FIBA inspects Philippines facilities

MANILA, Philippines - A three-man FIBA evaluation committee arrived in Manila yesterday to inspect facilities and confer with SBP officials in relation to the Philippines’ bid to host the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

The evaluation committee is made up of chairman Lubomir Kotleba of Slovakia, FIBA director general of media and marketing services Frank Leenders of the Netherlands and FIBA director of events Predrag Bogosavljev of Serbia. FIBA Oceania president and FIBA Central Board member Burton Shipley of New Zealand was originally slated to serve as committee chairman but begged off after doctors advised against taking a long flight due to a strained back. FIBA secretary-general Patrick Baumann of Switzerland will plane in on Thursday to meet with the committee and SBP officials. Baumann and the committee will leave Manila on Friday.

SBP deputy executive director for international affairs Butch Antonio said FIBA has set specific parameters as requirements for the bid. Aside from the Philippines, others bidding for the hosting rights are China, Qatar, Turkey and Germany-France on a joint basis.

Among the parameters are a seating capacity of at least 8,000 for the preliminary round venues, a seating capacity of at least 16,000 for the playoffs, at least four playing venues, practice gyms, hotel and accommodations within a 20-minute radius of the playing venue, separate hotels and accommodations for the 32 participating teams, the FIBA operations group, the FIBA technical committee including referees and the FIBA executives, a seating capacity of at least 150 for media in the press conference room of every playing venue and an allocation for 500 TV/radio/digital coverors for the preliminary round games and 800 to 900 for the playoffs.

The 2019 World Cup will feature 32 teams for the first time since the event’s inception in 1950. In the preliminary round, competition will be split among eight groups of four teams each. Two groups will be assigned for each playing venue in the preliminaries, requiring four arenas. The SBP intends to tap five playing venues – the Philippine Arena, Smart Araneta Coliseum, the Mall of Asia Arena and the still-to-be-constructed SM Cebu Arena and the Solaire Arena.  FIBA requires all facilities and venues to be ready for use by 2018.

Kotleba and Bogosavljev arrived yesterday afternoon while Leenders landed late last night. They are billeted at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel.

Antonio said the committee will check out the 55,000-seat Philippine Arena this morning with Atty. Bong Teodoro welcoming the guests. “Atty. Teodoro will make a presentation not only of what are the facilities of the Philippine Arena today but also what additional facilities will be in place by 2018,” said Antonio. “The plan is to hold the World Cup final at the Philippine Arena and the expectation is we will set a new record for attendance. When the PBA held its season opener at the Philippine Arena last October, there were 52,612 fans in attendance. It was an incredible experience not just for the fans but also for the players. The other day, the SBP team went to the Philippine Arena and as we stood at the center of the court looking out into the empty stands, we were breathless. It’s that kind of feeling we hope to share with the world’s greatest basketball players only they’ll be playing before a jam-packed crowd of over 50,000.”

Antonio said the committee will also meet with Smart Araneta Coliseum vice president for marketing Cecile Marvilla and inspect the Big Dome. A third stop is the Mall of Asia Arena where SM Lifestyle and Entertainment president Ed Tejerero and MOA Arena general manager Arnel Gonzalez will take the visitors on a tour of the facility. Tonight, the committee will watch the opening doubleheader of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the MOA Arena.

Tomorrow, the committee will travel to Cebu to inspect the site of the SM Cebu Arena in the morning then return to Manila for a meeting with the Solaire group in connection with the plan to build the Solaire Arena.  In the evening, the SBP will host a dinner for the committee with basketball’s major stakeholders in attendance. Expected to be announced during the dinner is the House of Representatives resolution supporting the Philippines bid by Rep. Robbie Puno and Rep. Yeng Guiao.

Antonio said PLDT chairman/SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan himself has issued instructions to make sure the committee is given a full appreciation of the country’s capability to host the World Cup during its five-day inspection visit. “Our advantage is the passion of the Filipino fans for basketball,” said Antonio. “We’ll set new records for attendance. We’ll welcome the world’s greatest players like they’ve never been welcomed before. We’ll showcase our organizational skills and warm Filipino hospitality. We’re the only country in Asia where basketball is the No. 1 sport. It’s almost like our religion. We want to show the world we can stage a global event like the World Cup and we can be competitive as a national team.”