New commish aware of Manila’s passion

MANILA, Philippines - NBA commissioner David Stern’s successor Adam Silver was in Manila in 1997 with now NBA International president Heidi Ueberroth and broadcaster Ahmad Rashad and knows how passionate Filipinos are about the game. Silver’s awareness of the growing Philippine market is expected to cement even more the relationship between the NBA and the only Asian country where basketball is the No. 1 sport.

NBA vice president of production Andy Thompson, a PBA import with Tanduay in 1986, said bringing two teams to play a game in Manila was a long time coming. Last week, the NBA made a breakthrough in league history by staging the first-ever game between two franchises at the Mall of Asia Arena with the Houston Rockets playing the Indiana Pacers. Thompson said the success of the sold-out event almost guarantees a yearly NBA game in the Philippines. He noted the world-class features of the Mall of Asia Arena, grading the facility as comparable to any NBA stadium.

Silver takes over from Stern in February. Ueberroth, who has masterminded the NBA’s global expansion, leaves the league at the end of the year and is likely to be retained as a consultant. Rashad, a former football star, continues to appear on TV for the NBA. They were in Manila when Vintage Sports, headed by Carlos (Bobong) Velez, still held the league’s TV rights in the country.

“Ahmad and Adam came back and told us what we already knew which is, this is one heck of a market,” said Stern during a press conference in Manila before the Houston-Indiana game. “I would say that the Philippines is just about our most successful market and it’s got very important plans for growth as well. The Philippines has a population of 100 million or so, they’re a very important part of our Southeast Asian strategy. It’s going to be an important pole in our Southeast Asian tent. The Philippines is the most intense and robust and knowledgeable basketball market (that) I was going to say outside of the US but it may lead the world.”

Stern said playing a regular season game in Manila may not be viable but opened the possibility of an All-Star Game to be held overseas even if there are logistical concerns. Since he’s stepping down as commissioner in February, Stern said future plans will be decided by Silver. “I’m going to leave an envelope that says, ‘go to Manila’ and I hope he’ll open it,” said Stern.

The Houston-Indiana game was part of the preseason schedule and Stern said mounting a regular season contest in Manila may be difficult. “I wouldn’t be that hopeful because regular season games are hard,” he said. “There are different competitive situations. I like the use of the word friendly as I see football teams all around the world playing friendlies and I think the friendlies work fine for us. But it’s fully my expectation that we’ll be back in Manila.”

As for the All-Star Game to be staged outside the US, Stern said it’s an interesting proposition. “It would require a completely different configuration because right now, we have (the) All-Star (Weekend) where we have teams playing, albeit near the All-Star city on a Thursday night and then they go to All-Star and they resume on Tuesday,” he said. “If we were to play internationally, that would require a different configuration even of All-Star and you know, maybe that’s a good idea. Maybe, we get set in our ways and we’re not looking at broader possibilities. That may be why it’s a good idea to have a change-over in leadership as well because I think there are other opportunities that my successor will have the ability to consider. I think that international is an enormous opportunity that we have just put the structural pieces together for and the growth is going to zoom in the future.”

Stern said the league isn’t closing the door to more foreign investors and welcomed the eventuality of a Filipino owning a piece of a franchise. “I’m always selling and we’re always shopping and we’re always looking for investors who are interested in the NBA,” he said. “I fully expect that international entrepreneurs of high net worth are increasingly going to be potential investors in NBA teams. It’s begun but I think it’s going to intensify as these assets become more valuable and more visible.”

Indonesian media mogul Erick Thohir became the first Asian to invest in an NBA franchise when he joined a consortium that included actor Will Smith and former sports agent Jason Levien to own the Philadelphia 76ers two years ago. Thohir was recently rumored to be selling his stake in the 76ers to acquire majority interest in the Italian football club Inter Milan.