Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Retired NBA player Yao Ming admitted that the presentation of the Philippine contingent was better compared to China as the two nations made their bid for the hosting of the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
Yao, who is part of the Chinese delegation, made the pronouncement himself as told by former Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes.
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So Yao Ming joins us, saying 'your presentation was much better than ours.' Seriously pic.twitter.com/PjgzEChIZ4
— Chot Reyes (@coachot) August 7, 2015
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Yao lobbied the case for China, whose presentation was dubbed as “More Than Ever.”
The Chinese claimed that they can host the 32-nation FIBA World Cup in 2019 across eight different cities.
China has a history of hosting grand international events, most notably the 2008 Olympics, 2010 Asian Games, and the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup. China is also the host of the upcoming 2015 FIBA Asia Championship.
“In China, you will be treated as a star,” said Xu Jichang, Chinese basketball media and planning expert.
The Filipinos, on the other hand, presented the Philippine basketball story anchored on “puso.”
Lou Diamond Phillips, a Filipino-American actor, was one of the people who presented for the Philippines.
Phillips said that the Philippines can provide the perfect environment for the World Cup.
“The love for basketball by Filipinos is authentic. It’s something that you can’t manufacture. It’s authentic, it’s very real, and it’s like nowhere else,” argued Phillips.
In his closing argument, Phillips said that the staging of the FIBA World Cup will not just be “another global sporting event for the Philippines.”
