Two years after it fell short in its bid to win the hosting rights for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, the Philippines will try again.
This time, though, the Philippines will have Indonesia and Japan as partners in its bid to secure the rights to host the grandest basketball show in the world.
Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) Executive Director Sonny Barrios mentioned this yesterday following a meeting with basketball officials from Indonesia over the weekend during a FIBA event held in Singapore.
“It’s a done deal. We’ll make a bid to co-host the 2023 World Cup with Indonesia and Japan, with the Philippines as the lead country in this bid to bring the biggest basketball event in Asia,” said Barrios in a telephone interview with Bulletin-Tempo.
“We’re looking forward to concreting the bid with Indonesia and Japan. We will invite their representatives that will form the working group so we can discuss the bid. I fact, we’ve met with the DDB Advertising Agency, the same group that helped us when we made our bid back in 2015 for the 2019 World Cup,” added Barrios.
The hosting rights of the 2019 World Cup was awarded to China, which got 14 votes against seven for the country.
By having Indonesia and Japan as partners, the country has a good chance to win the hosting rights.
According to Barrios, the initial plan is to divide the 32 qualified teams to four groups, with the Philippines hosting 16 teams, while Japan and Indonesia will have eight teams each during the preliminary rounds.
As the main host, however, the country will be the site for the knockout playoff games of the World Cup.
The venue in Japan will be Okinawa, while Jakarta will be the spot in Indonesia. As for the Philippines, since it will be hosting 16 teams, Barrios said two venues would be needed and this early, three possible are being considered.
