THE National Basketball Association plans to bring more NBA games in the Philippines, especially to young fans.
NBA Asia Managing Director Scott Levy said the NBA decided to expand its reach to Filipino fans following the success of two exhibition games the league held in the country recently.
“Our focus is about making sure that the games are accessible to as many kids, as many people as possible and Jr. NBA is the focus as we implement the program across Southeast Asia. We do expect to play more games in the future, but we don’t have anything definitive right now,” said Levy in a statement following the creation of the Jr. NBA Asia Advisory Council.
The council is part of the league’s expanded efforts to encourage basketball participation and active lifestyles among children.
Its members include Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo, who will provide direction on the Jr. NBA’s development and accelerate the program’s growth with the goal of reaching more boys and girls across the region to help address and combat inactivity among the youth.
Representing the Philippines in the council are SM Prime Philippines President Hans Sy, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Founder, President and CEO Dennis A. Uy and Alaska Milk Corporation President and CEO Wilfred Steven Uytengsu.
Levy will serve as the Advisory Council’s chairman.
The council will also have as members CEO/Asia, Forbes Media William P. Adamopoulos; Boonrawd Brewery Co., Ltd. Executive Vice President and Director Chutinant Bhimrombhakdi; Westports Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. CEO RubenEmir Gnanalingam; GDP Venture and KaskusCEO Martin Basuki Hartono; Xebio Co., Ltd. Executive Fellow Hiroko Morohashi; IDG Venture Vietnam Managing General Partner Henry Nguyen; IDG Venture Vietnam General Partner Rachan Reddy; Mayapada Group Indonesia Deputy Chairman Jonathan Tahir; Berjaya Corporation Berhad Chairman and CEO Dato’ Sri Robin Tan Yeong Ching.
The Jr. NBA is considered as the league’s global grassroots development program and is now in five countries in Southeast Asia.
