Pinoys part of World Cup’s success

MANILA, Philippines - Newly elected FIBA Central Board member and SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan said the other day no less than FIBA secretary-general Patrick Baumann cited the recently concluded World Cup as the most successful in the history of the event which began in Argentina in 1950.

And the Philippines’ participation, the first in 36 years, was a major reason why the World Cup was a huge hit. The Philippines wound up 21st in the 24-nation conclave and failed to make it to the knockout round-of-16 but was named the winner of the Most Valuable Fan (MVF) Best Country Award for generating the most social media mileage in relation to the tournament.

Although the Philippines played in only five games, Gilas’ impact was resounding as even Spanish star Pau Gasol noted that the team deserved to qualify for the second round. Gilas won only over Senegal, 81-79 in overtime, but could’ve won at least three more, losing close encounters to Croatia, 81-78 in overtime, Argentina, 85-81 and Puerto Rico, 77-73. The Philippines’ 82-70 defeat to No. 5 Greece was hardly a blowout as the Filipinos gave the Greeks the scare of their lives.

Entering the tournament, the Philippines was ranked No. 34 by FIBA. To finish No. 21 was a big accomplishment considering the Philippines had not won a game at the World Cup since beating the Central African Republic in Puerto Rico in 1974 or 40 years ago. Countries that wound up below the Philippines were No. 22 Finland, No. 23 Korea and No. 24 Egypt. Although Senegal lost to Gilas, the African team finished 16th ahead of Angola, Ukraine, Puerto Rico and Iran.

Another Philippine achievement was Gilas’ naturalized player Andray Blatche, a nine-year NBA veteran, topping the player efficiency rating ladder with a score of 22.4. Gasol was second at 21.7 and Iran’s Hamed Haddadi third at 20.2. The player efficiency rating is a relative measure of productivity on a per-minute basis taking into account positive and negative statistics. Additionally, Blatche led the tournament in rebounding with a 13.8 clip and ranked third in scoring with a 21.2 average behind Puerto Rican guard J. J. Barea’s 22.0 and Croatian forward Bojan Bogdanovic’ 21.2. Bogdanovic hit 127 points in six games compared to Blatche’s 106 in five.

Pangilinan said Baumann remarked at the closing rites, that the World Cup in Spain was the most successful so far. “Spectators, TV coverage and audiences including the Philippines and the emergence of surprise basketball performances like the Philippines and Finland” were factors that led to Baumann’s conclusion, added the PLDT chairman.

Pangilinan’s recent election to the FIBA Central Board was hailed as a triumph for Philippine basketball which was in the doldrums until the SBP became the national governing body for the sport in place of the discredited BAP in 2006. Pangilinan called the FIBA Central Board “a United Nations of basketball.” With his election, Pangilinan automatically gained a seat for the Philippines in the FIBA Asia Board. The Philippines had long been a non-entity in both the FIBA Central and FIBA Asia Boards.

Pangilinan said several countries are interested to host the 2019 World Cup, including China, Qatar, Turkey, Russia, Mexico, Brazil and France/Germany together. He reiterated the Philippines’ serious intent to bid for the hosting rights. A team made up of SBP executive director Sonny Barrios, SBP deputy executive director for international affairs Butch Antonio and logistics manager Andrew Teh recently attended a FIBA workshop in Madrid to brief prospective bidders of what it takes to host the World Cup.

“We got our first view of the 2019 bidding landscape and how Spain prepared for it,” said Pangilinan. “First is a successful articulation of the reasons why the Philippines wants to host, including the benefits to the country and to FIBA. Second, a myriad of details from media coverage and space to logistics and security. Third, eight to nine countries have expressed interest.” Pangilinan said the SBP may enlist the services of a foreign consultant to advice the Philippines on how to prepare for the bid like when cities offer to host the Olympics.

The FIBA Central Board will announce the winning bidder in May next year after an extensive review of the proposals and ocular inspection of facilities. The Philippines hosted the 1978 edition of the World Cup, then known as the World Championships, but the magnitude of the 2019 event will be much larger with 32 teams participating.