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| (Image Source: Manila Standard/FIBA) |
PLDT unit and FIBA global partner Smart Communications, Inc. is gearing up for the upcoming FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, the biggest basketball event ever in Philippine history. On the other hand, UNILAB Inc., the leading pharmaceutical company in the Philippines, and San Miguel Corporation have officially joined in as major local sponsors of the global event slated to be held on August 25-September 10, 2023 in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia, expressing their support to the country's hosting of the highly-anticipated sports spectacle.
With Smart as a global partner, Smart and TNT subscribers have the full homecourt advantage when it comes to epic basketball fan experiences in 2023 to excite sports fans. To further gear up and engage sports fans, Smart held a Smart Sports Invitational Golf Cup last April 20 at the Orchard Golf and Country Club in Cavite to encourage the media and sports community to be unified in hosting the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023. Among the golfers in attendance were basketball icons, athletes, sports personalities, and celebrities like Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Dickie Bachman, Gilas Pilipinas Coach Chot Reyes, Ateneo Men’s Basketball Team Coach Tab Baldwin, Chito Loyzaga, Vince Hizon, Wesley Gonzales, Joseph Yeo, Marlon Stockinger, Cong. Richard Gomez, Donny Pangilinan, among many others. “As a global partner of FIBAWC 2023, Smart will be raffling off game tickets. We are also bringing the world’s biggest basketball games closer to basketball fans by streaming the games live on the Smart LiveStream App. More importantly, we will be providing Filipino basketball fans an experience of a lifetime with perks and privileges leading up to the final World Cup games,” said Smart Communications Senior Vice President and Individual Consumer Business Group Head Francis E. Flores.
Fans who want to witness Gilas Pilipinas up close and personal and experience the eagerly awaited matchups and see some of the world’s best basketball players in action, may join ticket raffle contests to be announced via Smart’s official social media accounts. Smart customers can also stream all the upcoming FIBA games via the Smart LiveStream App, the go-to app for exclusive live sports and music events as well as on-demand video content. To qualify for all Smart’s ticket promos and perks for the FIBA Basketball World Cup lined up for the rest of the year, subscribers must register their SIM cards in compliance with the SIM Registration Law. Now officially extended until July 25, 2023, Smart Prepaid and TNT subscribers may register their SIMs at smart.com.ph/simreg while Smart Postpaid customers simply need to text YES to 5858 and wait for the confirmation message from Smart.
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| From left: UNILAB Assistant Vice President Sunshine Aquino, UNILAB Division Vice President Kathrine Margaret Claire Martinez, UNILAB Operating Vice President Jose Antonio Evangelista, FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023's official mascot JIP, JMC PH Head of Operations John Lucas, JMC PH Head of Marketing Joseph Barrios (Image Source: Manila Bulletin/FIBA) |
UNILAB Corporate Vice President Alexander S. Panlilio said that “partnering with the FIBAWC23, and being able to support our local athletes as they go up to compete against the best in the world, is an irresistible call. Who better to support our Filipino athletes than fellow Filipinos like UNILAB? Our mission is to care for them — as manifested in our company slogan Alagang UNILAB — and this is one way to do that.” UNILAB’s Alaxan brand is the Official Body Pain Reliever of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023. Trusted by Filipinos for over 50 years, [Ibuprofen + Paracetamol] Alaxan has been championing Filipino athletes and everyday warriors. As a trusted pain brand in the Philippines, Alaxan will enable the athletes to perform at maximum level during the games, reaching up to their full potential and rallying behind them to success. Ushering UNILAB into the FBWC23 fold are Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) Chairman Emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan and SBP President Alfredo S. Panlilio.
“We welcome UNILAB to this prestigious event that will be followed by nations throughout the world. This partnership will go a long way in ensuring the success of our country’s efforts to co-host this grand event, a national endeavor if ever there was one since this marks only the second time in our history that we will be staging a world basketball championship,” said Pangilinan, a key member of the powerful FIBA Central Board and chairman and CEO of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation. Alfredo Panlilio, a vital member of the FIBA Asia Board and President and CEO of PLDT and Smart Communications, meanwhile, paid tribute to UNILAB’S sense patriotism and generosity in coming to the aid of the national team and of the overall effort to promote the country to the whole world as a shining example of leadership, organization and hospitality. “We thank UNILAB for agreeing to be part of this once in a lifetime experience, and to share in this global activity, this journey which in a sense is truly a merger of world caliber sports and big business. We at SBP stand proudly with UNILAB in declaring our steadfast commitment to the Filipino people and to our national players in forging one of the most successful FIBA World Cups ever," Panlilio said. FIBAWC 2023 Executive Director David Crocker joined the SBP top brass in expressing gratitude to UNILAB for its involvement in the event as a major local sponsor. “In order for something as huge as the FIBA Basketball World Cup to be successful, it must have great partnerships such as this. We welcome UNILAB on board and look forward to working closely with them in the lead up to basketball’s biggest international event," said Crocker.
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| From left: FIBA WC Deputy Event Director Erika Dy, FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023's official mascot JIP, SBP President Al Panlilio, SMC Sports Director Alfrancis Chua, 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup Executive Director David Crocker, MediaQuest & Cignal TV President & CEO Jane Basas, JMC Philippines Head of Operations John Lucas (Image Source: GMA Integrated News/Justin Kenneth Carandang) |
For SMC President and Chief Executive Officer and San Miguel Beermen (SMB) Chairman Ramon S. Ang, the return of the FIBA Basketball World Cup in the Philippines for the first time in 45 years will serve as a significant boost to the country’s profile in the international sporting stage, if not help usher a new generation of young players that will carry the country’s flag in the future. Ang said that the decision to back the Philippine hosting of the prestigious competition was not a difficult one to make, given its benefits to local fans, athletes, basketball organizations, and the whole country in general, as it recovers from the nearly three-year pandemic. SMC’s support is bannered by San Miguel Brewery, Inc. — through its San Miguel Pale Pilsen brand — that is also behind the San Miguel Beermen in the Philippine Basketball Association. Magnolia Hotshots and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel are the two other SMC teams in the PBA. “We are very proud to have been given this rare opportunity to host the FIBA Basketball World Cup. I think it’s the best time to have a prestigious international competition in the Philippines. After almost three years of the pandemic, we want to say that we are open for business, Filipinos are excited to welcome athletes from all over the world, and we are all eager to watch the very best teams play in our homecourt,” Ang said.
A longtime sports patron, Ang enjoined Filipinos to cheer for the Gilas Pilipinas team which is among the 32 teams that will participate in the event that the Philippines is co-hosting with Japan and Indonesia. “San Miguel’s history is closely intertwined with sports, particularly basketball. By supporting this world-class event, we also hope to give our local players an opportunity to see different teams and further elevate their games. Also equally important, we want to encourage and inspire young players and the youth in general, to continue pursuing their passion – whether it is basketball or another sport. With enough hard work, discipline, and dedication, they too can be world-class and can carry our flag someday in international competitions,” Ang said. Ang said he expects the competition at this year’s FIBA. World Cup to be even more stiff as the world basketball landscape has changed a lot since 1978 when the country’s previous hosting saw former Yugoslavia emerge as champion. “The immense improvement of many countries since the country’s last hosting in 1978 makes this event a showcase of basketball talent that will be very exciting to watch,” Ang emphasized. “This is also one of the times when our country can take center stage and show to the world what we are capable of doing. Definitely, hosting the FIBA World Cup is one of those golden opportunities and a privilege,” he added.
Ang also enjoined Filipinos to give a warm welcome to visiting teams to support the country’s hosting and help it put its best foot forward as global audiences tune in to the games. Ang thanked the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas (SBP) group headed by Chairman Emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan and FIBA leadership for the opportunity to take part in the historic event. “I commend the SBP leadership and FIBA for working to bring the event to our shores for the first time in decades. For a basketball-loving country, it means so much for Filipinos to have the world’s centerpiece basketball event here,” he said. Apart from basketball, SMC has supported many athletes and sports, the most recent of whom were Olympic medal winners led by the country’s first-ever Olympic gold medalist, weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, silver medalists Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio and bronze medalist Eumir Marcial. SMC has also supported national teams in international events. San Miguel backed the Philippine team that won 149 gold medals, 117 silvers, and 121 bronzes in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. During the 2005 Southeast Asian Games, SMC also supported the Philippine team that also won the overall championship with 112 golds, 85 silvers, and 93 bronzes.
