Gilas Pilipinas win Best Country Award in FIBA 2014

Ismael Terron Panadero was named the Most Valuable Fan (MVF) of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, topping FIBA’s digital campaign to involve fans at its flagship event.

Ismael’s reward was the opportunity of a lifetime, as he got to watch the Final between the USA and Serbia from the best seat in the house, courtside at the center line.

The 23-year-old from Barcelona was presented a trophy at halftime.

“It’s an amazing experience. This is the most memorable moment of my life. I’m really thankful to FIBA and the Basketball World Cup for this opportunity,” said Panadero.

“At the beginning (of the FIBA Basketball World Cup), I supported the Spanish national team, but after they lost I started to support the USA.

“I’m a big fan of Pau Gasol. For me, he’s a legendary player. From among others my guy is Derrick Rose (of the USA). I love how he overcame the injuries to come here and gave us (fans) joy.”

Meanwhile, the Philippines, popularly known as Gilas Pilipinas, won as the MVF Best Country Award.

As a tribute to the millions of basketball fans from the South East Asian team – playing in FIBA’s flagship event for the first time in four decades – a video was played during the halftime break of the Final.

The concept of MVF was directly inspired from that of MVP (Most Valuable Player), the ultimate honour given to the best player in a basketball competition.

Through MVF, FIBA used the full spectrum of digital and social media tools to maximise the awareness of its flagship event prior to it tipping off.

This ultimate and innovative digital experience provided basketball fans from around the world with a platform on which they could express their passion for their national team and where they made history while competing against other fans. The campaign was a part of FIBA’s commitment to developing state-of-the-art entertainment campaigns where fans are at the heart of all activities.

Fans took part in MVF Challenges and used a broad range of social actions (for example by associating their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram accounts, using the hashtag #Spain2014…etc) to accumulate their MVF points.

This all added up in the overall point ranking and Panadero, who was at the top of the MVF ranking on Thursday 14 August – exactly one month before the Final of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup – won the ultimate MVF Award.

All points earned by fans that support the same national team accumulated to determine the MVF Best Country Award.