“We felt we had won the bid,” recounted Alfredo S. Panlilio; president of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas of that day. “At that time, we all thought that the next shot we could get at hosting was 2027,” added Panlilio. Mahirap na.”This time, when FIBA President Horacio Muratore announced that the winner was the Philippines-Indonesia-Japan bloc it was of elation. “We were very happy but within minutes, our minds began to work — what’s next?” added Panlilio. “We had a simple Italian dinner and some wine to celebrate,” related the SBP president.

Source: Philippine Star December 15, 2017 04:18 UTC