The Indian basketball team will look to make home advantage count when the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 tips off at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Live streaming of the FIBA U18 Asia Cup will be available in India.
A biennial international under-18 basketball competition, the upcoming tournament will be its 28th edition.
The FIBA U18 Asia Cup will be returning to India after 22 years, with Bengaluru having hosted the event in 2004.
Kolkata had also staged the competition in 1998, a tournament remembered as the international debut of Chinese basketball icon Yao Ming.
A total of 16 countries will compete in the FIBA U18 Asia Cup, with the teams split into four groups of four.
India have been drawn in Group D alongside the Republic of Korea, Japan and Kazakhstan.
FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 teams
- Group A: Australia, Chinese Taipei, Philippines, Thailand
- Group B: New Zealand, Lebanon, Bahrain, Syria
- Group C: People’s Republic of China, Islamic Republic of Iran, Qatar, Sri Lanka
- Group D: India, Republic of Korea, Japan, Kazakhstan
As per the format, the top three teams from each group will progress to the knockout phase.
Group winners will advance directly to the quarter-finals, while the second and third-placed teams will contest qualification playoffs for the last-eight stage.
The four semi-finalists will earn qualification for the FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup 2027, to be held in Pardubice, Czechia.
Australia are the defending champions, while China are the most successful team in the history of the tournament having won it 11 times.
India have named a 12-member squad for the tournament with their first match scheduled to be held on Thursday.
READ MORE: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/fiba-u18-asia-cup-2026-basketball-india-schedule-squad-live-streaming
