Philippines seen as 'perfect' place for NBA 2K events

MANILA, Philippines — It wasn't a tough decision to have the NBA 2K League (2KL) APAC Invitational in the Philippines for the second year in a row, as shared by NBA 2K League head of branded content, Ade Mangum.

"I feel like with the Philippines, basketball, specifically the NBA, goes hand in hand. You can just see it in terms of the numbers. It ranks second and third as far as sales and users in Southeast Asia. I feel like it's the perfect home, it's the perfect marriage between the two,” Mangum told members of the media during the Invitation over the weekend.

Moving to a bigger venue this year, at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall, Mangum felt the overwhelming love of the Filipinos for basketball first hand as the competition went underway.

"This competition is intense. It's like nothing I've ever seen. I don't know if you've seen the comeback story of the game, but it just levels up the intensity. Even the people that are watching, I can hear them cheering. I can hear every single person, every single breath, every single gasp that they make. You can feel that electricity in the air. It's contributing to the gameplay. I feel like the players also feel it, and it's just taking up the competition to another level,” added Mangum.

With an electrifying Filipino basketball atmosphere, NBA 2K's partner Cignal believes fans can truly expect more NBA 2K events for the country.

"We're really looking forward to working with the NBA on more activities, even maybe grassroots activities and outside Metro Manila also. So a lot of things to look forward to for the coming year. We're really looking forward to more regional competitions, more international competitions for our [players] so that they also get the experience and hopefully next year we get to win the championship as well,” said Gerald Milan, chief revenue officer at Cignal TV.

For Laus Group Esports' director of operations Ian Serranilla, the growth of NBA 2K here in the country has been a dream come true.

"This is part of our dream. When we started this, parang kami lang yung nagpapaliga. There was no such thing as a professional team. Parang basketball clubs lang. And as you can see, it's now gaining traction and momentum. It's gaining interest na talagang. Actually, there are college esports players already that can go into the professional scene. Which is what our dream is, for it to be a sustainable community,” shared Serranilla.