WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PHILIPPINES 1978
The two chosen arenas were a perfect demonstration of the contrasts in the country, luxury and poverty, modernity and antiquity. The Rizal Memorial Coliseum in the heart of the city had a capacity of 10,000 but no air conditioning, an essential facility to enable players and public to withstand the stifling heat. Another problem was that, due to the high humidity and condensation, every single piece of hardwood had to be dried after each play to avoid injuries. The Arenal Coliseum, on the other hand, belonged to a local multi-millionaire called Araneta. It could stand alongside the best stadiums in the world. It had a capacity of 25,000 and was fully air-conditioned so FIBA decided to hold the most important matches there.
A further problem then arose, the calendar. The event was scheduled to run from 1 to 14 October. This was when the various European national championships were beginning so the federations would have to suspend them in order to send their best players. It also affected the abysmal squad that would represent the USA because their best university players were not prepared to miss matches or training sessions to attend what they considered to be a tournament of little importance.
FORMAT CHANGES
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This 7 World Championship introduced an important innovation that was to prove highly successful in years to come. The three group classification round was maintained with the top two qualifying for the final round and the bottom two playing the consolation phase. The carrying forward of scores from the first round also remained as did the direct qualification to the final round of the host nation and the reigning world champion. The new feature was that after the final phase, a series of elimination matches would be held to determine the final placing. The top two teams would play for the gold and silver medals, third and fourth for the bronze, fifth and sixth for fifth place and so on. As we will see later on in this edition these matches made no difference to the final standings, but everyone liked the system and it was decided to keep it for following edition. It avoided the possibility of a three-way tie or having everything decided before the final day but the main reason was to provide a better spectacle for television. TV had moved into basketball in a big way and the audience wanted games that guaranteed excitement and nothing was better than a one-off match with the title at stake.
The only surprise in the first round was Czechoslovakia who disappointed once again, and were eliminated in the first round. In Group A, Yugoslavia crushed Korea( 105-69) and Senegal( 121- 85) but struggled a bit to beat Canada( 105-95). In spite of this defeat Canada easily qualified in second place by beating the weak Korea and Senegal.
In Group B Brazil demonstrated that they had returned to the elite of world basketball. They gave an international debut to a player who would be talked about for years to come, Oscar Schmidt Bezerra. They started the tournament with a scoring orgy that has still to be surpassed, 154-97 against China and followed this by suffering to beat a rejuvenated Italy( 88-84). Italy had a strong all-round team with Meneghin, Marzoratti, Villalta and Bonamico. They qualified for the following phase after beating Puerto Rico( 93-80) and the shell-shocked China( 125-95) and joined Brazil in the final round.
In Group C Australia showed that they were making huge strides forward and defeated Czechoslovakia( 71-68). The Czech renovation was not producing the expected results. Without the guidance of Bobrovsky, Zidek and Zednicek, Brabenec and Kropilac were unable to win alone.
212 FUNDACIÓN PEDRO FERRÁNDIZ