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NBA TO STAGE FIRST-EVER PRESEASON GAME IN THE PHILIPPINES THIS OCTOBER (HOUSTON ROCKETS VS. INDIANA PACERS)

PhilBoxing.com




-- NBA and SM Partner to Bring the Houston Rockets and the Indiana Pacers to Manila on Oct. 10 at the New Mall of Asia Arena --
MANILA, Philippines, March 5, 2013 ? The National Basketball Association (NBA) will stage its first-ever preseason game in the Philippines this October. The NBA and SM today announced a partnership that will bring the Houston Rockets and Indiana Pacers to Manila for a game on Oct. 10 at the new Mall of Asia Arena.

This will mark the NBA?s first preseason game in Southeast Asia as the league continues its growth globally. Basketball is the number one sport in the Philippines and the NBA is the first U.S. professional sports league to stage a preseason game in the country.

?Our game in Manila is an exciting opportunity to connect with the passionate basketball fans in the Philippines and across Southeast Asia,? said NBA Commissioner David Stern. ?The Philippines is an ideal setting for the Houston Rockets and Indiana Pacers to take part in a showcase of our game and give fans in the region an authentic NBA experience.?

The Houston Rockets will be led by NBA All-Star James Harden, the third overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft and 2012 Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year; and Jeremy Lin, the league?s first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent. The Indiana Pacers roster includes 2009 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Danny Granger, and NBA All-Stars Paul George, Roy Hibbert, and David West.

?This is definitely sports history in the making,? said SM Prime Holdings Inc. President Mr. Hans T. Sy. ?The Filipinos are one of the biggest basketball fans in the world. It is only fitting that we bring the NBA pre-season game to Philippine shores. And SM will make it happen at the Mall of Asia Arena.?

The NBA and SM will host a variety of activities throughout 2013 as part of the buildup to the preseason game. These will include appearances by NBA talent, along with family-oriented and grassroots basketball events to bring the game closer to fans. In addition to the oncourt NBA action, the league and its game partners will also conduct community events under the NBA Cares umbrella as a way to give back to the community.

The game is part of the NBA?s comprehensive global games schedule that will have eight NBA teams play in eight cities in six countries this October. The schedule ? which will also feature the Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers, and Washington Wizards - will include the first-ever NBA preseason games to be held in Brazil, and in the cities of Bilbao, Spain and Manchester, England. It will also include games Beijing and Shanghai, China; Taipei, Taiwan; and Istanbul Turkey.

To date, the NBA has staged 138 preseason and regular-season games in 19 countries and territories across Europe, the Americas and Asia since 1978.

The league 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.

For additional information about the NBA preseason game in Philippines, please visit NBA.com (in the Philippines) or ph.NBA.com (outside of the Philippines) and www.mallofasia-arena.com.

2013-14 NBA Global Games Schedule:
GAMES
DATE
LOCATION
ARENA
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul Oct. 5 Istanbul, Turkey Ulker Sports Arena
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Uxue Bilbao Basket Oct. 6 Bilbao, Spain Bizkaia Arena at the BEC
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Philadelphia 76ers Oct. 8 Manchester, England Manchester Arena
Houston Rockets vs. Indiana Pacers Oct. 10 Manila, Philippines Mall of Asia Arena
Houston Rockets vs. Indiana Pacers Oct. 13 Taipei, Taiwan Taipei Arena
Chicago Bulls vs. Washington Wizards
Oct. 12 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil HSBC Arena
Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers Oct. 15 Beijing, China MasterCard Center
Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers Oct. 18 Shanghai, China Mercedes-Benz Arena

About SM
The SM Group is the Philippines? leader in mall operations, retail, banking, property development and in hotels and conventions business. With 193 stores nationwide, SM has 46 SM Department Stores; 37 SM Supermarkets, 76 are SaveMore branches; and 34 are SM Hypermarkets. SM is the Philippines? largest shopping mall developer and cinema operator with 46 malls nationwide and 250 all digital cinema screens. SM's property group is a fast emerging business with interests in residential, commercial, leisure and hotel development. Aside from mall operations and real estate, SM's network also includes 41% interest in BDO Unibank, the largest bank in the Philippines and 20% interest in China Banking Corp, another fast emerging bank.

About Mall of Asia Arena
The Mall of Asia Arena, the latest and biggest venture to rise at the foremost entertainment and retail destination?the Mall of Asia complex?is figuratively and quite literally an architectural ?eyecon?. Priding itself on exceptional and world-standard amenities including the Corporate Suites, which is unique in all of Southeast Asia, the Mall of Asia Arena is always the venue for big events both in entertainment and sports. It perfects the integrated shopping and entertainment experience at the Mall of Asia complex?a commitment linked to its vision of ?changing the game, elevating entertainment?. The Mall of Asia Arena is owned by SM Investments Corporation, operated by the SM Arena Complex Corporation and managed by West Avenue Theatres Corporation.

About the NBA
The NBA is a global sports and media business built around three professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women?s National Basketball Association, and the NBA Development League. The league has established a major international presence with games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 47 languages and NBA merchandise for sale in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on 6 continents. NBA rosters currently feature 84 international players from 36 countries and territories. The NBA?s digital assets include NBA TV, which is available in more than 60 million U.S. homes, and NBA.com, which averages more than 42 million page views per day, more than half of which originate from outside of North America. The NBA is the No. 1 professional sports league on social media, with more than 365 million fans and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms. Through NBA Cares, the league and its teams and players have donated more than $210 million to charity, completed more than 2.3 million hours of hands-on community service, and created more than 760 places where kids and families can live, learn, or play.




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