Dubai: Lebanon's national basketball team arrived in Manila on Friday to play tune-up matches against the Philippine national basketball training team in preparation for their participation in the World Basketball Championships in Saitama, Japan set to start on August 19.
The Philippine Basketball Association, a professional league that oversees the formation and training of the Philippine national basketball team, has scheduled two games for the Lebanese one tomorrow and another on Tuesday.
The Philippines, which is considered among the top five basketball powerhouses in Asia, is not participating in the world championships after it was suspended from participating in any tournament sanctioned by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).
The Philippine training team recently participated in an invitational tournament in Doha which was organised as part of the preparations of the Qatar national basketball team.
The Lebanese team headed by Michael Tannous of the Lebanon Basketball Association was invited to play in Manila by Philippine Basketball Federation president Mauricio Martelino.
