Filipino athletes can watch games for free

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Sports Commission has made arrangements with the organizing Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas for members of Team Philippines to watch the FIBA Asia Championship games at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium for free.

The cagefest’s alternate venue, the NAS is located inside the PSC-controlled Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, where most of the national mainstays from various sports are staying.

“We’ve coordinated with SBP executive director Sonny Barrios to let the national athletes see the games at Ninoy for free as long as they show their (PSC-issued) IDs,” said  PSC executive director Guillermo Iroy.

The same privilege, he added, goes to employees of the PSC as well as members of the POC-PSC Media Group.

Organizers are charging P50 per tickets (ringside seats) at NAS, which previously hosted international meets like the the World Volleyball GP and ABC under-18, among others.

Ninoy Aquino Stadium, which has undergone a P3-million facelift for this hosting, serves as alternate to main venue Mall of Asia Arena for the Fiba World Cup qualifiers. Nations belonging to Group D – India, Bahrain, Kazakhstan and ASEAN neighbor Thailand – play their preliminaries at NAS.