Report: Rockets, Pacers to play first ever NBA preseason game in Philippines
Mar 4, 2013, 2:55 PM EDT
David Stern himself put it this way All-Star weekend: “…we’re going to be doing lots of exhibition traveling, I have no doubt, this coming preseason.”
How about to the Philippines?
There is a report out of interaksyon.com that the SM Mall of Asia Arena will host the first ever NBA preseason game in the basketball-crazy nation.
InterAKTV has learned that the Houston Rockets and the Indiana Pacers are set to do battle at the venue on October 10.
A new conference has been scheduled on Tuesday to announce the details of the game…
“Hans Sy was invited by Commissioner Stern during the All-Star Game, and Hans told the Commissioner that he has an arena that is suitable for hosting one of the NBA games,” said Junel Baculi, the athletic director of National University which is part of the SM Group.
Go to the official SM Mall of Asia Arena web site and it has an NBA logo with the words “BIG things are coming” but nothing more.
None of this has been officially confirmed by the league. Yet. The Arena opened last year in Pasay, Philippines, which is in the Manilla metropolitan area. The building can host around 16,000 for a basketball game. It also hosts concerts and the like, if you want to see Journey apparently tickets are on sale now.
This seams fitting — Kobe Bryant and Derrick Rose headlined an exhibition game in the Philippines during the lockout that drew huge crowds and interest. While the NBA plugs along trying to get its brand as a foothold in India, in China and the Philippines it has a ready-made large audience to tap.
Bringing the Rockets would bring Jeremy Lin and his international fame, not to mention James Harden’s beard.
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Preview: Did Grizzlies figure out Spurs or will Game 3 be more of the same?
May 25, 2013, 2:01 PM EDT
Reuters
There have been seven quarters — 80 minutes — of the Western Conference Finals where the Spurs have looked much the better team. But the last 17 minutes — the fourth quarter and overtime, Memphis erased a 16-point deficit, pushed the game into overtime and made this start to look like the close series we…
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Kevin Durant gets Nike to join him in donating over $1 million to help with Oklahoma tornado relief
May 25, 2013, 12:30 PM EDT
Kevin Durant has a reputation of being not only one of the best basketball players in the game, but also as one of the most genuine human beings to be associated with the league today. And he keeps doing things to solidify that image. After a devastating tornado ripped through parts of Oklahoma, Durant personally…
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George Hill says only God is scarier to face than LeBron James
May 25, 2013, 11:00 AM EDT
After the Pacers took Game 2 from the Heat by defending well enough to get LeBron James to turn the ball over on consecutive possessions with the game on the line, Gorge Hill was asked if there was any player in the world more dangerous with the ball in that situation. “Yeah, it’s only like…
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Raptors closing in on hiring Masai Ujiri away from Nuggets to head up basketball operations
May 25, 2013, 9:30 AM EDT
Getty Images
The momentum is building in the talks between current Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri and the Raptors, and the two sides are in negotiations to move forward with an agrement to bring the reigning Executive of the Year to Toronto. After a meeting that took place in Colorado on Friday, things seem to be progressing at…
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LeBron James commits two costly turnovers in final minute of Game 2 loss to Pacers
May 25, 2013, 8:00 AM EDT
LeBron James won Game 1 against the Pacers in the final moments, with two drives to the basket for scores in the final 10 seconds of overtime. To say he lost Game 2 in a similar manner would be overstating things a bit, but James did commit two turnovers on consecutive possessions with under a…
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Reuters
Coming into this series, the Miami Heat gave the proper lip service to respecting the Indiana Pacers, but did they really respect them? The Heat had gone 45-3 since Feb. 3, you had to wonder if the Pacers really had their attention They do now. The question going into this series wasn’t if the Pacers…
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Pacers get big games from Roy Hibbert and Paul George, take Game 2 from Heat to even the series
May 25, 2013, 12:45 AM EDT
Getty Images
After the way Game 1 between the Heat and the Pacers went down, Game 2 could have gone one of two ways. Either Miami could have received the wake-up call delivered by Indiana and then come out with a dominant and inspired performance, or the Pacers could continue to make life difficult for the defending…
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LeBron James-Paul George matchup reaches awesome levels in Game 2
May 25, 2013, 12:06 AM EDT
Getty Images
As the final seconds of the third quarter wound down, Paul George dribbled at the top and sized up LeBron James, arguably the NBA’s best wing defender. Without the benefit of LeBron overplaying him or the absence of a rim protector, George drove left past LeBron and ferociously dunked over Chris Andersen as a foul…
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Paul George dunks, LeBron answers with three in wild end to third quarter (VIDEO)
May 24, 2013, 11:11 PM EDT
Getty Images
This series is so much fun. Paul George just absolutely crushed the Birdman Chris Andersen with a dunk. Just crushed him. LeBron James comes back down and drains a three. Then a little hand slap at midcourt. Respect. These are two teams standing toe-to-two trading blows, and most teams wither when they do that with…
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Pacers hit with back-to-back technicals. Because Scott Foster, that’s why.
May 24, 2013, 9:45 PM EDT
Getty Images
There is no way that should have been a technical. It’s the playoffs, we want emotion, we want a little feisty play… and frankly that wasn’t that feisty. There are Tuesday night games in Minnesota in January that were more emotional than that play. But Scott Foster has the fastest trigger in the NBA for…
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Here is our regular look around the NBA — links to stories worth reading and notes to check out (stuff that did not get its own post here at PBT) — done in bullet point form. Because bloggers love bullet points like Jon Stewart loves Fox News gaffes… • Conan O’Brien gives us (fake, obviously)…
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AP
First Jim Boeheim has Carmelo Anthony’s back, now it’s time for another coach to get a former star’s back. Kentucky coach John Calipari was on the Adam “the Bull” & Dustin Fox show on 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland, and when asked about Derrick Rose and his injury — and the heat he took in…
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Getty Images
In Hollywood, they call that chewing up the scenery. Memphis guard Tony Allen has been fined $5,000 by the league for his overacting — technically violating the league’s anti-flopping policy — on that play. Make no mistake, Manu Ginobili fouled Allen hard on this crucial late-game play — the Grizzlies were down four with :26…
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Ian Mahinmi’s hard Game 1 foul on LeBron upgraded to a flagrant one (VIDEO)
May 24, 2013, 3:29 PM EDT
Early in the fourth quarter of the Heat’s Game 1 win over the Pacers, Ian Mahinmi grabbed LeBron James by the arm as he went up for the shot, causing James to fall a bit awkwardly as he crashed to the floor. It was ruled as a common foul at the time, but has since…
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Report: Clippers to consider Alvin Gentry for head coaching job
May 24, 2013, 2:42 PM EDT
The Clippers’ head coaching job is undoubtedly the most intriguing out of all of the ones that are currently open for next season. Assuming Chris Paul re-signs with the team in free agency, L.A. will return the core of a team that was talented enough to win 56 regular season games and two in the…
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Getty Images
To answer your first question, that is Todd MacCulloch getting dunked on. He played for the Nets in 2002. That was one of those years when the real NBA finals was the Lakers vs. Kings in the Western Conference Finals — whichever team got through that war was going to steamroll New Jersey. Which is…
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AP
George Hill had a rough Game 1 for the Pacers — 2-of-9 shooting for five points with three turnovers. Plus, he sprained his big toe. I’m serious, he’s getting treatment and everything. The news comes from the twitter account of Mark Montieth of Pacers.com. George Hill has sprained left big toe, from Game 1. Had…
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Andris Biedrins to exercise player option, return to Warriors next season
May 24, 2013, 1:22 PM EDT
When a player averages less than one point and three rebounds per game over the course of a season, while possessing the option to come back for another year with the same team at a salary of $9 million, it doesn’t take a degree in advanced economics to figure out what the chosen course of…
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Quote of the Day: Roy Hibbert happy to put his ‘nuts in line of fire’
May 24, 2013, 1:19 PM EDT
Hibbert on if Battier does it again, "I have no problem putting my nuts in line of fire. …They pay me all this money, I got to be there."— Stefan Bondy (@NYDNInterNets) May 24, 2013 Sometimes, we forget how much playing in the NBA is like any regular job. You show up. You get kneed…
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Reuters
In their Thursday press availabilities, the tones between the Heat and Pacers were different. Indiana may have lost Game 1 but there was an optimistic “we can beat these guys” vibe around the team. Miami may be up 1-0 but there was more of a “that was not us, we can play a lot better”…
