FIBA's goal: Make every country love basketball like the Philippines

FIBA officials on Sunday bared that the basketball governing body would like other countries to emulate the Philippines' love for hoops in implementing their new competition calendar.

After this year's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, FIBA is set to make several adjustments in its tournament format, the most significant of which is making the Basketball World Cup qualifiers a home-and-away basis.

The change will allow local fans to have the opportunity to see their basketball heroes in action on a regular basis, with teams playing on home soil at least twice a year.

"We want basketball to be the most popular sport," said FIBA Communications director Patrick Koller. "We would like every country in the world to be like the Philippines. This is our goal, this is our vision."

FIBA has been enamored with the country's passion for basketball, even strongly considering the Philippines as host for the 2019 World Cup before eventually choosing China.

Filipino fans were also hailed as the Most Valuable Fans of the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain, where Gilas Pilipinas competed gallantly against powerhouse teams and took home a historic victory against Senegal.

FIBA wants to foster the same kind of zeal in other countries by giving fans the chance to connect with and cheer for their respective national teams in a huge event.

"I think the most important is that we increase the exposure of the national team and make it a regular exposure," said FIBA Competitions and Sports director Predrag Bogosavljev. "It is vital for the promotion of the sport in each country."

Windows for games

Under the new calendar, the World Cup qualifiers will be divided into six qualifying windows - November 2017, February, June, September, and November 2018, and February 2019.

Teams will be categorized into Division A and Division B, where the former will be composed of 80 squads from the four continents - 32 from Europe, 16 from Americas, 16 from Africa, and 16 from Asia.

The 16 teams from Asia will be divided into four groups four, which will play each other in the first three windows. The top three of each group will advance to the second round, where two groups of six will play each other in the last three windows.

The top three in the groups will qualify for the World Cup along with the best seeded fourth team.

Division B teams, meanwhile, will play at the same time for a chance to qualify to the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup. —JST, GMA News