First in Southeast Asia: New businesses await as NBA opens Manila office

MANILA, Philippines – For a country smitten with the game of basketball, it hardly comes as a surprise the Philippines ranks among the biggest markets of the US-based National Basketball Association (NBA) – the dominant league in the business.

“The Philippines is one of the NBA’s biggest markets in the world. In fact, it is in the top five in terms of revenues,” said Carlo Singson, associate vice president and managing director of the newly-opened NBA Philippines in Bonifacio Global City, the league’s 13th international office and the first in Southeast Asia.

In a recent media forum, Singson – who has worked 18 years for the NBA, most recently at its Hong Kong-based regional headquarters – said the professional league’s popularity has led to an explosive growth in its business ventures in the Philippines.

“The NBA has experienced tremendous growth in the Philippines over the past decade, and we’ve helped more boys and girls play and enjoy the game,” said Singson. “By establishing an office here, we will be better positioned to work with our valued partners in delivering the best NBA experiences to some of the world’s most passionate basketball fans.”

The league has put up the NBA Café, its first international café, in SM Aura; opened the NBA Store – also the first in Southeast Asia – in three locations (Glorietta, SM Megamall and Trinoma) with plans to put up branches outside Metro Manila; and has tied up with leading media and digital platforms, marketing, merchandising and licensing partners to raise more awareness for its products and further drive up sales.

“The immediate focus is to improve and service our partners better – working closely with our television partners to develop even more content, customized content, reality shows, integrating the NBA into their existing programs,” Singson said.

He cited a recent project with Solar, a media partner for over 15 years, wherein they created an episode in Project Runway Philippines which  brought the aspiring designers to the NBA Stores and integrated NBA-inspired designs in their works.

 “Cool ideas like that create stronger affinity with the NBA, not just with current fans but even with casual fans and non-fans,” he added.

Aside from Solar, the NBA has forged partnerships with TV channels ABS-CBN and Fox Sports for the live broadcast of a combined 30 NBA games a week.

The league also hosts touring basketball events and grassroots development programs for fans such as the pioneering Jr. NBA/WNBA program in the Philippines which is now being replicated in other Southeast Asian countries.

It also maintains a strong roster of marketing partners, including adidas, Alaska, CloudFone, Gatorade, Globe Telecom and Spalding.

Indicative of its strong social media presence, its Facebook page, NBA Global, currently has 5.1 million followers in the Philippines – the most of any country outside the US.