FIBA World Cup 2019 Final Bid & Decision Live Stream: Philippines vs China, Manny Pacquiao vs Yao Ming
The world governing body for basketball is set to announce the host of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup on Friday morning in a special event in Tokyo, Japan.
The FIBA Basketball World Cup, formerly known as the FIBA World Championships, was last held in Spain last year, where the United States took the home the gold medal. The event was staged in Turkey in 2010.
After holding the event in Europe for two consecutive editions, the biggest basketball tournament will move Asia this time, as FIBA named Philippines and China as finalists.
Both countries will be hold their final presentation on Friday in front of FIBA Officials in Tokyo. China will make their presentation around 3 a.m. ET, followed by the final presentation from the Philippines.
China will reportedly focus on the world-class facilities they have in their country. The 2019 FIBA World Cup will be the biggest in the history of the tournament as it will feature 32 countries. And for China, they should host the event because they have all the tools to make it even bigger.
On the other hand, Philippines will use their passion as their main selling point, especially after the country won the FIBA Most Valuable Fan award last year during the FIBA World Cup in Spain.
The Basketball Federation of the Philippines has been urging their fans to show FIBA that they should host the event because Filipinos are the best basketball fans in the world.
According to Philippine local media SPIN, basketball officials coined a social media hashtag #PUSO2019, which means "HEART 2019" because they believe they have the most passionate and determined fans in the world.
The hashtag #PUSO2019 has been a trending topic on Twitter since Thursday in the Philippines.
To sweeten their bid, Philippine basketball officials decided to include boxing champion Manny Pacquiao to their entourage because the former pound-for-pound king symbolizes the kind of heart Filipinos have.
China will not go down without giving a "huge" fight, though, as they brought former NBA superstar and 7-foot-6 center Yao Ming, which makes the race a David and Goliath matchup.
Former Philippine national team captain Jimmy Alapag knows they are going up against a giant, but he believes they have a chance to pull off an upset in the bidding war.
"We're up against a giant," Alapag said via CNN Philippines. "But I think we've proven that giants can be taken down."
Live Stream & Where To Watch
Basketball fans around the world can catch the final presentation of both countries through online live stream on FIBA's official YouTube page. The event is scheduled to start at 3 a.m. ET.
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