FIBA welcomes Gilas with open arms

MANILA, Philippines - VITORIA. For the Philippines, the wait has finally ended and even FIBA officials welcomed the country’s return to the World Cup after an absence of 36 years.

No less than FIBA secretary-general emeritus Borislav Stankovic, 88, said the Philippines is now “moving very well” and applauded the SBP for ending the political squabbles that plagued the national program leading to a global suspension in 2005-07. Stankovic said he couldn’t be happier for the Philippines, knowing how Filipinos love the game, that the “infighting” is over.

Last year, the Philippines posted the highest gain in the FIBA world standings among the top 45 countries, jumping from No. 45 to No. 34, leaving behind other Asian contenders No. 35 Japan, No. 42 Qatar, No. 44 Chinese-Taipei and No. 52 Kazakhstan.  Only five Asian countries outranked the Philippines, No. 12 China, No. 20 Iran, No. 29 Lebanon, No. 30 Jordan and No. 31 South Korea. At the FIBA-Asia Championships last year, the Philippines beat Jordan, 77-71 and South Korea, 86-79. In the finals, the Philippines bowed to Iran, 85-71, as naturalized citizen Marcus Douthit sat out the contest with a bruised leg.

Stankovic served as FIBA secretary-general from 1976 to 1995 and was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991. He succeeded William Jones who was FIBA’s founding secretary-general in 1932. His deputy Patrick Baumann took over the FIBA helm after he retired.

Gilas coach Chot Reyes paid his respects to Stankovic, Baumann and FIBA president Yvan Mainini during the FIBA World Cup pre-draw reception at the Llotja de Mar in Barcelona last Sunday. Reyes relayed warm greetings to the FIBA officials from SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan.

Baumann said it’s not enough that the Philippines is back in the World Cup. “Don’t just get back, you’ve got to stay in,” he told Reyes. “You’ve got to work hard at it. At the World Cup, bring in the Filipino fans. We want to fill up the stands. We know Filipinos are everywhere in the world and how much they love basketball. It’s a tribute to the Philippines that your internal problems have been resolved, not by FIBA, but by the Philippines itself through the SBP.”

Reyes and team manager Aboy Castro arrived in this Spanish city late yesterday night from Barcelona via Seville and Madrid. They took an early morning flight to Seville then a three-hour train ride to Madrid and a three-hour car drive to Vitoria. Seville is where Gilas will play five preliminary games. Madrid is the connection to Vitoria where Gilas will set up training camp before the tournament begins on Aug. 30.

Baumann recently phoned Pangilinan from the FIBA office in Switzerland to invite Manila to host a leg of the 3x3 World Masters. He also asked if Manila could host the 3x3 World Masters finals after the five-leg qualifications. Pangilinan later confirmed the hosting of the leg on July 19-20. The PLDT chairman told Baumann that Manila could host the World Masters finals if the games could be postponed from August to October because of the Philippines’ participation in the World Cup and the Asian Games.

Gilas team manager Aboy Castro spoke with FIBA 3x3 director Alex Sanchez in Barcelona to finalize plans. The World Masters finals, however, could not be postponed. “Manila will definitely host the leg on July 19-20 with 12 teams participating, including three from the Philippines,” said Castro. “We informed FIBA that we would be happy to host the World Masters finals next year.”

Regarding the possibility of Manila hosting the FIBA-Asia Championships next year, Baumann said it may be difficult to convince other countries waiting in line. But he said the SBP could submit a bid anyway for the zone qualifiers of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Hosting the FIBA-Asia Championships back-to-back has been done twice before with China. Shanghai hosted in 2001 and Harbin in 2003 then Taijin hosted in 2009 and Wuhan in 2011.

Only the winner of the FIBA-Asia Championships next year will represent Asia in the 12-nation Olympics. Baumann offered another solution for the Philippines to make it back to the Olympics since its last appearance in 1972. “You can win the FIBA World Cup and that will qualify you automatically to the Olympics,” he smiled.

Mainini said this year’s World Cup is a milestone in FIBA history and how appropriate that the Philippines is back as a qualifier. “It is significant in many ways,” he said. “First, it’s the last World Cup with wildcards. Second, it’s the first time we’re calling it the World Cup after calling it the World Championships. Third, it’s the last time 24 nations will be involved as in 2019, it will be expanded to 32 countries.”

Mainini was in Manila for the FIBA-Asia Championships last year and lauded the successful staging of the event. “It was a highlight of the FIBA year,” he said. “The organization was European standard. I’m looking forward to a bright future for the Philippines in international basketball. In the 2019 World Cup, Asia and Oceania will be merged and they will qualify seven teams. So this year’s event is also the last time that Asia and Oceania will be apart in the qualifications.”