The Philippines men's national basketball team competed in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. The tournament will be co-hosted by the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia from August 25 to September 10, 2023. This is the Philippines third straight appearance in the FIBA Basketball World Cup since its participation in the 2014 edition hosted in Spain.
Timeline
June 7: Training session begins[1] and 21-man pool announced.[2]
June 21: Departure from the Philippines for a training camps in Estonia and Lithuania[3]
July 10: Return to the Philippines and resumption of local-based training[4]
Source: FIBA Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Points difference; 4) Points scored. Notes:
^Philippines advanced to the second round as one of the pre-qualified host teams, regardless of the first round results and standings.[6]
^South Korea forfeited the games against the Philippines and New Zealand due to positive COVID-19 cases among its delegation and was subsequently disqualified.[7][8][9]
Second round
For the second round, the top three teams in each group qualify for the World Cup. As the Philippines already qualified. Fourth-placers Jordan also qualifies.
The first training camp of the Philippine national team commenced at the Meralco Gym in Pasig on June 7, 2023.[1] They would hold a training camp in Estonia, playing games against the junior Estonia team[10][11] as well as against Finland.[12] In Lithuania, Philippines won two matches against the under-20 Ukrainian team.[13] They lost a match against a Lithuanian selection team[14] but won a game against Lithuania's Universiade team.[15]
By July 10, they returned to the Philippines from Lithuania.[4] The national team played matches against collegiate team, Ateneo Blue Eagles[16] and PBA team Magnolia Hotshots,[17] both of which they won.
Heyuan WUS Tournament
The national team headed to Heyuan in Guangdong province in China to take part in the Heyuan WUS International Basketball Tournament, a series of basketball matches which also featured Iran and Senegal.[18] The Iran team which played in China is a B team.[19] Lebanon was to also participate but withdrew.[20] The Philippines played against their two opposition twice.
The Philippines ended their Heyuan tournament with a 3–1 record, beating Iran twice and Senegal once.[21]
Final tune-up matches at home
Prior to the start of the World Cup in August, the Philippines planned to play tune-up matches against other teams participating in the tournament as well as PBA teams.[22][23] They would win a game against the Ivory Coast, before losing matches against Montenegro and Mexico.[24]
This was the first game between the Dominican Republic and the Philippines in the World Cup. The Dominicans won in the 2020 FIBA Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade, which was the last competitive game between the two teams.
The match broke the record for the most attended FIBA World Cup match with 38,115 coming to the venue. This surpassed the 1994 FIBA World Championship final in Toronto between the United States and Russia which was witnessed by an audience of 32,616 people.[26]
This was the second game between the Philippines and Angola in the World Cup. The Angolans won the first meeting in 2019, which was the last competitive game between the two teams.
The Philippines conceded their second game against Angola despite leading by as much as 11 points. They would trail behind Angola by the end of the first half and never made a comeback.[27]
Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Attendance: 12,784 Referees: Guilherme Locatelli (BRA), Mārtiņš Kozlovskis (LAT), Martin Vulić (CRO)
Italy
This was the third game between the Philippines and Italy in the World Cup. The Italians won the first two meetings in 1978 and 2019.
At the team introduction, coach Chot Reyes was jeered by the crowd which player Jordan Clarkson described as "weird" in the post-game interview.[28]
The team lost to Italy, which meant that the Philippines finished the first round without a win. Reyes apologized to national federation chairman emiritus Manny Pangilinan through text after the lost.[29]
This is the first time South Sudan and the Philippines played against each other. The Philippines lost to South Sudan, with coach Chot Reyes admitting that the team's morale is "really low".[31]
Asked about his career's future, Reyes defers to any decision of the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas, national federation would make adding that people already know he has "already retired and left this job several times" and that he has returned to the position on occasions when requested by the SBP since he could not turn down the "call of service for our country".[32]
The lost also meant that the Philippines failed to secure a direct qualification to the Olympics, although they can still get a place in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.[33]
The Philippines and China last played against each other in the 2018 Asian Games with the latter team winning 80–82.[34] The Philippines would not end their campaign winless after they clinch a victory at China's expense.[35] It would also be the country's first FIBA Basketball World Cup win on home soil, as they were not able to register a victory in their last hosting in 1978.
Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Attendance: 11,080 Referees: Mārtiņš Kozlovskis (LAT), Kerem Baki (TUR), Martin Vulić (CRO)
Aftermath
Chot Reyes would step down from the head coaching role of the Philippine national team shortly after their final game against China.[36] Reyes has expressed non-interest to get involved in the selection process for his successor who is expected to guide the Philippines at the 2022 Asian Games[a] in Hangzhou, China.[37]
^Wang, Yayun (16 July 2023). "国际男篮邀请赛八月相约河源，伊朗菲律宾黎巴嫩塞内加尔参赛_篮球赛_亚洲_赛事" [International Men's Basketball Invitational Tournament to be held in Heyuan in August featuring Iran, Philippines, Lebanon and Senegal]. Sohu (in Chinese). Guangdong: Southern Metropolis News. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
