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 and 21-man pool announced.
- June 21: Departure from the Philippines for a training camps in Estonia and Lithuania
- July 10: Return to the Philippines and resumption of local-based training
- August 23: Final 12-man roster announced.
- August 25 – September 10: 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup
Qualification
The Philippines as one of the co-hosts is already qualified. However they still took part in the qualifiers.
First round
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.
Exhibition games
Europe training camps
The first training camp of the Philippine national team commenced at the Meralco Gym in Pasig on June 7, 2023. They would hold a training camp in Estonia, playing games against the junior Estonia team as well as against Finland. In Lithuania, Philippines won two matches against the under-20 Ukrainian team. They lost a match against a Lithuanian selection team but won a game against Lithuania's Universiade team.
By July 10, they returned to the Philippines from Lithuania. The national team played matches against collegiate team, Ateneo Blue Eagles and PBA team Magnolia Hotshots, 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. The Iran team which played in China is a B team. Lebanon was to also participate but withdrew. 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.
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. They would win a game against the Ivory Coast, before losing matches against Montenegro and Mexico.
Summary
- Against local-based sides
- Tune up matches in Estonia
- Tune up matches in Lithuania
- Heyuan WUS International Basketball Tournament
- Last tune up matches in the Philippines
Group phase
The Philippines as hosts were drawn into Group A with Angola, the Dominican Republic, and Italy.
All times are local UTC 8.
Dominican Republic
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.
Angola
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.
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.
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.
Classification round
The Philippines finished last in the first round which relegated them to the classification round.
As no Asian team advanced to the second round, they were still in contention to clinch the sole Asian berth for the men's basketball tournament of the 2024 Summer Olympics in France.
South Sudan
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".
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".
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.
China
The Philippines and China last played against each other in the 2018 Asian Games with the latter team winning 80–82. The Philippines would not end their campaign winless after they clinch a victory at China's expense. 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.
Aftermath
Chot Reyes would step down from the head coaching role of the Philippine national team shortly after their final game against China. 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 in Hangzhou, China.
The Philippines failed to qualify directly for the men's basketball tournament of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris via finishing as the best team from FIBA Asia. It was Japan that was able to qualify through this route. The Philippines however qualified for the 2024 FIBA Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament giving them an alternate route to get into the Olympics.
External links
- Philippines – FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Team Profile
Notes
References
