Paul George, Pacers ready to take Manila by storm

MANILA, Philippines – With the Indiana Pacers dragging title favorite Miami Heat to a Game Seven, the NBA Global Games Philippines preseason game is becoming more appealing to local fans.

The emergence of young stars Paul George and Roy Hibbert this season has buoyed up interest in the blue collar and gold swagger team from Indianapolis.

The Pacers emerging duo along with Houston Rockets’ own pair of young stars James Harden and Jeremy Lin will be the sure-fire fan-favorites when they come over to play in the first ever NBA preseason game to be held here.

“I think the Pacers were under the radar when the playoffs started. But the fact that they have four All Stars, Paul George being one of the most exciting young players we have today, and the way they are playing Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, they’re certainly getting some attention,” NBA country manager Carlo Singson told Philstar.com/ph.nba.com.

“By the time Paul George will arrive and leaves Manila, he’ll be a superstar,” Singson added.

With so much interest generated by the historic event, SM Mall of Asia Arena and NBA are making sure all bases will be covered especially the security for such high-profile athletes.

“In terms of security, we’re working closely with the NBA. It’s collaboration between SM and NBA,” said SM Mall of Asia business unit head Arnel Gonzales.  

Singson pointed out that it is harder to bring in a large group than an individual as in the case of their current practice of bringing in an NBA coach or legend to grace the league’s local events here.

“The security will be tight.  But it will be consistent with the NBA security standard in the other Global Games,” Singson said. “It will be a combination of both [SM MOA and NBA] since we have an in-house security group and they will coordinate and work together with the local security.”

But the tight security though will not hinder the fans from seeing the players and a few select to interact with them.

“The NBA people know how basketball-crazy Filipinos are. They are really excited coming over here,” Singson said.

The SM group, who negotiated for the rights to host the historic event in the country, is as excited and is looking forward to giving the visitors a taste of Filipino hospitality in its hope of making this not just a one-and-done deal.

“For Mall of Asia Arena, it’s our pride and joy that we are hosting this one,” Gonzales said. “But basically, we’re looking at the bigger picture because at the end of the day, it’s the first time that the Philippines will be put on the NBA map with a sanctioned NBA game.”

More information can be found at NBA.com, www.mallofasia-arena.com, and via social media on Facebook.com/philsnba and on Twitter https://twitter.com/NBA_Philippines@NBA_Philippines. Enquiries can also be directed to the SM Customer Care Hotline at +63 2 470-2222.

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