World-class basketball is coming back to the Philippines! Basketball-crazy Filipinos will finally witness the sports’ biggest tournament on their home soil as the Philippines, together with Japan and Indonesia, bagged the right to host the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
The three-country bid beat out the Argentina-Uruguay bid after the host candidates made their final pitch before the FIBA Central Board in Switzerland on Saturday.
“We did it! The Philippines will host 2023 FIBA World Cup. God bless us,” Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) chairman emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan gladly announced the good news on his Twitter account@iamMVP.
READ: Gilas bags Silver in FIBA Asia, Castro still Asia’s best point guard
It will mark the first time that the FIBA World Cup will be played in multiple countries.
Carrying the theme #PlayLouderIn2023, the Philippines-Japan-Indonesia pitch centered on bringing the tournament to “the fastest growing region in the world, where our combined population of 500 million are ready to embrace the sport of basketball.”
READ: 12-year-old Kristine Cayabyab earns praise from Lebron
The Philippines’ successful bid came two years after its #PUSO2019 campaign for the 2019 FIBA World Cup fell short against China.