YES, the Philippines can.
The International Basketball Federation (Fiba) Evaluation Commission concluded their three-day inspection of the venues and the facilities on Friday with regards to the country’s bid to host the 2019 Fiba World Cup of Basketball.
And the members, joined later on by Fiba Secretary-General Patrick Baumann, were all impressed with what they saw and agreed in unison that the Philippines can definitely stage the Olympics of basketball four years from now.
The question now is if Fiba would grant the rights to the country, which last hosted the event in 1978, this June as the world’s basketball federation will also take a look on the bids of Turkey, Qatar, China and the combined bids of Germany and France.
“What I can tell you is that this bid will be competitive,” said Baumann during the news conference at the Makati Shangri-La, culminating the Fiba Evaluation Commission’s three-day visit here.
“And I mean this is a serious bid. Among the bidders, you are the only country that breathes basketball. And, yes, this country can host the World Cup,” Baumann concluded.
And Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) President Manny V. Pangilinan agreed, adding that the country’s best asset to beat the other nations in the bidding is the hoop-crazy Filipinos.
“The fans, the Filipinos,” said Pangilinan when asked what will be the x-factor in the country’s bid.
But the SBP chief added that it would take the cooperation of all sectors of society to make the World Cup a big hit, as Fiba wants nothing less but a “quantum leap” quality staging of the event.
“This will be huge. This will be 10 times bigger than the Fiba Asia [which the country hosted in August 2013]. Fiba expects a lot from the World Cup at talagang nakakatakot. But we have the best fans in the world and they have seen it. Wala silang (other bidders) ganoon,” Pangilinan added.
The three-man Fiba that flew in here were Sports Director Lubo Kutloba, Director General for Media and Marketing Frank Leenders and Events Director Predrag Bogosavljev.
The Fiba officials inspected the Philippine Arena in Bulacan, Smart Araneta Coliseum, watched a Philippine Basketball Association game at the Mall of Asia Arena and went to Cebu City, where a new coliseum, similar to the world-class venue in Pasay City, is being built.
After watching the PBA match between Ginebra and Meralco on Wednesday, Kotleba said he was amazed by the passion of the Filipinos in basketball and said this could be a factor in determining the winner.
“Puso [heart] is everywhere we go. Puso is not only in the arena but also to everyone else. And with the strong dedication of the basketball federation, I’m really impressed,” Kotleba said.
Whether those positive feedbacks would translate to a yes from Fiba Central Board, but Pangilinan is confident that the country has a fighting chance to win the hosting rights.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes