NBA LEGEND CLYDE DREXLER HEADLINES NBA MADNESS PHILIPPINES

Orlando Magic and Portland Trail Blazers dance teams to visit schools

as part of first-ever NBA Madness Team Spirit School Tour 

NationalBasketball Association (NBA) Legend Clyde Drexler and the Orlando Magic and Portland Trail Blazers dance teams will take part in NBA Madness Philippines 2011, the NBA’s interactive basketball fan event. Jointly organized by the NBA and Solar Entertainment, NBA Madness Philippines 2011 will visit metro Manila from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2.

NBA Madness is a free fan event featuring basketball clinics and games, including the Clyde Drexler Challenge, in which fans can compete against the NBA legend for prizes.  Drexler will give fans a unique insider perspective as he provides live commentary at viewing parties showing some of the NBA’s greatest games.  The event will also feature dance team performances, Asia Miles dance clinics, autograph sessions, and a video game corner featuring the newest NBA video game, NBA 2K12.  Fans can take part in the excitement of NBA Madness Philippines 2011 on Oct. 1 at the SM Southmall and Oct. 2 at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall.

Official partners for NBA Madness Philippines 2011 include Asia Miles and Gatorade with media partners Basketball TV, Solar Sports, Studio 23 and NBA Premium TV also supporting the event. Venue partners are SM Mall of Asia, SM Southmall, SM City North Edsa, and SM Cinemas.

Drexler is a 10-time NBA All-Star and was voted in to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004.  He won an NBA championship with the Houston Rockets in 1995 and was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996.  Drexler was also a member of the storied ‘Dream Team’ that won an Olympic gold medal in 1992.

In addition to the mall events, the first-ever NBA Madness Team Spirit School Tour will bring two NBA dance teams to five schools in Manila to conduct free dance clinics for campus dance teams.  The dance teams will make school stops from Sept. 28 to Sept. 30 and will participate in the Search for the Team Spirit School Champion at the Team Spirit Festival at NBA Madness.

As part of NBA Cares, the NBA and the SM Foundation will also partner to conduct a Read To Achieve read and play session for 100 underprivileged kids from all over Metro Manila on Thursday, Sept. 29, at the Skydome at SM City North EDSA.

The NBA legend and dancers will also make a stop at the Finals of the Coors Light NBA Pop-A-Shot Tour 2011, which takes place on Sept. 29 at the Metrowalk in Pasig City.

About the NBA

The NBA, founded in 1946, is a professional sports league and global business that features 30 teams in the United States and Canada.  During the 2010-11 season, NBA games will reach 215 countries and territories in more than 40 languages.  Official NBA rosters currently feature 83 players from 40 countries and territories.  NBA merchandise is sold in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on six continents.  NBA.com averages more than 26 million page views per day, with more than 50 percent of the site’s visitors coming from outside of North America.  The NBA is the No. 1 U.S. sports league on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, with the most fans, followers, and videos viewed on each, respectively.

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Media contacts for the said event are Sheila Rasu of NBA Asia (Tel.: 852-2843 9628, Email: srasu@nba.com) and Tessa Jazmines (Tel.: 63-9175261369, Email: tessa@larcandasset.com) and Kalvin Sangalang (Tel.: 63-9228399548, Email: kalvin@larcandasset.com) of Larc and Asset.