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.
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.”
The Philippines’ successful bid came two years after its #PUSO2019 campaign for the 2019 FIBA World Cup fell short against China.
The 2023 World Cup is slated for Manila, Okinawa and Jakarta, with the group stages to be played in five venues. The Philippine Arena, which has a seating capacity of 55,000, is the proposed venue of the finals.
The last time the event was held in the Philippines was in 1978. It was also played in Japan in 2006, while Indonesia will host it for the first time.
