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Monday, January 26, 2015

FIBA executives to come in the Philippines for FIBA World Cup inspection

A three-man FIBA Evaluation Commission will be coming to the Philippines to check on the country's capability to host the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Sports Director Lubo Kotleba, Director-General for media and marketing Frank Leenders, and Events Director Predrag Bogosavljev will be arriving to the country to represent FIBA in determining the readiness to host the World Cup, according to SBP Executive Director Sonny Barrios. FIBA Secretary-General Patrick Baumann will arrive on Thursday to join the commission.

They will have a busy schedule to attend to in their brief stay, which will include inspections at venues across the country. They are going to check out the Philippine Arena, SMART-Araneta Coliseum, and the Mall of Asia Arena on Tuesday, an itinerary that will include watching the PBA Commissioner's Cup match between Ginebra and Meralco. Wednesday will be devoted to a trip to Cebu, where the SM Group is planning on putting up a sports facility within the next two years.

In between those visits will be meetings with prospective hotel locations (EDSA Shangri-La, Sofitel, Solaire), as well as with local executives and SBP officials. Tourism Secretary Alberto del Rosario himself will be meeting with Baumann upon his arrival.

The Philippines is competing with China, Turkey, Qatar, and Franco-German collaboration for the right to host the World Cup, last held in Spain last year. It had hosted the competition in its previous iteration (as the FIBA World Championships) back in 1978, with the Araneta Coliseum and Rizal Memorial Coliseum as the venues. Yugoslavia won the tourney against the Soviet Union, 82-81, in a final that needed overtime.

The final bids for the 2019 FIBA World Cup hosting rights will be submitted by April 30, with the FIBA Central Board tasked to deliberate on each bid until a winner emerges after their June meeting.

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