THE PHILIPPINES’ chances of hosting the biggest basketball event in the world, the Fiba Basketball World Cup grew brighter after the world governing body’s secretary general, Patrick Baumann, declared the country’s readiness to stage it.
This was Baumann’s take after an evaluation commission recently held an ocular inspection of the different facilities here to assess the Philippines’ readiness to host a tournament of such magnitude.
“The Philippines can host the World Cup. Yes, they can. I wish you luck, but I think you’re ready,” Baumann said in an article that was posted on Inquirer.net
However, in spite of the glowing endorsement, the hosting rights remain up in the air with Qatar, China, Turkey and France and Germany all vying for the honor.
The next step for the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas would be to submit the needed documents detailing its plans for hosting the event to Fiba before the deadline on April 30.
Lubomir Kotleba, chairman of Fiba’s evaluation commission, was impressed with how “puso” pervaded everything basketball-related in the country, most especially in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup game
SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan added that the country’s passion for the game of basketball was unequaled on the world stage. “X-Factor? It’s the Filipino people. The Filipino fans are heads above the other fans in terms of passion.”
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