Third time lucky for SBP?

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines lost in the bidding to host the 2013 FIBA Asia Championships and the 2019 FIBA World Cup but SBP executive director Sonny Barrios said the other day he’s hoping the luck will turn when FIBA announces the countries to stage the three Olympic qualifying tournaments after the Executive Board decides the venues in a meeting in the Swiss town of Mies, near Geneva, on Tuesday.

The first setback came when Lebanon was chosen over the Philippines to host the 2013 FIBA Asia Championships. SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan headed a delegation to present the Philippine bid before the FIBA Asia Board in Tokyo in 2012. Lebanon, however, withdrew late that year and Manila was awarded the hosting rights by default. The 2013 FIBA Asia Championships came off without a hitch and the Philippines was lauded for the staging success.

Last year, China and the Philippines were the last two bidders standing to host the 2019 FIBA World Cup. Once more, Tokyo was the setting for the final bid presentations. Pangilinan led the SBP delegation accompanied by Sen. Sonny Angara, Rep. Robbie Puno, Rep. Rey Umali, Rep. Manny Pacquiao, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, Secretary of Tourism Ramon Jimenez, Tourism Promotions Board chief operating officer Domingo Enerio and Ambassador to Japan Manolo Lopez. China got the nod but not after extended discussions that led to two delays in announcing FIBA’s decision.

The Philippines is one of three Asian countries seeded to the three Olympic qualifiers to be held on July 4-10. There will be 18 countries participating in the three tournaments. So far, 15 are known – Angola, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Iran, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Senegal, Serbia and Tunisia. The three Asian countries qualified by virtue of finishing 2-3-4 at the FIBA Asia Championships in Changsha last year. FIBA Asia winner China booked an outright ticket to the Rio Olympics this year.

The three available slots for the Olympic qualifiers will be awarded to the host countries. If a host is among the 15 seeded countries, then the next available highest finisher in the Continental Championships where it qualified will be elevated. There are six countries in contention to host the three Olympic qualifiers – Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Philippines, Serbia and Turkey. Of the six, only Germany and Turkey are not seeded. If the Philippines is awarded, the fifth placer in Changsha – Lebanon – will be invited to play in the Olympic qualifiers.

Barrios said there has been no official communication between FIBA and the SBP since receiving confirmation of compliance with bid requirements. He said the announcement of which countries will host the three Olympic qualifiers will be made directly by FIBA through a media release.

“We’re staying positive,” said Barrios. “We’re all hoping we make it. We’re the only Asian country left in the bidding and we were a finalist in the bidding to host the World Cup. We’d like to think that we proved ourselves capable of successfully hosting an international event of 16 teams at the FIBA Asia Championships in 2013. For the Olympic qualifiers, six teams will be involved and if we host, we’ll be welcoming five foreign countries. It will be an opportunity for us to show FIBA our capability to host an international tournament with a global scope.”

Barrios said the Olympic qualifying tournament will feature five days of competition, three in the preliminary stage, one for the semifinals and one for the final. The six teams will be split into two groups of three. Teams in each group will play each other once in the preliminaries then the top two of each group advance to the crossover knockout semifinals. The semifinal survivors move on to play for the ticket to Rio.

“If we win the bid, we expect to mobilize four to six hotels for the tournament,” said Barrios. “There will be one hotel for the participating teams, another for game officials and FIBA working staff, a third for the FIBA Board and VIPs coming from different countries, a fourth for media and maybe one or two more, depending on FIBA’s requirements. We will choose the hotels that are not only first-class but also accessible to the practice and competition venues. We want to make this a memorable and enjoyable experience for our foreign visitors. Filipino hospitality will be at its best.”

Barrios said he doesn’t expect a problem in the transition to a new administration after the May elections. “The tournament will be in July,” he said. “If and when we are awarded the hosting rights, we will immediately begin to mobilize. We will discuss with government how to maximize the tourism mileage of this event. This will be a world-wide event. The draw on Jan. 26 will decide which countries will participate in each of the three tournaments.”

Of the 15 seeded countries, five are from Europe, three each from Africa, Asia and the Americas and one from New Zealand. That means if the Philippines hosts an Olympic qualifier, at least one European team and one from Africa and the Americas will be included in the tournament where it will play.