Local basketball fans will get a chance to view the Naismith Trophy given to the winner of the 2019 FIBA World Cup with a series of events set this weekend at the Araneta Center.
The trophy is scheduled be put on display at Gateway Mall Cubao beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday with a program graced by members of Gilas Pilipinas set at 2 p.m.
It is also slated to appear in Sunday’s PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals between Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and TNT KaTropa at the nearby Smart Araneta Coliseum, with the trophy to be presented at centercourt during halftime.
Members of the Gilas pool, officials from the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas and the PBA Board of Governors will be on hand for the presentation.
“It is a privilege that the Philippines was chosen as one of the countries where the trophy will actually go through,” said SBP President Al Panlilio during Friday’s press conference at the Lopez Building of the Meralco compound.
Manila is the 22nd stop of a 33-city tour of the trophy that began last May in Beijing, China – the site of the FIBA World Cup Final.
The trophy which stands 60 centimeters and made entirely out of gold was unveiled in 2017, replacing a remodeled trophy introduced in the 1998 FIBA World Championship.
