Senate commends FIBA organizers

The Senate on Tuesday, February 6, unanimously adopted a resolution congratulating and commending the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of the Federation Internationale de Basketball (FIBA) and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) for the successful hosting of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup (FBWC).

Senate Resolution No. (SRN) 857 also commended government agencies, such as the Philippine Sports Commission, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the Department of Tourism (DOT), the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the Bureau of Immigration (BI), the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and the private sector leaders including SBP Chairman Emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan "for demonstrating what we, as a country, are capable of and for laying the groundwork for us to organize other large-scale events."

From August 25 to September 10 last year, 32 national men's basketball teams competed in the FIBA World Cup. Of the 92 games that comprised the tournament, more than half were held in the Philippines.

"This took place because of the incredible multi-stakeholder effort that started in 2017... we gained the rights to host the prestigious tournament again, nearly four decades after we first secured such in 1978," said Sen. Sonny Angara, sponsor of the resolution.

"It was a particularly masterful touch when the idea was floated that the bid for hosting would be shared between three nations: the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia. Such a set-up would be a first in the flagship event's entire history," he added.

The senator also acknowledged the assistance extended by the executive branch for the successful hosting of the world even, such as the issuance by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. of Administrative Order No. 5, s. 2023 which created the Inter-Agency Task Force mandating government agencies, including local government units (LGUS), to help in the preparation and supervision of the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Congress, for its part, allotted fund for the event under the General Appropriations Act (GAA), and passed naturalization measures to strengthen the national team.

The opening ceremonies at the Philippine Arena also registered a record-breaking crowd of 38,115 fans, beating the previously held record of 32,616 attendees in Toronto, Canada in 1994.

Additionally, the hosting contributed P5 billion in gross domestic product (GDP).

"The positive effects of an event of this magnitude were undoubtedly felt in the Philippines as the 2023 FBWC not only brought joy to millions of Filipinos but also contributed to a considerable uptick observed in both the hotel occupancy rates and volume of visitor arrivals from World Cup participating countries according to the DOT," the resolution stated.

"The FIBA Central Board also expressed praises towards our country's hosting as FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis noted the warmth, hospitality, kindness and solution-oriented approach of Filipinos," it added.

Angara also said that the national team - Gilas Pilipinas - may not have emerged at the top in the actual competition "but with our hosting of the World Cup, we as Team Philippines have won a lot of other victories."

"We should not allow the lessons we've learned, and the confidence we've gained from this experience, go to waste. Here was a clear example of what we as Filipinos can accomplish, when we work together towards achieving a single vision," Angara said.

"The fact that we have already done it with hosting the FIBA World Cup, only means we can do it again for another world class competition or another multi-country global event. And hopefully, with each iteration, we do it better than the one before. At this point, we are only limited by our ambition," he added.