Ahead of the FIBA World Cup in August, local organizers have called for greater fan support for the Philippine men’s national basketball team.
Speaking at the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex yesterday, deputy event director Erika Dy and joint management committee head John Lucas expressed their hope that Filipino fans will back Gilas Pilipinas — especially for their home opener against the Dominican Republic.
“I would like to call on the Filipinos to really take part in this game. If there is one Gilas game that they should come out to support, it should be the [opening game]. To give all the players our warm welcome during the opening ceremonies, especially our Gilas players, to cheer them on, and set the tone for the tournament during the first game, I think that would be very significant,” Dy said.
Gilas Pilipinas will be facing the Dominican Republic on August 25 at the Philippine Arena at 8:00 p.m.
She also emphasized how supporting the squad can be vital as they hope to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Let’s not forget that these games are an Olympic qualifier, so if we just come out as the top-ranked Asian team after the event is over, that’s an automatic qualification to the 2024 Paris Olympics,” she said.
“I-cheer natin ng husto ‘yung Gilas. ‘Yung game na ‘yun against the Dominican Republic, it’s a winnable game. If we could get that, we can be in a very good position to be the top-ranked Asian team,” she added.
As for the preparations, Dy explained that they are already close to a hundred percent and they are only waiting for their plans to be executed.
“I would say we are at 80 percent at this point. Later this month, on June 27 and 28, we actually have our test games. We have a test event where we will hold games following the [actual] FIBA times, so 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. at Araneta, and 4:45 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena,” she said.
According to her, these games will feature a combination of UAAP and NCAA teams.
“Simultaneous mangyayari ‘yung mga laro and we will be covering all those games tapos pati ‘yung transportation simulation, gagawin na natin. Nakalatag na lahat ng plano, it’s just all about execution when it comes to August,” Dy said.
On the other hand, Lucas bared that they are in a good position to answer the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas’ vision to break the FIBA attendance record on opening day.
“The Philippine Arena can easily accommodate more than 40,000 audiences right now,” he said of the Bocaue-based arena that has a capacity of more than 55,000.
This is why their ticket promos are also being extended to a wider audience.
“We have bulk [ticket] offers to companies, LGUs [local government units], government agencies, and schools. We need everyone’s support, we need to break the record, let’s make history!” Lucas said.
The current World Cup record is 32,616, which was from a game that featured Team USA stars Shaquille O’Neal, Dominique Wilkins, Reggie Miller, Joe Dumars, Shawn Kemp, and Alonzo Mourning defeated Russia, 137-91. (ABS-CBN News)