When Mike Flynn of Blue Star and I visited Jakarta recently to cover the FIBA U18 World Championships last month, all anyone could talk about was the upcoming Oct. 10 NBA exhibition game between the Houston Rockets and Indiana Pacers’ in Manila in the Philippines. Despite heavy rains, the game drew a near sellout crowd of 12,885 to Mall of Asia as rabid Filipino fans got an up close up and personal look at some of the best players in the world’s best league.
NBA commissioner David Stern said the basketball obsessed country was an ideal host for NBA preseason games and the league may go to other countries in the region. “The NBA is always trying to find ways to take advantage of opportunities, particularly in Southeast Asia, and the Philippines lead the way,” he said. “But we’re beginning to see activity around like Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore.”
The Manila game, won by the Rockets, 116-96, was part of the NBA’s comprehensive global games schedule that had eight NBA teams play in eight cities in six countries this month. The schedule – which will also feature the Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76’ers, and Washington Wizards – included the first-ever NBA preseason games to be held in Brazil, and in the cities of Bilbao, Spain and Manchester, England. It also included games Beijing and Shanghai, China; Taipei, Taiwan; and Istanbul Turkey.
The NBA is certainly making a huge push into Southeast Asia. The move, Stern told the Straits Times of Singapore, is designed to tap into an “extraordinarily important” market with NBA -themed cafes, restaurants and retail stores sprouting up throughout the region. More NBA clinics will be held in countries such as Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia as the league revs up a year-round approach to courting a new fan base for its growing population of 600 million and its increased affluence, estimated at $2 trillion dollar GDP.
“It’s all beginning to perk up in the region and any sport or business has to realize that there’s a world out there,” Stern told the Times. “I’m proud we realized it earlier rather than later.” The NBA, which boasts an annual revenue of $5 billion, has been running events in the region since 1978. It employs nearly 200 staff across six Asian offices. But Stern, who steps down in February after 30 years at the helm, wants more. “We’re going to increase our manpower by 10 per cent this year, particularly with a focus on South-east Asia,” Stern told the Times. “Our biggest challenge is finding the resources to take advantage of all the opportunities available.” India, he noted, has proven tough to crack because of of cricket’s cult-like following. But the Philippines has become wild for the sport, where basketball is the No. 1 sport. Thousands of fans braved monsoon rains to secure free tickets for the first visit of four-time NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James . Stars Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant and Derrick Rose have also visited the country, which has the oldest professional basketball association in Asia.
The NBA has roots in the Philippines dating back to 1979 when the then Washington Bullets played an exhibition game against the Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars in Quezon City. The NBA shows 30 regular season games on TV each week and offers a version of NBA.com and social media platforms targeted to users in the Philippines. The Philippines tops the list of countries following the NBA on Facebook and Twitter outside the United States. In addition, each year the NBA conducts local events in the Philippines, including the Jr. NBA program, which has reached more than 60,000 students, parents and coaches over the past five years, and NBA 3X– the league’s global fan development event that combined authentic NBA entertainment with a three-on-three tournament– has gone to the Philippines,Tthailand and Singapore. .
Singapore and Bangkok are believed to be next in line to stage pre-season games, which will cost at least US$6 million each, including business-class travel for the teams and their entourages, according to the Straits Times. The NBA has held a staggering 1,500 events in Asia over the last five years. FIBA has already pushed its way into Singapore and Jakarta for 3×3 world championship competitions.
