It’s 14-7 for China in FIBA Central Board votes

MANILA, Philippines – Even when it seemed like the Philippines had the edge, it did not.

The FIBA Central Board composed of 21 members voted 14-7 in favor of China Friday, August 7 in Tokyo, Japan for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup hosting, according to a press release from FIBA.

The Philippines, with its human, heart-tugging presentation highlighting basketball as the nation’s great love, could not sway the hearts of enough Board members to shift the decision in its favor.

China, on the other hand, managed to convince FIBA with a presentation boasting its modern, progressive country and the prospect of plenty of promotion and marketing for the game.

Horacio Muratore, president of FIBA, said: “This was a very difficult decision because we had two national federations who did excellent work. However, there can only be one host country for our event in 2019 and it will be China.

“We would like to congratulate both national federations for their outstanding work and bids. This is what we wanted: to have national federations put together top quality bids to host our flagship event. 

“We look forward to the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, which will be the first of a new era with 140 teams competing during a 15-month qualification period to be among the 32 playing in China.” 

The verdict broke the hearts of Filipino netizens. (READ: #SugatangPUSO2019: Netizens heartbroken) – Rappler.com