BEIJING, May 30 -- The official draw of the 2017 Asia Cup was released by FIBA on its official website on Tuesday, which will see Asian basketball giants China and the Philippines face each other at the group stage.

China and the Philippines finished top two at the Asian Championships two years ago. Yet, both of them were pitted into Group B, which also includes Iraq and Qatar.

The Asia Cup 2017 will take place in Lebanon from August 8-20, and it will be the first ever Asia-Oceania joint continental championship where a total of 16 teams, including Oceanian powerhouses Australia and New Zealand, will battle for the top honors.

Group A has Iran, Jordan, Syria and India. Group C includes New Zealand, Kazakhstan, South Korea and the host Lebanon, while Australia, Japan, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong, China will play Group D games.

The group stage of the tournament will be played in a round robin format, with top three of each group advancing to the second phase competition.

The 12 teams will then be divived into Group E and F, and go through another round robin format, with their win-loss records being accumulated from the first stage, and the top four teams from each group qualify for the quarterfinals.

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