NBA officials believe that a preseason game could be headed for Southeast Asia but a condition needs to be met first.
The NBA has continued to grow in a global scale, with multiple preseason games held in international venues such as China, Canada, Abu Dhabi, and Puerto Rico in the weeks leading up to this regular season alone.
But the Philippines hasn’t been host to one in more than a decade — with the last game happening in 2013, when the Houston Rockets played against the Indiana Pacers at the Mall of Asia Arena.
In a recent call with international media, NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum laid out what needs to happen for countries like the Philippines and Southeast Asian neighbor Singapore to host an NBA game anew.
After having hosted the recent NBA Rising Stars Invitational earlier this year at the Singapore Sports Hub, Singapore will have to develop just a bit more if they hope to host a full-fledged NBA preseason game in the near future.
“The one thing which, I also mentioned this about Brazil, is that Singapore does not have a world class indoor arena. The arena that the [Intercontinental Cup] played in where I was a month ago, they need a new project,” Tatum said.
“The good news is that are being discussed in Singapore right now. I know there's a project by the Sands Corporation and there's a project by the Singapore Sports Corporation as well, the government, and so the good news is I know that there are arena projects on the docket and as soon as those get done, I absolutely think that Singapore could be a place where we would host pre-season games,” he added.
Manila up in the air
There was no mention from the NBA if the Philippines in particular does qualify for such a game with a venue like the MOA Arena.
The Pasay venue was one of the main arenas for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, while also regularly hosting high-level competitions both internationally and regionally.
But it is unclear whether or not the arena still meets the criteria 12 years after the Rockets-Pacers game.
Still, Tatum has underscored the importance of repaying passion from the fans with an activity like a global game.
Like the Philippines, another country seeking an NBA game making it to its shores is Brazil. During the same press conference, Tatum spoke about the NBA’s willingness, as long as the infrastructure is present.
“What I will say in terms of Brazil is that the fans there are incredible, more than 45,000 fans attended NBA house in Sao Paulo during our finals last year… I actually had the opportunity earlier in the year to visit our NBA park in Gramado, it's our largest fan destination in the world and we've welcomed more than 300,000 fans since it opened three years ago,” Tatum said.
“And our NBA merchandise is widely available in Brazil, we have 31 NBA stores in Brazil and our only mobile stores in the world. So fans are able to consume both digitally by the way and our media partners and our streaming partners there, but also engage with the NBA in very meaningful ways there despite not having games."
"But having a world-class indoor facility in Sao Paulo, I think, is critical and I think the appropriate people know that and are working on plans for that now,” he added.
Filipino fans will have to wait in bated breath, though, as the NBA and the Philippines wait for future agreements.
What everyone can look forward to, if it indeed does push through in the coming years, is that Filipino excitement will surely fill the streets for an NBA game — whether it be in the pre-season or a regular season game played in a neutral arena.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.