{"id":58212,"date":"2015-08-05T21:15:30","date_gmt":"2015-08-05T13:15:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=58212"},"modified":"2015-08-05T21:15:30","modified_gmt":"2015-08-05T13:15:30","slug":"manny-pacquiao-backs-ph-in-bidding-to-host-fiba-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2015\/08\/05\/manny-pacquiao-backs-ph-in-bidding-to-host-fiba-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Manny Pacquiao backs PH in bidding to host FIBA 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Boxing<\/a>
Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao on his way to Tokyo, Japan (Photo from Pacquiao’s official Facebook page<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA \u2013 Boxing icon Manny \u201cPacman\u201d Pacquiao travelled to Tokyo, Japan on Tuesday afternoon to join the Philippine delegation in the bidding of hosting the 2019 FIBA World Cup.<\/p>\n

Together with Pacquiao was his wife Jinkee, his public information officer Aqui Zonio and Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas (SBP) international affairs deputy director Butch Antonio.<\/p>\n

The new arrivals met with SBP executive director Sonny Barrios and SBP president Manny Pangilinan on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The bidding will be held on Friday with interested parties, the Philippines and China, pitching and showing their 20-minute presentations before the FIBA Central Committee. The FIBA will then decide which country will be awarded the hosting of the World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a world champion and now, a congressman, I always stand up for what I believe is right. And I believe our country hosting the Fiba World Cup is right not just for the Philippines, but right for the sport of basketball on a worldwide scale,\u201d Pacquiao said in a Spin.ph report.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m standing right behind our bid committee when it presents in Tokyo. We are the one country that can give basketball the worldwide attention it deserves and can help take the sport to the next level,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Not known to many, Pacquiao has also been into basketball and even served as the head coach of Mahindra (formerly KIA Motors) in the PBA.<\/p>\n

Aside from Pacquiao, Filipino-American Hollywood actor Lou Diamond Phillips will also help persuade the committee to grant the hosting to the Philippines.<\/p>\n

Miami Heat\u2019s Filipino-American coach Erik Spoelstra, NBA legend David Robinson and superstar Kobe Bryant were also reportedly asked to join the bid team.<\/p>\n

\u201cMalaking bagay if we can bring those NBA stars\u2026 pero siyempre malaking bentahe yung Pacquiao natin,\u201d an unnamed source earlier said. \u201cNakita kasi ni boss MVP (Pangilinan) na si Manny ang tunay na nagre-represent ng Philippine sports. He is revered all over the world.)<\/p>\n

(It\u2019s a big deal if we can bring those NBA stars\u2026 but of course having Pacquiao is already a big advantage\u2026 because boss MVP saw Manny as the true representation of the Philippine sports. He is revered all over the world.)<\/p>\n

Former Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes hoped that the country wins in the bidding.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the World Cup 2019, we are not only able to show the world what the sport means to the Philippines, but the opportunity to host a world-class competition like this will further inspire Filipinos both in the Philippines and the 10 million across the globe to chase their dreams,\u201d Reyes said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also believe that it will offer similar inspiration to other players right across Asia,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA \u2013 Boxing icon Manny \u201cPacman\u201d Pacquiao travelled to Tokyo, Japan on Tuesday afternoon to join the Philippine delegation in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":58213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[249],"class_list":["post-58212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-rewrite","mauthors-cyra-moraleda","mauthors-philippine-canadian-inquirer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58212\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}