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FIBA: Mixed emotions for SBP's Panlilio as World Cup nears end

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) President Al Panlilio during the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Special Special Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum in Pasig City on August 15, 2023. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/sports/09/10/20230815-psa-fiba-sbp-forum-md-8.jpg"/><figcaption>Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) President Al Panlilio during the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Special Special Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum in Pasig City on August 15, 2023. <em>Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA -- For Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president Al Panlilio, hosting the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 is a huge undertaking that now gives them a mix of emotions as it draws to a close.</p><p>Looking back at the two-week-long global showpiece, Panlilio said they feel both proud and bittersweet about the effort they put in hosting the tournament.</p><p>“I’m extremely proud of all the LOC [Local Organizing Committee] staff and volunteers. And (feel) extreme joy for the coming together of the FIBA community to make this World Cup a memorable one,” he said,</p><p>“But there’s also a feeling of extreme bittersweetness as it comes to an end, yet overshadowed by extreme hopefulness for the 2027 World Cup in Qatar.”<br/> <br/>It was Panlilio who spearheaded the country’s bid for the multiple-nation hosting of the World Cup along with SBP chairman emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan in 2017.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/09/09/23/cone-says-hell-coach-gilas-only-for-asiad">Cone says he&#x27;ll coach Gilas only for Asiad</a></li></ul><p>The Philippines was eventually awarded the hosting of the FIBA flagship event together with Japan, and Indonesia.</p><p>By Monday, the newly-crowned World Cup champion – Germany or Serbia – would probably be on its way to NAIA and headed home, the glittering, gold-plated Naismith Trophy a most cherished possession.</p><p>The losing finalist could be booked on the same flight, as with the teams that met for third-place – USA and Canada – all three of them left to rue what might have been.</p><p>The World Cup fever would have subsided and the massive workforce put together by the LOC would have been disbanded, each functional head, staff member, and volunteer returning to their original posts.</p><p>Also by Monday, a Gilas Pilipinas team, this time under its new new coach Tim Cone, will be kicking off less than two weeks of practice for the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.</p><p>Panlilio and the SBP, for their part, will move on to help steer Philippine basketball toward a successful Asian Games campaign.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/09/09/23/pau-gasol-reminds-serbia-germany-jobs-not-done">&#x27;Job&#x27;s not done&#x27;: Gasol urges Serbia, Germany to stay locked in ahead of Finals clash</a></li></ul><p>Panlilio now looks ahead to overseeing the formation of a Philippine team that will wage war with the likes of South Korea, Japan, Iran, Lebanon, and China in the Asiad.</p><p>He hopes Gilas will fare better after missing its mark in the FIBA World Cup.</p><p>“While we may have fallen short of expectations in the FIBA World Cup, I believe Gilas Pilipinas battled and fought well till the end of its Group Phase campaign. The team never gave up; its never-say-die spirit unwavering to the last.</p><p>“It’s a firm personal belief now: This Gilas Pilipinas team journeying to Hangzhou in two weeks will never give up as well.”</p><div><strong>For more stories on the FI BAWorld Cup, click <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/fibaworldcup2023">here</a>.</strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wl7ssgB2UbE?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

For SBP president Al Panlilio, hosting the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 is a huge undertaking that now gives them a mix of emotions as it draws to a close.