The Philippines’ new MOA Arena. Photo via InterAKTV.
The NBA is making good on its promise to expand on its international footprint even further. A source told the Filipino site InterAKTV that the Indiana Pacers and Houston Rockets will play a preseason game next season in the Philippines, the details of which will be announced Tuesday:
“Hans Sy was invited by Commissioner Stern during the All-Star Game, and Hans told the Commissioner that he has an arena that is suitable for hosting one of the NBA games,” said Junel Baculi, the athletic director of National University which is part of the SM Group. NU hosted this UAAP season, whose games were played at the MOA Arena.
The country has long been crazy about NBA basketball, but has not drawn consideration as a venue for the league’s games because of a lack of a suitable venue. With the state-of-the-art MOA Arena, that has changed.
via SM MOA Arena to host Pacers versus Rockets, first NBA preseason game in the Philippines
During their All-Star Weekend media availability, NBA commissioner David Stern and his 2014 successor, deputy commissioner Adam Silver, stressed a commitment to grow the sport of basketball across the globe. The Philippines make sense as a target market for the league—the country’s passion for basketball has been well documented, most notably in Rafe Bartholomew’s excellent book Pacific Rims. The MOA Arena is, by all accounts, an ideal facility for an NBA game, and a Rockets-Pacers matchup would give fans the chance to see some of the NBA’s most exciting young stars, including Jeremy Lin, James Harden, and Paul George. This move is a win for everybody involved, and should do wonders to grow the popularity of the NBA.