FIBA Tasks INDONESIA to STEP UP in QUALIFIERS as CO-HOST of 2023 BASKETBALL WORLD CUP

Whereas in past decades, the prospects of hosting an international or even just regional sporting competition event could be sufficiently answered by a single location in a given nation, in recent years the prohibitively steep expenses of such ventures have often become too much for a solo host city. That is why cities are no longer over-eager to host the Olympics, particularly the Summer Games. Sometimes the burden is eased by joint hosting of two locales, like Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia hosting the 2018 Asian Games. For 2023, no less than Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines share host status for the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

As triple-host nations, the Philippines along with Japan and Indonesia get automatic berths on the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup bracket. But as GMA News puts it, the automatic placing by Indonesia is only a provisional one. While Japan and the Philippines have already participated in past FIBA World Cups, thus certifying their national teams as World Cup-competitive, Indonesia has never shown up on that prestigious tournament, having not had a basketball squad qualify for it. Now, the FIBA Executive Committee announced Monday, August 2, that Indonesia’s team must pass the future FIBA World Cup qualifiers. But there is more.

The FIBA Executive Committee is specifically tasking Indonesia to have its national basketball team not just pass the World Cup Qualifiers, but to place within the Top 8 at minimum. Only then will their host-automatic spot be upheld. That means the rest of the FIBA Basketball World Cup aspirants will have to compete for one less spot. It should be recalled that the Qualifiers for the 2023 FIBA meet actually started last February. It does not take a genius to guess why no further games were played after that point.

Being one of the hosts for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup is already honor enough for Indonesia, but to actually have a national squad competitive enough to qualify for the tournament at all will certainly be a milestone for their own history with the sport. The future World Cup will have its Group Phase games be played at one venue each from Indonesia (Jakarta) and Japan (Okinawa City), with the Final Phase be contested to the championship in the Philippines at Smart Araneta Coliseum, PhilSports Arena, Mall of Asia Arena and the Philippine Arena.

Image from Inside the Games.biz