MALL of Asia general manager Arnel Gonzales said the country is expected to host its very first NBA regular season game sometime in late October or November as negotiations with NBA Entertainment continued.
The MOA official promised a “big announcement” on March 5 which will most likely touch on the specific date, the teams seeing action, and other important details on the historic match - the first in the country and one of the few held outside the US.
“All we can say is that the Filipinos will be happy with our announcement on March 5,” Gonzales told Spin.ph.
Gonzales declined to reveal further details except to say that Filipinos will have the treat of their lives watching world-class action from the best basketball players in the world.
“Definitely, we can’t bring the (ongoing 2012-2013) post-season game here but we will have a regular season game here ng 2013-2014,” Gonzales said.
"We’re not doing this for us (Mall of Asia management), but for all the basketball fans. This will be world-class basketball in the Philippines."
Several NBA players have seen action in the country over the years but no official NBA game, whether in the preseason or regular season, has been held here.
Only last year, former Chicago Bulls stars Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman led a team of retired NBA players in an exhibition game against the PBA legends at the state-of-the-art MOA Arena.
In 2011, NBA superstars led by the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant, Chicago Bulls' Derrick Rose, and Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant played in a pair of exhibition matches against the Smart Gilas team and a PBA selection at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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