MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas and 31 other participants keenly look forward to the FIBA Basketball World Cup Draw presented by Wanda on April 29 in Manila to find out their opponents in the global showpiece.
The highly-anticipated draw will be held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, where the field will be sorted into eight groups of four for the preliminary play of the world meet co-hosted by the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
International basketball legends led by Argentine great and FIBA WC Global Ambassador Luis Scola will be on stage to assist with the draw.
To spice up the 7:30 p.m. event, global hip-hop artist Saweetie and Filipino favorites Sarah Geronimo and Billy Crawford will render performances.
Local ambassadors from the three host nations – former Miss Universe Catriona Gray and former Gilas standout LA Tenorio from the Philippines, Akatsuki legend Takehiko Orimo from Japan, and actor-singer Raffi Ahmad from Indonesia – will also be in attendance.
In celebration of the event, the Draw Festival will be held in Uptown BGC with performances from popular local acts headlined by Ben & Ben.
Other exciting activities include the launch of the official FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Molten Official Game Ball and the unveiling of Official Licensing collections on stage with a fashion show and the Trophy Tour presented by J9 that will give fans the opportunity to see the Naismith Trophy on display.
Meanwhile, Unilab, Inc., the leading pharmaceutical healthcare company in the Philippines, has joined the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 by signing as a major local sponsor in the August 25 to Sept. 10 extravaganza.
“We welcome Unilab to this prestigious event that will be followed by nations throughout the world,” said Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Chairman Emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan, a key member of the powerful FIBA Central Board and chairman and CEO of Metro Pacific Investments Corp.
“This partnership will go a long way in ensuring the success of our country’s efforts to co-host this grand event, a national endeavor if ever there was one since this marks only the second time in our history that we will be staging a world basketball championship.”
SBP president Alfredo Panlilio, a vital member of the FIBA Asia Board and president and CEO of PLDT and Smart Communications, meanwhile, paid tribute to Unilab’s sense of patriotism and generosity in coming to the aid of the national team and of the overall effort to promote the country to the whole world as a shining example of leadership, organization and hospitality.