MIES (Switzerland) - When visiting sides complement an away ambience, that's saying something.
"It was a great atmosphere. It was fun playing here in this crowd... so many people."
"Thank you everyone, for coming and supporting," Lebanon's Hayk Gyokchyan said after a tense showdown against China at the Xishi Basketball Center in Zhuji.
With over 12000 spectators in attendance, it was a wave of red that helped Team Dragon hold onto an 89-87 win.
Across the South China Sea, the renowned Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Philippines, was bathed in blue and white as more than 18000 die-hard Gilas faithful egged on their team to only their third-ever triumph over Iran.
Mall of Asia would, in fact, host six of the 12 Window 4 games, also featuring Syria, Australia, New Zealand and Jordan.
Besides the highest footfalls in Philippines versus Iran, Philippines-Jordan also drew nearly 16,000 fans.
With such a raucous "sixth man", no surprises then that Gilas went 2-0 in this Window, bringing their World Cup 2027 Qualifiers firmly back on track, after a 2-4 First Round.
Elsewhere, in Japan (Toyota Arena, Tokyo), World Cup 2027 hosts Qatar (the iconic Al Janoub Arena, repurposed as a basketball venue after the FIFA World Cup 2022), Lebanon (the always "on" Nohad Nawfal Stadium), Korea (Suwon KT Sonicboom Arena) and Saudi Arabia (King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah), the Asian Qualifiers found equally enthusiastic patrons in the stands.
While it is impossible to truly 'compare' audience appreciation for a sport, we leave it to you to decide: who were the best fans in Window 4?
FIBA