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| FIBA President Horacio Muratore declared China the host for the FIBA World Cup. Screen capture from Youtube |
By Ivan Saldajeno
MANILA--The Philippines may have to wait a little longer before hosting the FIBA World Cup.
China beat the Philippines for the right to host the 2019 FIBA World Cup after an announcement made at the Prince Park Tower Hotel in Tokyo on Friday night.
China, which will host the said tournament for the first time, boasted its modern transportation facilities, the spacious hotel rooms each of the eight cities where the games will be played, and a state-of-the-art media facility in its presentation.
The successful staging of the 2008 Summer Olympics and winning the hosting right to the 2022 Winter Olympics also played a key factor for China in getting the FIBA nod.
The games will be played in Beijing, Nanjing, Sozhou, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, and Dongguan.
China, which will host this year's FIBA Asia Championship, is now assured of a spot in the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
The Philippines, on the other hand, will go through a new home-and-away qualification phase to secure one of seven slots available for the new FIBA Asia-Pacific region.
After 2019, the next FIBA World Cup will take place in 2023.
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