FIBA sec-gen passes away; MVP, IOC extend sympathies

MANILA, Philippines — FIBA secretary general , a key figure in growing basketball globally and who helped make the Philippines’ 2023 FIBA World Cup hosting happen, succumbed to a heart attack in Buenos Aires. He was 51.

“It is with profound sadness to have learned of the unexpected demise of Mr. Patrick Baumann. I would like first to send my deepest sympathy to his family, and join them in their hour of grief. Our thoughts and our prayers are with them, and about Patrick. He passed away unexpectedly last Saturday while working in the World Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. That is the patented Baumann – extremely hardworking until the end,” said Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Chairman Emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan (MVP).

“Patrick was a colossus of world basketball; his influence on the sport transcends his title as FIBA Secretary General and touches most aspects of basketball in most parts of the world. And he has been a good friend of Phil basketball. As a friend of more than 10 years, I will always cherish those memories of meeting him for the first time in Geneva in 2007, a few months after being the SBP President; our presentation in Tokyo for hosting the 2029 World Cup. And finally our bid for 2023 in Geneva. He was a fair, objective but encouraging in our meetings – and more so in our bids.

“We – and FIBA – have lost our strongest pillar; it is best we carry his memory by doing the things he left us with. We all without exception will miss him. May his soul find peace and repose in the embrace and blessings of our good Lord, who has called him to His home. Patrick, I am so sorry that this had to happen – it is a devastating personal loss. My fervent and urgent  prayers go with you. God bless you.”

The International Olympic Committee also expressed its deepest sympathies to Baumann’s family.

“It is with the greatest sorrow and shock that the IOC has learned of the death of Mr. Patrick Baumann, IOC member in Switzerland, in Buenos Aires,” said FIBA in a statement.

“This is a great shock which has hit us all very hard. We can hardly believe this terrible news. Particularly since, even today, we have seen him working hard, as we always knew him, for the sport he loved. We lose a young and sympathetic leader full of hope who was standing for the future of sport. Our thoughts are with his wife, his children and his family,” said IOC president Thomas Bach.

To honor his memory, the IOC president asked for the Olympic flag to be flown at half-mast at the IOC Headquarters and at the IOC Headquarters at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires for three days. The IOC will also hold a memorial in the Youth Olympic Village.

Baumann also backed the Philippines’, along with Japan and Indonesia’s successful bid to host the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

A central figure of the Olympic Movement, he also paved the way for the Philippines to be represented in the FIBA Central Board with Pangilinan’s appointment and in the FIBA Players Commission with Jimmy Alapag, FIBA Legal Commission with Atty. Aga Francisco and FIBA Medical Commission with Dr. Jose Raul Canlas.

A former player, coach and referee, Baumann dedicated his life to basketball and to the sport community. Deputy secretary general (1995-2002) of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), he was appointed sec-gen by the FIBA Central Board in 2002, a role he has held since. He has been greatly instrumental in the transformation and the growth of the sport in the international basketball community, successfully supporting the popularization of 3x3 basketball.