Philippine basketball execs attend EuroBasket as FIBA World Cup hosting looms 

MANILA, Philippines – Key officials from the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas were invited to observe in the EuroBasket 2022 to get a closer feel of how the World Cup is being hosted.

The Philippines first hosted the world event in 1978 when there were only 14 participating squads coming from five federations.

In the FIBA World Cup 2023, it will be the first time the event will be hosted by multiple countries as the Philippines shares this honor with co-hosts Japan and Indonesia, but our country takes pride in staging the most number of games, (40), including the final phase or playoff matches.

A total of 32 teams or countries will quality for the 2023 World Cup — six for Asia, seven for Americas, five from Africa, 12 from Europe and two for the hosts (Philippines and Japan).

The SBP delegation got a firsthand experience of how the EuroBasket 2022 was staged in Berlin with no less than the global leaders in the field.

Our delegates were able to witness new innovations in staging such event and these were introduced for the first time in Germany. The FIBA headquarters has been working on these little tweaks, including more fan experience, making the game more exciting not just to the players and competing teams, but also to the spectators.

The Philippines, being considered as a basketball-crazy nation, deserves more fan interaction in the venue and now that the SBP had been able to experience it in EuroBasket 2022, the group intends to top it next year, considering that the country is holding not just a regional or continental event, but a world tournament.

“We thanked the FIBA HQ and the DBB for inviting LOC representatives to the EuroBasket 2022. The SBP believes that there is no better way to show our gratitude than by applying what we have learned and delivering the best World Cup ever,” said SBP president Al Panlilio.

Included in the delegation are Erika Dy, deputy event director for the FIBA World Cup 2023, Philippines and Dickie Bachmann, current commissioner of the UAAP, who is also the head of LOC Operations for FBWC 2023, Philippines and John Lucas, head of Joint Management Committee Philippines.

Apart from learning from the German LOC, which hosted EuroBasket 2022, the SBP was also able to strengthen ties with our co-hosts from Indonesia and Japan, as well as sit down in very engaging discussions with FIBA HQ and FIBA MEDIA — the main stakeholders of the World Cup 2023.