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UALA LUMPUR: Two spots will be reserved for Southeast Asia in the 2012 FIBA Asia Champions Cup in Lebanon this year, FIBA Asia, the governing body for basketball in the region, has announced.

The spots will be filled by the two top-ranked countries from the end of the AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League’s (ABL) third season, the league’s organizers said in a statement to The Jakarta Post recently.

The top four teams from the league’s regular season are now currently preparing to enter the playoffs, which will begin later this month and the results of which will determine the two countries that will be heading to the Champions Cup.

On top of that, FIBA Asia has also announced that the tournament, which was originally scheduled to be played in May, will also be moved to October.

As part of FIBA Asia’s sanction of the league, the past champions of the ABL entered as the region’s representatives for this tournament.

This year, due to the increased number of teams in the ABL as well as the league’s later start date that was to allow players to participate in their national teams in the SEA Games last November, the league finalists would have only been determined in June, whereas the FIBA Asia Champions Cup was originally scheduled to be held in May.

The tournament’s new dates in October, which is two months after the completion of the league, will allow time to prepare for the Champions Cup.

The ABL playoffs will kick off on May 26 and the finals will be held from June 16.