The Philippine national team starts their world cup campaign with a whimper.
On Friday, August 25, Gilas Pilipinas faced off with the national basketball team of the Dominican Republic. The game was held at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan, where the opening ceremony prior to the match also took place.
The Dominican Republic ended the first quarter with a four-point lead against the Philippine national team, 22-18.
In the second quarter, Gilas Pilipinas caught up with the Dominican Republic and ended the said quarter quarter or first half of the game in a tie, 42-all.
However, the Dominican Republic team regained control and ended the third quarter with a narrow lead over Gilas Pilipinas, 66-64.
In the final round, despite much effort exerted by Gilas players, Dominican Republic defeated the Philippine national team in their first match in the first round of the group phase of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, 87-81.
Record attendance
Despite the loss, the Philippine Arena crowd was still able to make history on their own. In the statistics released by the organizers, the first night of the 2023 FIBA World Cup in the Philippines made a new record of 38,115 pax.
It trumps the former record set in the finals of the 1994 FIBA World Cup held in Toronto, Canada. 32,616 people watched Team USA go against Team Russia.
Philippine Arena, which is the world largest indoor arena, has a reported capacity of 55,000 seats.