Co-hosting the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup has fueled a national obsession with a game that Filipinos play everywhere, at all levels of society
It may be dwarfed by other nation’s sporting prowess, but the Philippines’ fervour for basketball is gigantic, and enthusiasm for the sport only intensified ahead of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, which opened in Manila last Friday and runs until Sept. 10.
Basketball first came to the Philippines in the 1910s, when it was a U.S. colony. American teachers introduced the game to the public school system, initially just for girls. Jessie Conde, a regular at a court built by waste pickers in the slums of Tondo, said he always turns to basketball when things get tough at home or at school. His teammates, bare-chested and barefoot, typically bet 50 pesos each per game, with the winner often using the prize money to buy everyone refreshments.
Laurah Agmata, who plays for her school’s varsity and the local community league by the train tracks in Manila’s Pandacan neighbourhood, said she was looking forward to seeing Jordan Clarkson represent the Philippines in the championship. One day, she hopes she can also play for her country like the Filipino-American NBA player who is currently with Utah Jazz. “Sometimes I get discouraged because it’s often only boys who get opportunities in basketball,” the 15-year-old said.
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