The tournament was hosted by the Philippines from October 1 to 14, 1978 in Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila and Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City (both cities in Metro Manila).

It was the first FIBA World Championship (now called the FIBA Basketball World Cup) held in Asia.

On July 11, 1974 at the FIBA Congress held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the Philippines was unanimously chosen as host after Argentina and Spain withdrew their bids.

[2] (*) Temporarily reduced to 10,000 for the finals due to safety reasons.

[3] Canada South Korea Senegal Yugoslavia Brazil China Italy Puerto Rico Australia Czechoslovakia Dominican Republic United States Philippines – host Soviet Union – defending champion