NBA exec is Pinoy

There’s a Filipino executive working in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and he’s the Marketing Manager of Southeast Asia for its Hong Kong-based Asia office.

Carlo Singson, 29, joined the NBA in 1997 and is responsible for managing activities for all NBA businesses, including consumer products, television, sponsorships, and promotions, events, basketball programs, and public relations in the Philippines and other countries in Southeast Asia.

Because he’s Filipino, Singson knows how big basketball is here. That’s why he’s excited about the prospects of spreading the NBA gospel throughout the archipelago. He’s in town this week to explore possibilities of business tie-ups. One of Singson’s plans is to contract a local facility to print the NBA publications "Hoop" and "Inside Stuff" for distribution in the domestic market. Another is to lock up sponsorship arrangements with companies involved in banking, telecommunications, cars, tires, shavers, food products, paints, and the like in co-promoting the NBA.

Singson has a lot of ideas on how to make a business partnership mutually beneficial. Expect a long queue of takers – especially since the NBA has much to offer in terms of merchandising, resources, and global media mileage.

Bringing the NBA closer to the market is Singson’s approach to grasp and hold the Filipino consumer’s attention. He’s got exhibits and mall tours in mind as events to spark more interest in the NBA. That’s certainly exciting news for hoops fans.

"Basketball has always had a rich history and tradition in the Philippines," says Singson who finished high school at La Salle Greenhills then took up psychology at Brown University in Rhode Island before graduating with a Master’s degree in business management from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School at Northwestern University in Illinois.

"It is, without a doubt, the most popular sport in the country. Ever since I was young, I have always been a big fan of basketball, both as a viewer and as a participant. I am very excited to be able to play a part in maintaining the growth of the sport in the Philippines. I consider myself lucky to be given the opportunity to combine my love for marketing with my passion for basketball.

"Filipinos are some of the most avid and knowledgeable fans of the sport and of the NBA. By integrating activities among the NBA’s television partners, marketing sponsors and consumer product licensees, I look forward to helping bring the excitement and the experience of the NBA closer to the Filipino people."

It was Singson who negotiated a deal for ProStar, a local company, to manufacture NBA apparel as an authorized licensee last year. I have found some of ProStar’s products – in particular, shorts and socks – to be superior in quality to the same merchandise sold at the NBA Store in New York.

Singson is the second of four children. His father Jimmy was a partner at SGV. His mother Evelyn was a former Executive Vice President of Security Bank and is Chairman of the state-of-the-art hospital soon to open in Alabang.

How Singson got his job in the NBA is a story in itself.

"I sent in a letter to an alumnus of my business school – I heard she was working for the NBA, only to later learn she had resigned," he relates. "Then, a friend told me to send my resume to her friend who worked in the NBA. So I did and got myself down to New York to meet this person. Our conversation went so well that I was granted an interview slot when the NBA came to recruit at my school. I interviewed with Mike Denzel, also a Kellogg grad, who was at that time the Director of Marketing in Europe. I was hired soon after and spent about nine months in New York. In April 1998, I relocated to Hong Kong where I am currently based. Coincidentally, the man who interviewed me for this job is now my boss – Mike is General Manager of NBA Asia."

Since joining the NBA, Singson has had several conversations with Commissioner David Stern.

"One of the most memorable was the first time I met him," continues Singson. "He welcomed me and four other colleagues to the organization. He then proceeded to ask us a question about a trade that had taken place that day between two National Hockey League teams. Naturally, the question caught us all off guard and we could not answer him. That was the first valuable lesson David taught us – to be aware of the events that happen not only to our own organization and sport but to our entire industry."

Before leaving for Hong Kong, Singson remembers talking to Stern.

"He told me how he loved the Philippines and the fervor and passion with which Filipino fans follow basketball," adds Singson. "According to him, Filipinos were among the biggest fans of the NBA in the world and I did not disagree. David then wished me good luck and invited me to give him a call anytime I wanted to speak to him about basketball or about anything that was going on in Asia."

As a fan, Singson roots for the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, and Golden State Warriors. His loyalty to the Bulls dates back to the Michael Jordan era while he’s always liked the Warriors especially during the TMC period of Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin. But the Celtics are his all-time favorites.

If you get a call from Singson one of these days, listen to what the man says. With luck, you might just become an NBA partner.

Postscript. Believe it or not, readers continue to send in letters commenting on the recent UAAP title game. Ramon Noel of Endo Laboratories wrote to congratulate La Salle and Ateneo for "an epic showdown" reminiscent of the Yco-Ysmael Steel, Crispa-Toyota, Ginebra-Shell, Alaska-San Miguel, Welcoat-Shark, and L.A.-Boston duels. He added: "Let us accept the fact that Divine Intervention through prayers made the 4-peat a reality. La Salle (was) anointed by our Divine Maker to become champions in 2001 just like Ateneo in 1958 and 1987" … Ana Maria Quintos-Syquia of [email protected] is wondering how Ateneo fans managed to invade a whole lower box section on the La Salle side during the game at the Big Dome … Lilian Vicente of [email protected] said she and her mother fondly remember Ricardo Brown. "Tell him we still care for him and we do pray that he will be fine always," she wrote … Rodel Reyes of Makati said the Los Angeles Lakers dynasty has begun. "No team in the East will be able to stop Shaquille O’Neal juggernaut and the on-court savvy of Kobe Bryant," he insisted. "Philadelphia may have Iverson but they won’t have the Answer for the Laker run. Milwaukee? They have to get past AI first."