SBP in forefront of FIBA Summit

MANILA, Philippines — SBP president Al Panlilio was among 25 selected speakers, including NBA commissioner Adam Silver and legendary coach George Raveling, who recently shared their ideas on how to grow basketball globally during the first-ever, two-day FIBA World Summit in Xi’an, China, with the goal of making it the world’s most popular sport leading to the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

The Summit was the first of three gatherings that FIBA is staging every year up to 2020. Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi province and the ancient center of the 13 dynasties of China, was designated host of the three Summits. Shaanxi is the province where in 1974, Chinese farmers uncovered large-scale terracotta warriors and horses, dating back to the third century BC, while digging to build a water well.

The Philippines was represented in the Summit by Panlilio, SBP executive director Sonny Barrios and SBP special assistant to the president Ryan Gregorio. The Summit assembled over 500 movers and shakers in the basketball world from more than 80 countries. The participants included FIBA secretary-general Patrick Baumann, NBA commissioner Adam Silver, NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum, FIBA Executive Committee member and FIBA World Cup Coordination Committee chairman Burton Shipley, FIBA media and marketing services director general Frank Leenders, Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) president Yao Ming, former NBA star Stephon Marbury, former Chinese star Zhu Fangyu, former Australian Indigenous and Papua New Guinea national coach Joel Khalu and 2018 FIBA 3x3 World Cup women’s MVP Raelin Marie D’Alie. 

A key figure in the Summit was Shaanxi Basketball Association president and CBA vice president Wang Libin, the star on the Chinese team that lost to the Philippines, coached by Ron Jacobs, in the Asian Youth final at the Araneta Coliseum in 1982. D’Alie, an American who was naturalized to play for Italy, was the crowd darling at the 2018 FIBA 3x3 World Cup in the Philippine Arena this year.

Baumann said the Summit was the springboard to launch FIBA’s campaign to make basketball the world’s most popular sport and China was the perfect setting for the event. He said basketball is more popular than soccer in China and over 100 million Chinese watched China battle the Philippines in the final of the 2015 FIBA Asia Cup in Changsha. “Everything is about teamwork,” said Baumann. “The beauty is we want basketball to be the most popular sport in the world. All of us here (in the Summit) have a piece of work to do in that respect.”

“The focus of the Summit was how federations can help each other grow basketball,” said Panlilio. “The theme was ‘Building the Future of Basketball Together.’ We shared experiences of our federations and how we developed. In the panel discussion, I shared the stage with (Russian federation president) Andrei Kirilenko and (Finnish federation president) Antti Zitting. Key learnings and programs were shared so others could implement those that are applicable.”          

Panlilio said he looked like a point guard on stage flanked by the 6-9 Kirilenko and 6-7 Zitting. Kirilenko, 37, played in 13 NBA seasons and was on the Russian team that took the bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Zitting, 62, was a Finnish national basketball player from 1975 to 1984.

Gregorio said in his talk, Panlilio shared the SBP’s gains as a federation and the Philippines’ role as an influencer in global basketball. “The panel discussed effective basketball development strategies covering the role of national federations, schools and colleges, expectations on government, achieving the best Return On Investment and the development of young pro players,” said Gregorio. “Mr. Baumann delivered the opening address. The Summit brought together a collection of the biggest and brightest minds in the sport.” 

The Summit took up several key topics, including the optimization of leagues and clubs, how media and technology are shaping the future of the game, maximizing the value of the relationship between the sport and brands and the value of corporate social responsibility to impact society.