MVP says work starts now

GENEVA – SBP chairman emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan said yesterday gathering three countries to co-host the 2023 FIBA World Cup was a historic step towards spreading what he calls “basketball fever” and while there will be difficult logistical issues to resolve, he expects smooth sailing in staging the 32-nation event.

The FIBA Central Board awarded the hosting rights to a consortium made up of the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia during a meeting at the FIBA head office in Mies near this Swiss city last Saturday. The consortium won the bid after the other finalist, a two-nation effort by Argentina and Uruguay, withdrew from contention. Voting became academic with only one bidder left. Two other bidders Turkey and Russia had previously backed out.

There was no inkling that Argentina and Uruguay would withdraw as they followed the consortium in making a 20-minute presentation before the Central Board regrouped to vote. But even as the delivery was spirited, it seemed like Argentina and Uruguay lacked the persuasive substance that marked the consortium’s presentation. Their theme of “All The Powers of Nature – Two Countries, One Passion” had no connection to what they spoke about. They said there were 23 reasons why their bid should win but nobody bothered to explain them. A slide listed the 23 reasons but the words were too small to be read from any distance. They even tried to shoot down the consortium’s strong points with no success.

In contrast, the consortium made it clear from the onset that it would organize the World Cup with simplicity, diversity and intensity with the slogan #PlayLouderIn2023. Within three days of the social media campaign to use the hashtag, it shot up to the top trend-setter with at least 1.3 billion impressions.

After both sides made their presentations, FIBA secretary-general Patrick Baumann summoned Pangilinan and Argentine Basketball Association president Federico Susbielles to a private room to discuss how to settle the issue. It was agreed that the consortium would host the 2023 event on condition Indonesia is able to strengthen the national team by 2021. If Indonesia fails to upgrade, the Philippines will take over the hosting of eight countries to add to the 16 teams to play in two rounds of eliminations.

SBP president Al Panlilio said the consortium’s total population of 500 million was a key reason in winning the bid. “It didn’t matter that Asia would once again host the World Cup after 2019 in China,” he said. “What’s on FIBA’s mind is how to grow the game globally and there are many more markets to tap in Asia.”

Pangilinan said coordinating efforts with foreign countries is often a tricky business. “We’ll need to do a lot of communicating,” he said. “We showed that we can work together during the bid process. We’ve done it before, we can do it again. The work for 2023 begins today. It’s a bit complicated but we’re familiar with what we must do. This was our second time to bid after losing in 2015. We’re happy, the people are happy and in all humility, we accept this honor.”