The big treat

The announcement came in a big way. For over a week, the buzz was the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) would host something big in October and since the NBA is now on its second year on the “Big” advertising platform, the speculation was the big deal had to involve the big league. So when the moment of disclosure arrived last Tuesday, everyone knew SM Prime Holdings Inc. president Hans Sy – MOA’s moving spirit – would spring a big cat out of a big bag and he did it in the company of three Hong Kong-based NBA Asia executives – senior vice president and managing director Scott Levy, vice president of business development and marketing partnerships Francesco Suarez and director and country manager of the Philippines Carlo Singson.

For the first time ever, two NBA teams will play a game in the Philippines when the Houston Rockets face the Indiana Pacers in a preseason encounter at the SM Mall of Asia on Oct. 10. In 1979, the NBA team Washington Bullets came to play a PBA selection in an exhibition at the Araneta Coliseum but coach Dick Motta’s lineup was short-handed, missing seven veterans. Still, it was the first legitimate NBA team to perform in the country. There had been several All-Star barnstorming squads that visited before but never a team representing one NBA franchise.

The Bullets showed up with Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes, Kevin Porter, Greg Ballard, Dave Corzine, Roger Phegley and rookies Steve Malovic and Andrew Parker. Absent were Bobby Dandridge, Kevin Grevey, Mitch Kupchak, Tom Henderson, Larry Wright, Charlie Johnson and Phil Chenier. Although Motta rotated only eight players, the Bullets swamped the PBA, 133-123, before a big crowd of over 30,000. How the Big Dome squeezed in all the fans remains a mystery. The PBA selection was made up of Robert Jaworski, Ramon Fernandez, Arnie Tuadles, Philip Cezar, Atoy Co, Jesse Sullano, Rudy Kutch and imports Larry Pounds, Cyrus Mann, Glenn McDonald, Dean Tolson and Larry McNeill.

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In October, the Rockets and Pacers are coming in full force unlike the Bullets. The stars will be in uniform as well as players fighting for roster spots. Both teams appear to be playoff-bound this season. Indiana is No. 2 in the Eastern Conference with a 38-22 record behind pacesetter Miami while Houston is No. 7 in the Western Conference with a 33-28 mark. The Pacers are coached by Frank Vogel with former Los Angeles Lakers guard Brian Shaw the associate head coach. The Rockets are piloted by Boston Celtics legend Kevin McHale.

Houston has six foreign players – 7-0 Omer Asik of Turkey, 6-3 Jeremy Lin of Taiwan, 6-6 Carlos Delfino of Argentina, 7-0 Donatas Montiejunas of Lithuania, 6-7 Francisco Garcia of the Dominican Republic and 6-11 Tim Ohlbrecht of Germany. Barangay Ginebra tendered an offer sheet for Ohlbrecht to play in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup but the German opted to try his luck in the NBA and eventually landed a spot with the Rockets.

The Pacers are led by 6-8 Danny Granger, 6-8 Paul George, 7-2 Roy Hibbert and 6-9 David West. Other mainstays are 6-2 George Hill, 6-8 Gerald Green, 6-0 D. J. Augustin and the Hansbrough brothers Tyler and Ben.

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The word “big” has long been associated with basketball. The Big O is Oscar Robertson’s moniker. Wilt Chamberlain was the Big Dipper, Elvin Hayes the Big E, James Worthy and James Yap share the nickname Big Game James, David Lattin the Big Daddy, Jaworski the Big J, Caloy Loyzaga the Big Difference, Robert Horry was Big Shot Bob, Zelmo Beaty the Big Z, Darrell Imhoff the Big D and Dave Cowens was Big Red. How appropriate that the big league is using “big” as its promotional tag. 

The SM Mall of Asia can accommodate over 20,000 fans. In the first game of last season’s UAAP basketball finals, the turnout was 20,686. The capacity is a far cry from the 11,000 seats at the Venetian Arena in Macau where the Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers played a preseason game in 2007 before NBA commissioner David Stern and over 100 staff from the league’s offices in New York and New Jersey. 

So far, the NBA has staged 138 preseason and regular season games in 19 countries and territories across Europe, the Americas and Asia since 1978. This year, the NBA will play preseason games between two NBA teams in Manchester, Manila, Taipei, Rio de Janeiro, Beijing and Shanghai. Oklahoma City will engage an Istanbul club in Turkey while Philadelphia meets a Spanish club in Bilbao to complete the Global Games schedule.

For a basketball-crazy country like the Philippines, hosting an NBA game is a dream come true.  Staging a full-blown NBA game between two NBA teams in the country is a big treat for Filipino fans.  It’s no secret that the Philippines tops the list of countries following the NBA on Facebook and Twitter outside the US and that’s a big deal, too.