PBA Finals record crowd seen to boost World Cup hosting bid

MANILA, Philippines — The PBA, coincidentally, is helping the country’s cause in trying to land the hosting rights for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Game Six of the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals on Wednesday night has become the country’s biggest selling point in its hosting bid.

National team head coach Chot Reyes, too, was in the mood for “show instead of tell” on Thursday morning.

The Gilas mentor shared through a Twitter posting a photo inside the Philippine Arena. A screen bearing the number of fans in attendance was projected in one of its three massive screens.

Hey @FIBA are you seeing this? #PlayLouderThanEver #WorldCup2023 pic.twitter.com/hnVIsNXx5u

— Chot Reyes (@coachot) October 26, 2017

Earlier this week, a three-man contingent representing the FIBA Evaluation Commission was in the capital for a series of inspection tours.

RELATED: FIBA ends visit on positive note

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas chair emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan, SBP president Al Panlilio and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano headlined the welcoming delegation. The suggested playing venues for the global basketball tournament are the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City and the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.

Wednesday night’s affair, which drew 53,642 attendees, eclipsed the PBA’s opening-day record of 52,612 set in 2014 also at the same Bulacan venue. The Philippine Arena is said to have a seating capacity of 55,000.

FIBA’s all-time World Cup attendance is at 35,000, which was set during the tournament in Rio de Janeiro in 1954.

The result of the proposal will be announced by FIBA on December in a convention in Mies in Switzerland. — Denison Rey A. Dalupang