Having been to multiple World Championships throughout his stellar career, former Gilas head coach Tab Baldwin believes there’s no reason for basketball fans not to have a great experience in the upcoming FIBA World Cup this August.
Baldwin expressed this sentiment just moments after guiding Ateneo to a 90-85 victory over Letran in the SBP Invitational Games at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on Wednesday afternoon.
The Blue Eagles-Knights game was just one of the four simulation games held by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas in preparation for the upcoming global tournament.
“There’s no reason we shouldn’t have a great experience here with the World Cup. I have a lot of friends in the international community, and many of them are excited about coming to Manila,” said Baldwin, who was recently inducted into the NZ Basketball Hall of Fame for leading the Tall Blacks to the semifinals of the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis.
“It’s kind of the informal home of basketball because of the passion and the population,” he added.
Without a doubt, Baldwin was definitely satisfied with what he saw during the simulation and even expressed his full support for the SBP.
“I think all of us here know that the SBP can do a good job. Erika Dy is a driving force behind our World Cup campaign,” added Baldwin, who worked with Dy in Ateneo prior to her taking a full-time job with the FIBA WC Organizing Committee.
Baldwin, however, has one wish for the organizers who will oversee the games in the Araneta Coliseum.
“Araneta is an iconic and historic building, and I just hope the organizers would allow us to keep the ‘Thrilla in Manila’ sign and allow this arena to be what it is every day to the Filipino community, and enjoy the iconic nature of it,” said Baldwin, who has been in the Philippines since 2014.
“I’ve been to four world championships and one Olympics, and you know, all the brand new arenas are sometimes a little bit sterile. To come here and really feel the history that this building represents, I think, is something special. I hope we keep it.”
