SAMAHANG Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president Al Panlilio said the Philippines is on target to break the attendance record of the Fiba Basketball World Cup during the August 25 opening playdate at the Philippine Arena.
Panlilio said ticket sales for the opening-day double-header featuring Gilas Pilipinas is on pace to surpass the record of 32,616 spectators set during the 1994 final between the US and Russia at the Skydome (now called Rogers Centre) in Toronto.
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“We are really confident that we will surpass that,” said Panlilio during a special Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Meralco compound. “In fact, ang gusto ko makita nga if we can reach the 50,000 mark… We want to achieve the 50,000 mark.”
Ericka Dy, the deputy event director of the Local Organizing Committee, believes the August 25 attendance could even breach the 50,000-mark even though the capacity of the Philippine Arena has been downsized specifically for the Fiba event.
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The August 25 playdate will feature Gilas Pilipinas opening its campaign in the 2023 World Cup against Dominican Republic at 8 p.m., but the gameday will start with Italy taking on Angola in another Group A match.
The opening ceremony will also be held at the Philippine Arena.
“I do believe that we will surpass it… We should note, however, that while the capacity of the area is 55,000, with the unique set-up that is required of us, the seats are down to 46,000," said Dy.
"That being said, however, when we do report the number of spectators in the game, we do count everybody who is accredited. Every warm body inside the stadium is going to be counted so that includes the media, the officers, the working group,” said Dy.
“I think we are really primed to beat that record,” Dy added.
Dy said sales are now at 28,000 but is confident that it will eventually surpass the Fiba record as tickets are now being sold at the box office.
Unlike in the other game days, Dy said a fan can already watch the two games and the opening ceremony on August 25 with a single ticket.
“In terms of ticket sales, we are very close to the goal but not yet there. We have 10 more days to sell. We should also note that it was just this weekend that we opened our outlets for box office. Everything before that was sold online. There is still a good 10 days for us,” said Dy.
Panlilio said the Local Organizing Committee has arranged plans for the movement of people to the Philippine Arena to be smoother, encouraging the fans to ride the 400 P2P buses that will be deployed during game day.
The SBP president, who was recently elected as Fiba Asia vice president, said there is a lot of interest even from Fiba officials to be part of history at the Philippine Arena.
“The entire Fiba Central Board is gonna watch. Some of the attendees of the Congress would also watch. When Dirk Nowitzki was here the last time during the draw, he said that he will not miss it. He will be here on the 25th and since he is also attending the board meeting. Everybody is looking forward to it, even Fiba,” said Panlilio.
“We want to put the Philippines also on the map in terms of Fiba attendance. If we can reach 50,000, mahirap. I’m not saying hindi masu-surpass but it will be very difficult to do so,” said Panlilio.
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