CEBU, Philippines - Basketball fans of various ages trooped to the fourth level of the Ayala Center Cebu's expansion wing on November 24 for the opening of the first NBA Store in Cebu.
Present during the occasion was NBA Hall of Famer Gary Payton, who led the store's ceremonial ribbon-cutting together with NBA associate vice-president for Global Merchandising Lesley Rulloda, International Athletic Trading Company Inc.(IATC) president Melving Lloyd Lim, IATC chairman Enrique Gonzales, and Ayala Center Cebu general manager Bong Dy.
The new store covers 452 square meters and carries a wide variety of NBA products from all of the basketball league's 30 teams - including official jerseys, footwear, performance gear and lifestyle apparel.
A range of rare NBA collectibles and memorabilia are also featured at the store, which offers custom jersey services that allow NBA fans to have personalized NBA jerseys as part of their collection.
The flagship NBA Store in the Philippines opened in Glorietta 3 in 2014. This was followed by the opening of the NBA Store in Mega Fashion Hall in 2015, then the NBA Store in TriNoma early this year. Cebu's first NBA Store in Ayala Center Cebu is the fourth to open in the country. (FREEMAN)