LeBron due in Manila to inspire fans

MANILA, Philippines - LeBron James is set to return to the country next week as part of Nike Rise Philippines’ developmental program.

“Get ready, KingJames will be arriving to inspire Team Rise and Pinoy basketball to the next level,” tweeted Nike Philippines’ official Twitter account, @NikePH, yesterday.

The Cleveland Cavaliers star is scheduled to fly in on Aug. 19 and will hold a press conference the next day.

James will then coach the finalists of the Nike Rise project to play a selection squad from the UAAP on either Aug. 21 or 22 before he reportedly takes a few days vacation in one of the country’s top tourist spots.

James, then as a Miami Heat, visited the country for the first time in July two years ago as part of a whirlwind, multi-city tour also sponsored by Nike where thousands of fans braved the rains for tickets at Nike Park at The Fort.

James’ second coming comes on the heels of Indiana Pacers’ star Paul George’s visit in line with Nike Rise, a reality documentary program aimed at looking for street ball talents from the countryside and putting them in a program where they have a chance to succeed.

In 11 seasons, James is already considered the best player in the planet having won the NBA title twice, the Finals MVP twice, the season MVP four times, made the All-Star 11 times and won the All-Star MVP twice.

James is ranked behind the likes of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant as one of the best players to ever played the game.

Aside from LeBron, another popular NBA player set to hit town is Minnesota Timberwolves’ Ricky Rubio, who is scheduled to visit late this month as part of his two-country tour.

“Happy to announce that I will be on an International Tour this August visiting the Philippines and Dubai,” said Rubio on his Twitter account @rickyrubio9 last week.

Rubio, a Spaniard drafted fifth overall by the Wolves in the 2009 NBA draft, will be in the country from Aug. 20 to 23 before going to Dubai from Aug. 24-28 as a special guest of the Basicball Academy Summer Camp there.

“Bucket list: visit Philippines,” Rubio tweeted in his account where he has 1.76 million followers.

The Nuggets’ Kenneth “The Manimal” Faried and the San Antonio Spurs’ Danny Green are also expected to arrive as main attractions of the NBA 3X Philippines 2015 at the SM Mall of Asia later this month.