Thursday, October 19, 2017

FIBA executives in Philippines to assess 2023 FIBA World Cup bid

The Philippines will have high-ranking sports executives visiting the country this week.

Members of the FIBA Evaluation Commission arrived in the country yesterday to help assess the nation's bid for the hosting rights of the 2023 edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup. They are composed of Commission president, Hamane Niang (Mali), Central Board member and treasurer Ingo Weiss (Germany), and Advisor to the FIBA Sec-Gen Lubomir Kotleba (Slovak Republic).

The Philippines is one of three countries co-hosting the bid, in a partnership with Japan and Indonesia, but it is considered as the principal host, with four stadiums set for potential use, in the form of the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, MOA Arena in Pasay, PhilSports Arena in Pasig, and the SMART-Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

Competing against this bid is a co-hosting bid from Argentina and Uruguay, as well as solo bids from Russia and Turkey.

As a solo bidder, the Philippines was a finalist to the 2019 edition that China eventually won.

Once the FIBA Evaluation Commission goes through each of the bids, it will make its recommendation to the FIBA Central Board, with the announcement of the decision set to be made at the end of the year.

The FIBA Basketball World Cup is considered as the basketball's most prestigious international tournament. Last held in Spain in 2014, the tournament was tweaked to accommodate FIBA's adjustments to qualifying, moving it to 2019 and making it part of the qualifying process for the Olympics.

It is from this 32-nation field that will serve as the core participants for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. If awarded the bid, the Philippines will be home to half of the field in the prelims, and will serve as the host for the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals.

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