EDITORS DESK

The pressure surely mounts heavy on the shoulders of the Gilas Pilipinas training pool that is deep in its European buildup for the FIBA World Cup as the Filipino dribblers aim to put up a decent fight against global powers in the two-week tiff. But back at home, problems continue to hound the local organizers with less than two months left before the Aug. 25 opening at the Philippine Arena and the subsequent games at the Araneta Coliseum and the Mall of Asia Arena — from the notorious traffic condition, the massive logistical requirement of moving hundreds of players, team staff, and top executives, and the fairly expensive ticket prices that are heavy on the pocket for an ordinary fan. Get this, too: After spending millions of dollars in winning the rights and putting all the bells and whistles to make the metro as dashing and appetizing for the legion of foreign supporters, the brightest basketball players, especially from the NBA, will not be attending the sport's grandest spectacle. A major blow to the efforts of the tri-nation party that includes co-hosts Japan and Indonesia, and also the men and women who have been polishing Manila to its shining best in this once-in-a-generation chance to see the greats in the flesh. Team USA, the winningest of them all with five World Cup titles and 16 Olympic gold medals, opted to field a squad that is potentially explosive with the younger legs but lesser in overall grandeur as compared to the previous Tokyo Games roster. Minus Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard, Devin Booker, and other players with the sleight of topnotch talents, the western giants will have Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards, Mikal Bridges, Brandon Ingram, and Paolo Banchero. Though this lineup could pack the punch and alter initial projections of an impending disaster much like the horror seventh-place finish for Team USA in the 2019 edition in China, the real trouble lies beneath the marketing labor of peppering Manila’s skyline with the backdrop of appealing stars. Adding salt to the wound, recent NBA champion Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets hasn’t fully committed yet to play for Serbia at the World Cup. Same goes for the injured Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece, Joel Embiid of France, and Rui Hachimura of Japan. Heck, top overall pick Victor Wembanyama has also pulled out from the French team. In hindsight: Who would want to shell out a big sum of cash to watch the games without the biggest athletes in the sport? Ticket prices for a one-day pass that includes a USA match start at ₱999 and up north of ₱29,000 depending on the seat location at the MOA Arena. Gilas games, meanwhile, are packaged in two-day passes from ₱1,299 to ₱37,799 at the Araneta Coliseum. Certainly not cheap for a Filipino fan who would want to see NBA-caliber players or our very own national team that is likely composed of Jordan Clarkson, Justin Brownlee, Ange Kouame, June Mar Fajardo or Scottie Thompson. But for those with the spirit of basketball running through their lives, those die-hard fanatics who wanted to feel the drama and intensity of an immensely entertaining showpiece in its most competitive nature, this is about the action that will unfold before their eyes, where they will breathe the same air with the future legends, where dreams can be made in a flash of brilliance from the court. In reality, the notion of access to the best views comes in the form of luxury. In the World Cup, you get the premium seat when you have the money to spend. Truly worth it for some, but unreachable for others. *(Ramon Rafael C. Bonilla is the head of Sports section of Manila Bulletin.)*