SBP to pursue 2019 World Cup bid

SEVILLE – In no uncertain terms, PLDT chairman/SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan said yesterday the Philippines will pursue its bid to host the 2019 FIBA World Cup with a competitive showing for Gilas in the ongoing global tournament here a boost in making the dream come true.

The Philippines has lost its first three games but was in the thick of the fight until the end. Gilas opened the competition with an 81-78 overtime loss to Croatia at the Palacio Municipal de Deportes last Saturday then bowed to Greece, 82-70, the next day and dropped an 85-81 decision to Argentina last Monday. Croatia is ranked No. 16, Greece No. 5 and Argentina No. 3 in the FIBA ladder. The close scores of the three games do not justify the Philippines’ ranking of No. 34.

SBP executive director Sonny Barrios, SBP deputy executive director Butch Antonio and logistics director Andrew Teh will attend a briefing of bidding countries in Madrid on Sept. 12-15. A tentative list of bidders includes Germany and France together as joint hosts, a consortium made up of Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Brazil and China. In November, FIBA will release the confirmed list of candidate countries. In December, representatives of the bidding nations will assemble in Geneva for a workshop. Inspection of facilities on-site will be made in January-February next year. The candidates will submit their final reports in April and the next month, the FIBA Central Board will announce the winning bidder.

The 2019 FIBA World Cup will expand the list of participating countries from 24 to 32 with Asia/Oceania combining for seven slots, Europe for 12, the Americas for seven, Africa for five and the host. Qualification will feature a two-year process with six home-and-away windows in November, February, June, September, November and February. The schedule will be moved to 2019, five years from now, to avoid a clash with other major sporting events that are held every four years.

“We are strongly making a push to host the next World Cup,” said Pangilinan. “I think it’s helping our bid that we’re competitive in this year’s World Cup. I’ve spoken with (FIBA secretary-general) Mr. (Patrick) Baumann about it. I’m aware that the magnitude of hosting the World Cup is 10 times more than the FIBA Asia Championships. The requirement is four international venues. One will be the Philippine Arena and I told Mr. Baumann we’ll fill it up with 50,000 fans. The others are the Araneta Coliseum the MOA Arena and either the Solaire Arena or the SM Coliseum in Cebu.”

FIBA would like the host country to be competitive so that the hometown fans can rally around the national team beyond the group stage, said a basketball official. “If the host country isn’t competitive, it’s not likely the hometown fans will come out in big numbers to watch the games,” the official said. “With what Gilas has shown at the World Cup, FIBA is assured the Philippines will be a contender.”

Competitiveness wasn’t a factor when Manila hosted the 1978 edition with the Philippines gaining an outright ticket to the eight-team semifinals. It was a forgettable event as the country’s best players from the PBA were prohibited to participate since they were pros. Coach Nic Jorge’s winless squad included Steve Watson, Padim Israel, Mon Cruz, Joy Carpio, Pol Herrera and Bokyo Launchengco. The FIBA eventually declared an open door policy for the World Cup in 1989.

Pangilinan and SBP vice chairman Ricky Vargas recently attended the two-day FIBA Congress at the Hotel Alfonso XIII here. The Congress reviewed FIBA’s performance over the last four-year cycle and four “pillars” were cited – changes in governance structure, completion of the House of Basketball, the growth of 3x3 and the implementation of a new calendar of competition starting in 2017 or after the 2016 Olympics.

Pangilinan has been nominated to join the FIBA Central Board for the 2014-19 cycle. If he accepts, Pangilinan will be invited to attend the Central Board meeting on Sept. 13 in Madrid, the day before the World Cup gold medal game. At the moment, the Philippines is not represented in either the FIBA Central Board or the FIBA Asia Central Board.

Delegates from 116 national federations gathered for the recent FIBA Congress where 12 of the 29 slots for the Central Board were filled for the next cycle. Among the newly designated Central Board members are USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley, FIBA Europe president Turgay Demirel of Turkey, Tian Xiao of China, Michael O’Keefe of Canada and Marcelo Bedoya of Paraguay. Succeeding Yvan Mainini of France as FIBA president is Horacio Muratore of Argentina. Retaining his membership in the FIBA Central Board is FIBA Asia president Sheikh Saud Bin Ali Al-Thani of Qatar.