Parker coming to town  

MANILA, Philippines — NBA legend Tony Parker is arriving in Manila with the ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne basketball team, tentatively on Aug. 28, to join the festivities celebrating the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and France.  Parker is ASVEL’s majority owner and became the club’s president in 2014. His brother TJ is ASVEL’s coach.

The plan is for ASVEL to play Gilas, the Manila-based EASL team Bay Area Dragons and Blackwater in a three-game exhibition series. ASVEL is the reigning French league champion. The team is led by 6-3 Elie Okobo, 6-8 William Howard, 7-3 naturalized player Youssoupha Fall, 6-3 import Marcos Knight, 6-2 import Chris Jones, 6-4 French national mainstay Antoine Diot and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s brother 6-10 Kostas. This past season, ASVEL won its third league title in a row.

Blackwater owner Dioceldo Sy, who is coordinating the exhibitions, said if the PBA Philippine Cup Finals extend to a Game 6, the first ASVEL game will be the preliminary in a doubleheader on Aug. 31. If there’s a Game 7, the second ASVEL game will be the preliminary on Sept. 2. The third ASVEL game will be on Sept. 4.

“If Blackwater makes it to the PBA Finals, then we’ll play ASVEL on Sept. 4 but if not, it will be on Aug. 31 then ASVEL plays the Dragons on Sept. 2 and Gilas on Sept. 4,” said Sy who is now in France. “At the moment, we’re confirming venues for ASVEL. If the Finals end before Aug. 31, we’ll be playing stand-alone games for the three exhibitions. We’re hoping the MOA Arena or Smart Araneta Coliseum or the Philippine Arena will be available. We know that concerts and shows are back in full swing so the demand for a venue is high.”

Sy said Parker will explore the possibility of putting up an extension of his academy in Manila when he comes.  In 2019, Parker established the Tony Parker Adequat Academy in Lyon for students “to pursue the practice of basketball or music after high school to study with adapted timetables and reduced classroom within a new campus.” The academy has links with academic institutions offering undergraduate degrees in business administration and aerospace/mechanical engineering. It arranges employment for each graduate.