Philippines Holds the All-Time FIBA World Cup Record:
The Philippines now holds one of the most prestigious records in the FIBA World Cup as they conquered the World Cup attendance record for a single game in the World Basketball Championship.
The FIBA World Cup opening ceremony at the Philippine Arena produced a mammoth crowd of 38,115 in attendance for the Group Phase game between Gilas Pilipinas and the Dominican Republic.
Although the Philippines suffered a heartbreaking loss from Karl-Anthony Towns, who led the Dominican Republic Team, the Philippines is still grateful for conquering the World Cup Attendance records.
The Philippines broke the World Cup attendance record at 322,616, established in 1994 during the FIBA World Cup Final between the USA and Russia at the Skydome in Toronto, Canada.
During that record-breaking attendance game, the United States featured the Dream Team II, showcasing the talents of Shaquille O’Neal, Reggie Miller, Dominique Wilkins, and Alonzo Mourning. The Americans defeated the Russians with a whooping 137-91 victory, capturing the World Cup title.
The previous milestones of the number of attendees in a FIBA Basketball match stood for 19 years. They were reportedly hard to break until the Philippines merged forces with Japan and Indonesia to secure the bidding rights to the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
During the past years, there was hype that the record could be broken, especially when the organizers from the Philippines announced that the inaugural game would be held at the 50,000-seater Philippine Arena.
During the first game between Italy and Angola, the crowd estimate was 21,214. Still, the venue capacity steadily swelled as the much-awaited second game approached, featuring the Gilas Pilipinas squad against the visiting Dominican Republic.
The Philippines couldn’t make it a double-celebration after falling short against the Dominican Republic, suffering the team’s first defeat with an 81-87 loss against the South Americans.
The 38,115 people attending the Gilas vs. Dominican Republic match was record-breaking as it was witnessed by no less than Philippine President Bongbong Marcos, who cheered for Gilas, showing his support for the national team.
In another Gropu A match, the Italian Azzurri defeated the African side Angola in the first game, and with the defeat of the Philippines, the Italian now leads group A, followed by the Dominican Republic.
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