Spurs Legend Bruce Bowen to Experience NBA Finals with Pinoy Fans
As a three-time National Basketball Association (NBA) champion, former San Antonio Spurs defensive specialist Bruce Bowen is no stranger to the atmosphere surrounding the NBA Finals. This time, however, his experience will be entirely new, as the NBA announced that Bowen will visit the Philippines to celebrate the NBA Finals with Filipino fans.
Aside from participating in NBA Cares community outreach efforts, Bowen–who was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team from 2004-2008 and Second Team from 2001-2003–will attend two NBA Finals viewing parties with fans.
“I look forward to visiting the Philippines to enjoy the NBA Finals alongside Filipino fans,” said Bowen. “I’ve heard so much about the Philippines and their basketball fandom, and I can’t wait to experience it for myself.”
Viewing parties for Games 1 and 2 of the 2018 NBA Finals are slated on June 1 and 4 at the Eastwood City Mall Activity Center and Buffalo Wild Wings in Glorietta 2. Bowen will attend both of these events hosted by NBA broadcast partner Solar.
Bowen will also appear on #NBAStreamSquad to preview the NBA Finals. Filipino fans can catch Bowen along with some local influencers live on June 3 at the Eastwood City Mall Activity Center. The show will also be streamed live on the NBA Philippines Facebook page.
On June 2, a basketball clinic will be held at the NBA-revitalized basketball court at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines College of Engineering. Bowen will help lead the program together with 40 boys and girls as part of NBA Cares.
Still Waiting for the Next NBA Exhibition/Preseason Game
The Philippines has always been a basketball-crazy country. There’s no better proof of that than the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), the first professional basketball league in Asia and also the second oldest in the world after the NBA. That being said, there’s no definitive answer as to when another NBA preseason game will be held here in the country.
The first-ever NBA preseason game in the Philippines happened on October 10, 2013 with the Rockets, starring James Harden and Dwight Howard, against the Indiana Pacers led by Paul George. The Rockets defeated the Pacers with a score of 116-96.
The Next Big NBA Market
Despite the uncertainty of a second NBA preseason game in the Philippines, the country remains one of the next big Asia-Pacific markets for the NBA along with Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, and Australia according to NBA Deputy Commissioner and COO Mark Tatum.
Aside from delivering NBA games and content to fans in Southeast Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific region, the league is also focusing on grassroots development with programs like Jr. NBA.
Tatum also told CNBC that the “NBA is working with local governments in Southeast Asia to run workshops in hopes of getting more kids, and more people playing the game of basketball.”
