THE Philippine hosting of the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) 2023 World Cup are a good two years away but Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) President Al Panlilio aims for a Philippine edition to remember.
“I hope we do an excellent job in hosting a championship that will be remembered by the Fiba,” Panlilio, president and CEO of PLDT and Smart, said. “Hopefully, based on research, the biggest crowd in a Fiba game is 35,000 to 36,000. So if we’ll have 55,000, it will be a record.”
Panlilio is referring to the 55,000 seat Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan, where the SBP intends to hold the post-group stage games—the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.
The 2023 World Cup is scheduled from August 5 to September 10 in 2023 with Japan and Indonesia as co-hosts.
Panlilio said he is hopeful that the world could have recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic within two years and that sports venues would be allowed to accommodate fans at 100 percent capacity.
The other Philippine venues are the Smart Araneta Coliseum (16,500 seats) and Mall of Asia Arena (15,000 seats).
“Do you follow the National Basketball Association? Do you watch baseball games? Do you watch F1 races? People are no longer wearing masks,” Panlilio said, referring to the major leagues and sports events in the US. “Everybody’s an expert in basketball, they know that the quality of the games are very high. It’s going to be a different level of basketball.”
The top 32 teams in the world are playing in the World Cup with the Philippines hosting 16 countries in the group stage and Okinawa and Jakarta hosting eight nations each. After the group stage, the tournament will be concentrated in the Philippines.
Panlilio, also the First Vice President of the Philippine Olympic Committee, said a 500-day countdown will start in March 23 next year.