Ex-ABC exec says it could be Asia’s turn

MANILA, Philippines - Former Asian Basketball Confederation (now FIBA Asia) secretary-general Mauricio (Moying) Martelino said yesterday it could be Asia’s turn to host the FIBA World Cup in 2019 after the last two tournaments were held in Europe and 10 of the 17 stagings so far were in the Americas.

Martelino, 79, has been involved with the national basketball program since 1968 and served as Asian secretary-general for nine years. He was in charge of finance when Manila hosted the 1978 FIBA World Championships. Martelino is now assisting the SBP in the bid to host the 2019 edition.

“Since the first FIBA World Cup in 1950, Asia has hosted only twice, Manila in 1978 and Japan in 2006,” said Martelino. “Turkey and Spain hosted the last two World Cups so FIBA may now be looking outside of Europe. There are six bidding countries – China, Qatar and the Philippines from Asia and Turkey and Germany with France jointly from Europe. It could come down to a choice between China and the Philippines and if it does, the chances are 50-50. Right now, China has the edge over us in terms of infrastructure. But by 2018, we’ll add two state-of-the-art venues, the Solaire Arena and the SM Cebu Arena, to our list of available venues. The Philippine Arena, the Smart Araneta Coliseum and the Mall of Asia Arena are our three existing venues. So in terms of facilities, we’ll be at par or even better than China.”

Martelino said what sets the Philippines apart from China is the Filipino people’s passion for basketball. “China can fill up the stadium but the fans won’t be as passionate as Filipinos,” he said. “We can fill up our stadium, too, with fans who love the game more than fans from any other country. We’ll leave a lasting legacy that when it’s over, we’ll give the world’s best players an unforgettable experience. We’ll show the world our organizational skills, hospitality and love of the game. And we guarantee a new record in attendance for the final which we intend to stage at the 55,000-seat Philippine Arena.”

Martelino said former FIBA secretary-general Borislav Stankovic, now secretary-general emeritus, can attest to the success of the 1978 competition in Manila. “Mr. William Jones, whom Mr. Stankovic succeeded as FIBA secretary-general in 1976, was in Manila and complimented the Philippines for staging the most successful and most exciting World Cup ever,” said Martelino. “To prove how much Filipinos love basketball, the Araneta Coliseum was jampacked for the third place game between Brazil and Italy and the final between Russia and Yugoslavia despite the US and the Philippines not playing. The final was won by Yugoslavia by one point in overtime and Brazil took the bronze also by a point on a halfcourt buzzer-beater by Marcel de Souza. It was the first time that players and officials in a World Cup were billeted in a five-star hotel which was the Philippine Plaza and the first time that each team had a designated coach or what we called the Love Bus. Ka Doroy (Valencia) headed the fund-raising committee and I remember he tapped Pabling Carlos to provide 10 Toyota cars for display at the Rizal Park and they were raffled off at P1 a ticket. I’m sure Mr. Stankovic will remember the success of that event in Manila. We hope to make the 2019 tournament even more successful and memorable.”

Martelino said he was in Puerto Rico with the Philippine team during the 1974 FIBA World Championships. “Lito (Puyat) was then president of the Basketball Association of the Philippines,” he said. “Two journalists Gus Villanueva and Tony Siddayao were also in Puerto Rico and they drafted the Philippine bid to host the 1978 event. We saw how Puerto Rico organized the competition and we were convinced we could do it even better. Luckily, FIBA gave us the opportunity to host. In 2019, it will be over 40 years since we hosted. We hope FIBA gives us the chance to host once more and show our passion for the game.”