Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva stated the successful hosting of last year’s FIBA Basketball World Cup, which he said to be the “flagship event of the sport’s global governing body and arguably the biggest basketball competition in the world.”
“We are again part of history as this was the first time that the World Cup was staged in three countries,” shared Villanueva.
According to him, the event took years of planning, countless meetings, and careful organizing. The local organizing committee, government agencies, and local government units all put in a lot of work to make it possible, even with the challenges of COVID-19.
The 2023 World Cup recorded gathered over 20 billion impressions and 480 million engagements on social media platforms. That’s more than three times that was achieved in 2019. There were also 4.6 billion social media video views, four times the previous record.
“Hence, we would like to congratulate once again the FIBA Local Organizing Committee; the SBP, headed by Chairman Emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan, President Al Panlilio, and of course, its chairman, our dear colleague and friend Senator Sonny Angara; all government agencies and LGUs; the private sector; and volunteers for making our hosting of the 2023 Basketball World Cup an immense success. We also thank the players and the coaching staff for giving their all in representing the country in the tournament,” he said.
The event’s success is a testament to the fact that Filipinos are known to be the most passionate and supportive basketball fans around the globe.
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