San Miguel Corporation (SMC) has officially signed on as partner
in the country’s hosting of
the FIBA Basketball World
Cup 2023 this August in a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Filipino fans to
watch the best teams and
players from all around the
world.
SMC President
and Chief Executive Officer and SMB Chairman
Ramon S. Ang expressed
confidence that the return
of the FIBA Basketball
World Cup in the Philippines for the first time in 45
years, will serve as a significant boost to the country’s profile in the international sporting stage, if not
help usher a new generation of young players that
will carry the country’s flag
in the future.
Ang said that the
decision to back the Philippine hosting of the prestigious competition was
not a difficult one to make,
given its benefits to local
fans, athletes, basketball
organizations, and the whole country in general, as it recovers from the
nearly three-year pandemic continues.
SMC’s support is
bannered by San Miguel
Brewery, Inc. —through
its San Miguel Pale Pilsen
brand —that is also behind
the San Miguel Beermen
in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
Magnolia Hotshots and
Barangay Ginebra San
Miguel are the two other
SMC teams in the PBA.
“We are very
proud to have been given this rare opportunity to
host the FIBA Basketball
World Cup. I think it’s the
best time to have a prestigious international competition in the Philippines.
After almost three years of
the pandemic, we want to
say that we are open for
business, Filipinos are excited to welcome athletes
from all over the world,
and we are all eager to
watch the very best teams
play in our homecourt,”
Ang said.
A longtime sports patron, Ang enjoined Filipinos to cheer for the Gilas Pilipinas team, which
is among the 32 teams
that will participate in the
event that the Philippines
is co-hosting with Japan
and Indonesia.
“San Miguel’s
history is closely intertwined with sports, particularly basketball. By supporting this world-class
event, we also hope to
give our local players an
opportunity to see different
teams and further elevate
their games. Also equally
important, we want to encourage and inspire young
players and the youth in
general, to continue pursuing their passion–whether
it is basketball or another
sport. With enough hard
work, discipline, and dedication, they too can be
world-class and can carry
our flag someday in international competitions,”
Ang said.
Ang said he expects the competition at
this year’s FIBA. World
Cup to be even more stiff, as the world basketball
landscape has changed a
lot since 1978, when the
country’s previous hosting saw former Yugoslavia
emerge as champion.
“The immense
improvement of many
countries since the country’s last hosting in 1978
makes this event a showcase of basketball talent
that will be very exciting to
watch,” Ang emphasized.
“This is also one
of the times when our
country can take center
stage and show to the
world what we are capable of doing. Definitely,
hosting the FIBA World
Cup is one of those golden
opportunities and a privilege,” he added.
Ang also enjoined Filipinos to give a
warm welcome to visiting teams, to support the
country’s hosting and help
it put its best foot forward
as global audiences tune
in to the games.
Ang thanked the
Samahang Basketball
ng Pilipinas (SBP) group
headed by Chairman
Emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan and FIBA leadership for the opportunity
to take part in the historic
event.
“I commend the
SBP leadership and FIBA
for working to bring the
event to our shores for the
first time in decades. For a
basketball-loving country,
it means so much for Filipinos to have the world’s
centerpiece basketball
event here,” he said.
Apart from basketball, SMC has supported many athletes and
sports, the most recent
of whom were Olympic
medal winners led by the
country’s first-ever Olympic gold medalist, weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, silver
medalists Carlo Paalam
and Nesthy Petecio and
bronze medalist Eumir
Marcial.
SMC has also
supported national teams
in international events.
San Miguel
backed the Philippine
team that won 149 gold
medals, 117 silvers, and
121 bronzes in the 2019
Southeast Asian Games.
During the 2005
Southeast Asian Games,
SMC also supported the
Philippine team that also
won the overall championship with 112 golds, 85 silvers, and 93 bronzes. PR
