Gilas faces Dominican Republic in FIBA opener

FOR the first time in 45 years, the Philippines will be the setting for the FIBA Basketball World Cup. Manila will play host—alongside Okinawa, Japan and Jakarta, Indonesia —to the best of the best players in the 2023 world meet scheduled for August 25 to September 10.

Specifically, Angola, China, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Lithuania, Mexico, Montenegro, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Serbia, South Sudan, and the USA will all be first up front and center for Filipinos to watch in the group phase.

The last time the Philippines served as venue was in 1978, in what was then called the FIBA World Championship. It was the first time the showcase was put on in an Asian country, with the Araneta Coliseum and Rizal Memorial Coliseum standing as stages.