SEA Games basketball back at MOA Arena

MANILA, Philippines — Basketball competitions in the 30th SEA Games from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 will be held at the more spacious Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City after all.

The Philippine SEA Games  Organizing Committee (PHISGOC)  made the announcement following renewed talks with the MOA management.

A day earlier, PHISGOC announced that negotiations with MOA Arena and Smart Araneta Coliseum to host the SEA Games had bogged down.

The two venues cited other commitments as the main reason why they could not accommodate the games in November. 

“We will hold 5-on-5 matches at the MOA Arena. The 3-on-3 games will stay at Filoil,” said PHISGOC COO Tats Suzara. The MOA Arena can accommodate as many as 20,000 fans.

News that basketball games will be staged at the 5,500-seat Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan were met with criticism from the basketball-crazy Pinoy fans.

“We heard the voices of our people. We were also made aware that some sectors have started to put the blame on certain agencies without really understanding the complexities of the situation,” SBP president Al Panlilio said.

“The best way to solve an issue is to discuss peacefully and find ways to find an acceptable solution,” he added.

Panlilio stressed that no one is to blame for the impasse.

“Holding an event in this magnitude is a shared responsibility among different sports leaders and even our people. This event is a showcase of our capacity to hold massive regional sporting events and can play as a window for other countries to look at our country with a more positive outlook,” he said.

“Instead of playing the blame game, we took it upon ourselves to find an answer to the clamor. So, together with POC president Ricky (Vargas), PHISGOC COO Tats (Suzara) and the SBP, we were able to find a win-win solution,” Panlilio said.