PBA commissioner Willie Marcial has vowed to give his all-out support to the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas as the country prepares to host the third and last leg of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers in February.
With the successful run of the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup from October to early December, the SBP has joined forces with the PBA to share the learnings and experience in making a bubble setup.
"Kung anong kailangang tulong ng SBP, simula noong umupo ako , players, coaches heto pang nalaman namin sa bubble, tutulungan namin ang SBP," said Marcial in a recent joint virtual press conference.
"All-out support. Katulad ng sinasabi ko ulit, simula noon hanggang ngayon, all-out support ang PBA, team owners, governors, at kaming mga empleyado ng PBA. All-out support sa SBP."
The joint virtual press conference tackled the preparations the SBP had been discussing for the FIBA qualifiers hosting in Clark, Pampanga.
It would be recalled that the PBA recently finished its inaugural bubble season in the province, with Quest Hotel in Mimosa as the temporary base for the players and staff, and the Angeles University Foundation as the venue for the games.
SBP president Al Panlilio expressed his gratitude to the PBA for its continuous support en route to the hosting rights of the FIBA qualifiers.
"In this case, the learning that we had through the efforts of Comm. Willie during this PBA bubble is a great learning for us in hosting these games," said Panlilio.
Read: SBP inspects Clark venues for February qualifiers
"If not because of the PBA bubble, maybe the FIBA Asia would not even have chosen the Philippines as a host. They saw the level of hosting that we did -- the PBA bubble-- that was what we sold to the FIBA... that was really the reason why we won that opportunity to host."
Read: Clark to prioritize bubble security for Asia Cup qualifiers
Window 3 of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers is slated from Feb. 18 to 21 next year with Clark as one of the four cities chosen to stage the qualifying tournament. Other bubble venues chosen by FIBA are Tokyo (Japan), Manama (Bahrain), and Doha (Qatar).
Philippines is set to host Group A where Gilas Pilipinas leads with a 3-0 record, followed by South Korea (2-0), Indonesia (1-2) and Thailand (0-4), while teams in Group C, Australia, New Zealand, Guam and Hong Kong, will also play in Clark.