South Korea, Lebanon
- Group B: Guam, Japan, Syria, Iran
- Group C: Saudi Arabia (hosts), China, Jordan, India
- Group D: Chinese Taipei, New Zealand, Iraq, Philippines
Where is FIBA Asia Cup 2025 taking place?
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Saudi Arabia is hosting the FIBA Asia Cup for a second time, following its successful staging of the 1997 edition. However, the 1997 tournament was held solely at Riyadh's GPYW Indoor Stadium and this time around, it’s Jeddah that has the honour. All matches are being played at the city’s King Abdullah Sports City Hall in the King Abdullah Sports City complex. The Hall has a 15,000+ capacity.
What is the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 schedule?
All times shown are local time (AST), which is BST + 2hrs
| Date | Tip-off | Fixture |
|---|---|---|
| Tue Aug 5 | 11 am | Group D: New Zealand vs Iraq |
| 2 pm | Group C: Jordan vs India | |
| 6 pm | Group C: China vs Saudi Arabia | |
| 9 pm | Group C: Chinese Taipei vs Philippines | |
| Wed Aug 6 | 11 am | Group A: Australia vs South Korea |
| 2 pm | Group B: Japan vs Syria | |
| 6 pm | Group B: Guam vs Iran | |
| 9 pm | Group A: Qatar vs Lebanon | |
| Thu Aug 7 | 11 am | Group C: India vs China |
| 2 pm | Group D: Iraq vs Chinese Taipei | |
| 6 pm | Group D: Philippines vs New Zealand | |
| 9 pm | Group C: Saudi Arabia vs Jordan | |
| Fri Aug 8 | 11 am | Group A: South Korea vs Qatar |
| 2 pm | Group B: Iran vs Japan | |
| 6 pm | Group A: Lebanon vs Australia | |
| 9 pm | Group B: Syria vs Guam | |
| Sat Aug 9 | 11 am | Group D: Iraq vs Philippines |
| 2 pm | Group C: China vs Jordan | |
| 6 pm | Group C: India vs Saudi Arabia | |
| 9 pm | Group D: Chinese Taipei vs New Zealand | |
| Sun Aug 10 | 11 am | Group A: Qatar vs Australia |
| 2 pm | Group B: Guam vs Japan | |
| 6 pm | Group A: South Korea vs Lebanon | |
| 9 pm | Group B: Syria vs Iran | |
| Mon Aug 11 | TBC | Elimination Game: C2 vs D3 |
| TBC | Elimination Game: D2 vs C3 | |
| Tue Aug 12 | TBC | Elimination Game: A2 vs B3 |
| TBC | Elimination Game: B2 vs A3 | |
| Wed Aug 13 | TBC | Q/F: A1 vs TBC |
| TBC | Q/F: B1 vs TBC | |
| Thu Aug 14 | TBC | Q/F: C1 vs TBC |
| TBC | Q/F: D1 vs TBC | |
| Sat Aug 16 | TBC | S/F: TBC vs TBC |
| TBC | S/F: TBC vs TBC | |
| Sun Aug 17 | TBC | Final: TBC vs TBC |