Jakarta, IO – 2023 FIBA World Cup is only a few days away. Final preparations for this world-level event are underway: the testing of the match venue, the technical readiness for the event itself, and other preparations necessary for the upcoming World Cup, on 25 August -3 September 2023.
The venue, Indonesia Arena, was inspected by the organizer of the Indonesia International Basketball Invitational on 2-5 August 2023. The technical readiness items being tested include the ticketing system, audience entry/exit flows, emergency system and others. Therefore, the invitation is only open for a limited number of Category 1-3 audiences.
The Indonesia International Basketball Invitational will be contested by Syria, UEA, Indonesia National Team and Indonesia Patriots. Their schedule is for the planned match hours of FIBA World Cup, i.e. 16.45 WIB and 20.30 WIB. Head of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Local Organizing Committee, Budi Satrio Djiwandono, proudly declared that the reputation of Indonesian basketball exceeds that of Indonesian football, because it is the first sport deemed capable of organizing a World Cup in our country.
“Therefore, the most important objective is ensuring we perform the event the best way we can. We are competing in a new arena, after all. Even though it is something to be proud of, we all need adjustments to get used to any new thing, including venues. The other challenge is how to get the 16,000-seat stadium filled with audience members. This is why we need to perform this test,” Budi said. “Compared to Japan and the Philippines, the level of Indonesian basketball is more subdued. However, what we’re trying to achieve by hosting this event is to elevate Indonesia’s reputation to the same level as that of those two countries.”
Other than testing the venue and technical readiness for the event, the organizers will present other activities that are sure to pique the people’s interest in watching the 2023 FIBA World Cup. “We need to strike while the iron is hot, as this opportunity will not return anytime soon. Nearing the World Cup, we organize events such as B’ball Meetups in several spots in Jakarta. The event is a forum of expression for basketball lovers. We also prepare the next generation with our youth leader program, which is a visit to schools to introduce basketball as a key sport, and the World Cup event to schools. Our trophy tour has also progressed in four cities, starting in Solo on 29 July, then to Denpasar, Surabaya, and finally, Jakarta. We also have a sustainability program that includes carbon emission reduction education and exhibition games with the media,” Budi reports.
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In the remaining time left, the organizers are doing their best to prepare everything properly. After all, Indonesia’s successful organizing of the 2023 FIBA World Cup will prove to the world that we have what it takes to organize world-class basketball events. “Not only that, as the host, providing safety, comfort, and convenience to domestic and foreign audiences, we will be laying down the foundation for sports tourism in our country in the future. We are doing everything we can to get the seats filled with enthusiastic audiences, because this is a rare opportunity. Let’s make Indonesia’s hosting of the FIBA World Cup a success, so it can trigger the development of both basketball as a sports and tourism draw in our Homeland!” (rp)