FIBA World Cup 2014: Philippines to Host Basketball Tourney in 2019?

The Philippines may not have made the knockout round in the 2014 FIBA World Cup, but they showed that they "belong".

After winning their first FIBA game after 40 years, the Philippines is more excited than ever to increase their participation in the international basketball scene. According to Interaksyon.com, the country is looking to bid for the next tournament in 2019.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, President of Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), has reportedly expressed his intent to host the FIBA World Cup in the Philippines. After their fifth and final game in the tournament in Spain, Pangilinan's group formally forwarded their intention to FIBA via secretary-general Patrick Baumann, Interaksyon.com added. The official bidding process will most likely start in the middle of 2015.

In a report by ABS-CBN News, Pangilinan explained: "I said in 2019 we want to host the FIBA World Cup in the Philippines. We have three international venues [in the Philippines] - the Mall of Asia Arena, the Araneta Coliseum, the Philippine Arena."

The 2019 event will be bigger than the 2014 edition, since it will feature 32 countries instead of 24. The teams will be divided into eight groups with four teams each. "We would need eight venues," said Pangilinan in a report by Spin.ph.

Pangilinan added that it is important, from the Philippines' perspective, that they host the tournament. Aside from being recognized as one of the top basketball teams in Asia, the country will also get an automatic slot at the World Cup if they win the bidding for 2019.

At the moment, two other countries also showed their interest in hosting the 2019 World Cup, including China, the Spin.ph report revealed.

It is not actually the first time that the Philippines will be hosting the FIBA World Cup if they win the bidding. In 1978, the country also hosted the event, headed by former president Gonzalo "Lito" Puyat, where the Philippine team finished 13th out of 14 teams, Interaksyon.com recalled. In the last two years, the country hosted a couple of FIBA-sanctioned events - The FIBA Asia Championship and the FIBA 3x3 World Tour.