Teams, execs touch down in Manila for FIBA World Cup

MANILA, Philippines -- The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 fever is on. 

Participating teams and officials – led by FIBA president Hamane Niang – designated to play in Manila have started to arrive this weekend as the biggest basketball show on the planet lurks around the corner.

FIBA president Niang, who will lead the FIBA Congress before the games proper, was personally welcomed by Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president Al Panlilio during his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) with his wife.

Montenegro, Angola, Mexico and Egypt were among the early birds to first experience Filipino hospitality after their arrivals on Friday and Saturday, respectively, ahead of the World Cup rolling off on August 25 to September 10 in three different venues.

Greece and the Dominican Republic are scheduled to land Monday while Puerto Rico, Italy, Serbia and New Zealand are set for arrival Tuesday.

Also in the same schedule on Tuesday is the highly-anticipated and fan favorite Team USA, bannered by NBA’s rising stars and coached by Golden State Warriors’ Steve Kerr with Filipino-American pride Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat as one of his assistants.

Lithuania, China, Jordan and South Sudan will follow suit on Wednesday.

Sixteen of the 32 World Cup teams will play here in the Philippines, particularly at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City and Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay while the 16 other teams have been scattered in Indonesia and Japan for the tri-nation World Cup hosting by Asia.

Group A, led by Gilas Pilipinas with the Dominican Republic, Angola and Italy as well as Group B’s Serbia, South Sudan, China and Puerto Rico will play at the iconic Big Dome.

The Mall of Asia Arena, which also launched a giant MOA Ball in front of its mall for a World Cup statue, will host Group C (USA, Jordan, Greece and New Zealand) and Group D (Montenegro, Egypt, Lithuania and Mexico).

The 55,000-seater Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan will be home to the opening ceremony on August 25 starring Gilas against the Dominican Republic as the country also attempts to surpass the record of 32,616 fans in the 1994 edition in Toronto, Canada for the new FIBA world gate attendance.

Aside from the games, the Philippines will also host the FIBA Congress to be participated by over 200 national federation officials and the FIBA Hall of Fame ceremony featuring Filipino legend Carlos “King Caloy” Loyzaga as one of the inductees.