First NBA Cafe in Asia to open in the Philippines
May 6, 2013 by .:. · Leave a Comment
Scheduled to open in September 2013, the NBA Café will feature a unique dining and entertainment experience that captures the excitement of the league through memorabilia displays, NBA highlights and programming, an NBA retail area, and will host viewing parties and appearances by NBA talent.
At the NBA Café, fans will enjoy quintessentially American bar and grille favourites and a selection of Asian-Filipino classics, giving it a local twist. It is the first sports bar and restaurant in Manila catering specifically to basketball fanatics and enthusiasts, in a nation where 40 million people play or have played the game.
This is the second league-owned restaurant set to open outside the U.S.; an NBA Café also is planned for Madrid in 2013. NBA City, the league’s first themed restaurant, opened in 1999 at the Universal Studios Resort in Orlando.
“Basketball fans in the country now have a place dedicated and designed specifically for them,” said Nian Rigor, Assistant Vice President, Hoopla Inc. “NBA Café will provide them a taste of the authentic NBA experience that they can share with family and friends, complete with great food, custom-made NBA Café Manila merchandise and the finest in basketball entertainment. This stays in line with our goal to bring new experiences and concepts to Filipinos.”
“The NBA Café will be a unique destination that will bring NBA basketball closer to our fans in the Philippines,” said Carlo Singson, NBA Country Manager, Philippines. “Given their vast knowledge in the food and entertainment industry, Hoopla is an ideal partner to bring the NBA Café to life and to provide fans another authentic NBA experience.”
NBA Legend Muggsy Bogues, who was in Manila for the finale of the four-month long Jr. NBA programme, made a special stop at the site, conducting a hard hat inspection with NBA executives to monitor the progress of the NBA Café.
“This is my first time in the Philippines and I’m overwhelmed by the passion the people have for basketball here,” said NBA Legend Muggsy Bogues, who at 5-3 is the shortest player ever to play in the NBA. “More than a restaurant, the NBA Café will be a destination where fans here can watch games in an entertaining atmosphere that captures the history and excitement of the NBA.”
The NBA recently announced a comprehensive global games schedule that will include a total of eight games in six countries this October, including the first ever pre-season game in the Philippines. In addition, each year the NBA conducts local events in the Philippines, including the Jr. NBA youth development programme, which has reached more than 60,000 students, parents and coaches over the past five years, and NBA 3X, the league’s global basketball competition and lifestyle event which will be conducted in 14 countries outside the US this summer.
Non-lottery NBA Draft Selection for 2013 Finalized
April 25, 2013 by John Paul Manahan · Leave a Comment
where teams finished with identical records.In the postseason, the NBA uses these to determine seeding:
Two-Team Tiebreaker:
- Division winner (this criterion is applied regardless of whether the tied teams
are in the same division)
This applies to the Clippers and the Grizzlies, both of which finished with a 56-26
record. The Clippers secured the fourth seed, thanks to their Pacific division
title, which guarantees a top-four seeding. Had the Clippers owned a worse record,
they will maintain the top seed, but lose home court advantage.
- Better record in head-to-head games
- Higher winning percentage within division (if teams are in the same division)
- Higher winning percentage in conference games
This applies to the Lakers and Rockets, both of which finished with a 45-37 record,
but Los Angeles earned a 28-24 conference record, compared to Houston’s 24-28
record. The Lakers and Rockets had split their season series, 2-2. Chicago also owns
a 45-37 record, but they are in a different conference, so this does not apply to
them at all.
- Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in own conference (including
tied teams) - Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in opposite conference
(including tied teams)
However, when it comes to the NBA Draft (to be held on June 27), it is a little
different, as ties are broken via random drawing. On Friday, NBA Executive VP,
Strategy and CFO Jason Cahilly and NBA Senior VP and Deputy General Counsel Dan Rube
handled the drawing, Denise Pelli from the accounting firm Ernst & Young
overseeing the process.
Winning a tie-breaker when it comes to the draft means you have a better drafting
position. For a lottery team, that equates to getting more lottery balls for a
chance to snag the top overall selection, which will be determined on May 21.
The random drawings took place four times and the results are as follows:
1. For the right to have the 7th-best chance at a top-3 overall pick (36 balls
compared to 35 for the 8th-best), Detroit bested out Washington.
2. For the right to have the 11th-best chance at a top-3 overall pick (8 balls
compared to 7 for the 12th-best), Philadelphia bested out Toronto.
3. For the right to pick 18th, Houston bested out the Los Angeles Lakers and
Chicago, with the Lakers earning the right to pick 19th over the Bulls, who will
pick 20th.
4. For the right to pick 25th, the Los Angeles Clippers bested Memphis, who will
pick 26th.
The complete order of selection now goes like this:
2013 FIRST ROUND DRAFT
CHOICE ORDER
be held on May 21, 2013, are as
follows (note: the first three picks in the Draft will be determined by the
lottery and the remainder of the “lottery teams” will select in positions 4
through 14 in
inverse order of their consolidated standings at the end of the regular
season):
TEAM
RECORD PCT.
LOTTERY CHANCES
(out of
1,000)
20-62 0.244
250
21-61 0.256
199
24-58 0.293
156
25-57 0.305
119
Orleans
27-55 0.329
88
28-54 0.341
63
29-53 0.354
36
29-53 0.354
35
31-51 0.378
17
34-48 0.415
8
41-41 0.500
6
43-39 0.524
5
first round picks is as follows:
38-44 0.463
41-40 0.506
44-38 0.537
45-37 0.549
45-37 0.549
45-37 0.549
47-35 0.573
49-33 0.598
49-32 0.605
54-28 0.659
56-26 0.683
56-26 0.683
57-25 0.695
58-24 0.707
60-22 0.732
Cleveland) 66-16
0.805
2013 SECOND ROUND
DRAFT CHOICE ORDER
Orlando (To Cleveland)
Charlotte (To Oklahoma
City)
Cleveland
Phoenix
(To Houston)
New
Orleans (To Philadelphia)
Sacramento
Minnesota
(To Portland via Boston and Cleveland)
Portland
(To Memphis)
Milwaukee
Dallas[3]
Boston
(To Portland)
Utah
Atlanta
LA
Lakers[4]
Chicago
Houston
(To Atlanta)
Golden
State (To Orlando via Denver and New York)
Brooklyn
(To Minnesota)
Indiana
New York (To Washington)
Memphis
LA
Clippers (To Detroit)
Denver (To Phoenix via LA Lakers)
San Antonio
Oklahoma City (To Minnesota)
Miami (To
Memphis)
teams that finished the regular season with identical records will select in
the second round in the reverse of the order in which they select in the first
round, provided, that if more than two teams are
tied, then, as among the tied teams, each tied team will select one position
earlier than it selected in the first round, except that the tied team that
selected earliest in the first round shall, among the tied teams, select latest
in the second round. With respect
to the ties between Detroit and Washington (29 and 53; 0.354 pct.); and
Philadelphia and Toronto (34 and 48; 0.415 pct.): since the order of selection in the first
round for this set of teams may change based on the results of the Draft
Lottery, the order of selection in the second round cannot be determined until after
the Draft Lottery is conducted (on May 21, 2013).
Jr. NBA All Stars Alumni to play at National Training Camp
April 18, 2013 by .:. · Leave a Comment
DAGUPAN CITY, Apr. 18 — Basketball fans will be treated to a rare extravaganza starring the acknowledged next generation of outstanding Pinoy basketball players in the National Training Camp of the Jr. National Basketball Association (NBA) Philippines 2013 on April 28.
The most promising young stars of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and provincial school leagues will pit their talents against each other in an exhibition game featuring Jr. NBA All Stars alumni from 2007 to 2012 who are now suited up for the various collegiate leagues nationwide.
Jr. NBA All Stars alumni bannered by the University of Sto. Tomas, University of the Philippines, University of the East, National University, De La Salle, Ateneo, San Sebastian, Jose Rizal and Ateneo de Cebu will see action in the noontime game.
NBA Legend Muggsy Bogues, who will arrive in Manila to join the Jr. NBA coaching staff at the National Training Camp will coach Team Muggsy while PBA Legend Jojo Lastimosa will coach Team Jolas. A players’ draft will be held on April 13 to determine the composition of each team.
“Everybody’s so excited because it is a first for the Jr. NBA. The program has grown and evolved through the years and this new event will show why these young players were chosen as the best of their respective batches, and why they are today’s most promising varsity players in school leagues all over the country,” said Carlo Singson, NBA Asia Country Manager-Philippines.
On the same day, new Jr. NBA All Stars will be selected from a pool of 50 participants aged 10 to 14 years old who stood out in the Regional Selection Camps held in the cities of Dagupan, Davao, Lucena, National Capital Region and the Alaska Power Camp.
The National Training Camp is the third and highlight phase of Jr. NBA Philippines 2013 presented by Alaska. The new batch of Jr. NBA All Stars – like the Jr. NBA All Stars Alumni – will be rewarded with an authentic NBA experience abroad plus the chance to play against a counterpart Jr. NBA team there. (JCR/VHS-PIA1 Pangasinan/Jr. NBA)
Kobe Bryant “Torn” FB Venting
April 13, 2013 by .:. · Leave a Comment
This is such BS! All the training and sacrifice just flew out the window with one step that I’ve done millions of times! The frustration is unbearable. The anger is rage. Why the hell did this happen ?!? Makes no damn sense. Now I’m supposed to come back from this and be the same player Or better at 35?!? How in the world am I supposed to do that??
I have NO CLUE. Do I have the consistent will to overcome this thing? Maybe I should break out the rocking chair and reminisce on the career that
was. Maybe this is how my book
ends. Maybe Father Time has defeated me…Then again maybe not! It’s 3:30am, my foot feels like dead weight, my head is spinning from the pain meds and I’m wide awake. Forgive my Venting but what’s the purpose of social media if I won’t bring it to you Real No Image?? Feels good to vent, let it out. To feel as if THIS is the WORST thing EVER! Because After ALL the venting, a real perspective sets in. There are far greater issues/challenges in the world then a torn achilles. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, find the silver lining and get to work with the same belief, same drive and same conviction as ever.
One day, the beginning of a new career journey will commence. Today is NOT that day.
“If you see me in a fight with a bear, prey for the bear”. Ive always loved that quote. Thats “mamba mentality” we don’t quit, we don’t cower, we don’t run. We endure and conquer.
I know it’s a long post but I’m Facebook Venting LOL. Maybe now I can actually get some sleep and be excited for surgery tomorrow. First step of a new challenge.
Guess I will be Coach Vino the rest of this season. I have faith in my teammates. They will come thru.
Thank you for all your prayers and support. Much Love Always.
Mamba Out
From here.
NBA and KFC announce multi-year marketing partnership expansion
April 8, 2013 by .:. · Leave a Comment
MANILA – The National Basketball Association (NBA) and KFC Philippines today announced the expansion of their multi-year marketing partnership, which began in 2008. As the Official Quick Service Restaurant of the NBA in the Philippines, KFC will continue its commitment to develop basketball and connect with the NBA’s passionate fan base in the Philippines.
To tip off the renewal, KFC will launch the “In the Bucket” Facebook contest inviting fans to share the things they love about the NBA and KFC. The grand prize will be a trip for two to the US to experience the entertainment and excitement of an NBA Finals game.
Additionally, KFC will continue to be integrated into different NBA media properties and events in the country, including NBA.com/Philippines, Jr. NBA presented by Alaska—the league’s youth basketball development programme—and other NBA events such as NBA 3X. KFC will also conduct NBA-themed in-store promotions, giving local fans a chance to win exciting prizes in more than 200 KFC locations across the country.
“Many of our loyal customers are great basketball fans and we are extremely excited to be renewing our long-standing partnership with the NBA,” said KFC marketing director Natalie Perez. “Not only do we get a chance to show how much we appreciate our fans’ continued patronage, it’s also a way for us to celebrate Filipinos’ love of the game.”
“KFC has been a great partner over the course of our relationship and has helped bring the excitement of the NBA to Filipino fans,” said Carlo Singson, NBA country manager, Philippines. “By expanding our relationship, KFC will help bring more events and authentic NBA experience to the Philippines over the next several years.”
Five young Dabawenyos off to Manila for Jr. NBA national training camp
April 4, 2013 by .:. · Leave a Comment
Five Dabawenyo kids will join five other young promising southern cagers for the Jr. NBA national training camp in Manila this April 26-28.
Paolo Coquilla, Wynch Hart Montemayor, Mahloney Tarranza, Cornelio Reta and John Cañete will join, Jan Gabriel Sobrevega and Jose Antiporda from Bacolod City, John Lloyd Bernales and Lorenz Viajar from Bukidnon and Anthony Sistoza from General Santos as representatives of the Mindanao region.
The kids ages 10-14 were among the shortlisted participants during the regional selection camp held last April 1 and 2 at the new University of Southeastern Philippines gymnasium in Davao City. A total of 499 kids participated in the basketball selection camp.
The finalists were chosen by the Jr. NBA evaluation committee headed by Jr. NBA head coach Sefu Bernard, who is the Senior Director of Basketball Operations of NBA Asia and PBA Legend Jojo Lastimosa of the Alaska Power Camp.
The kids strutted their all-around basketball skills to impress the evaluators; another factor in the selection was how they exhibited the Jr. National Basketball Association’s core S.T.A.R. values of Sportsmanship, Teamwork, (a positive) Attitude and Respect.
“This was a very competitive group that made the job of the coaching staff to make a decision very difficult. It’s great to see such a fantastic turnout and such a deep pool of future Pinoy basketball players to come,” said Coach Sefu Bernard who once served as the manager of players program at the Toronto Raptors in the NBA.
In Manila all the best players from each region will pit skills and the ways in which they express the STAR values during the three-day boot camp. The ten best performers selected in the National Training Camp will be this year’s Jr. NBA Philippines All Star Team.
Mugsy Bogues, who is known as the shortest guy to ever play in the NBA will be in Manila to join the Jr. NBA coaching staff.
The Jr. NBA all-star team will also be rewarded with a trip abroad for an authentic NBA experience and the chance to play with a counterpart Jr. NBA team abroad.
Brought to the Philippines in 2007, the Jr. NBA is a series of basketball clinics and camps for young ballers. By 2012 the program reached more than 500 schools and 60,000 students, parents, and coaches across the country.
The program is presented by Alaska Powered Milk Drink which is linking it through its Alaska Power Camp sports program, one of the partners in the six-year old basketball activity is Davao-based fuel company Phoenix Petroleum. (PIA/RG Alama)
JR. NBA reigniting kids interest in basketball
February 9, 2013 by .:. · Leave a Comment
DAVAO CITY, Feb. 8 (PIA) — Zane Garfin plays soccer. Brylle Juris Carillo plays tennis. James Paolo Ancheta on the other hand, used to be a Taekwondo champion. These kids and a hundred others more are into various sports but they gathered at the Ateneo de Davao Grade School Gym on February 3, 2013 to participate in the Jr. NBA Philippines Basketball Camp, a basketball program spearheaded by Alaska and brought to Davao City by Phoenix Petroleum.
“Davao breaks history by gathering the most number of participants at 485 in the morning session and almost 500 in the afternoon session or a total of 985 players,” the Jr. NBA Secretariat said.
This is the sixth consecutive year for the Jr. NBA Program in the Philippines but this year, it was made more extensive as it went from Manila to Davao City, Lucena City and Dagupan City, reaching more than 400 schools all over the country.
“The largest group we had so far was in Dagupan last week with 416 students in a single session but this was bested by Davao with 480,” the Secretariat said.
What made the Jr. NBA more exciting was the presence of Jojo Lastimosa and of course, Coach Sefu Bernard who is NBA Asia’s Director of Basketball Operations.
“For today we are training players between the ages of 10 and 14 who will have the chance to join the Regional Camp on March 9 and 10,” Lastimosa said while shifting between moderating the basketball coaches and the players and accommodating fans who wanted to have their photos taken with him.
Lastimosa was happy with the enthusiasm showed by the young players in basketball whcih goes to show that “basketball is still a favorite among the Filipinos no matter what age you may be.”
“This court is going to be out playground for the next two hours,” Sefu Bernard told the players while encouraging them to stretch their limits both physically and mentally.
Bernard trained basketball coaches the day before the Basketball Camp and these same coaches were the ones who helped him in training the players for the day.
While he taught the players various basketball moves including ways to handle the ball and retaining their balance, there was one thing that Bernard showed the players—discipline.
“I am no longer surprised that Davao has turned out so many aspiring basketball players—these kids are very enthusiastic about learning,” Lastimosa said. He added that the most promising players will be invited to join the mini-camp the next day where more advanced basketball drills will be made.
Lastimosa said they will get up to ten representatives from each of the areas where the Camps were held, 25 from Greater Manila, with a total of up to 40 players who will get the chance to join the Jr. NBA National Training Camp in Manila.
While not all of the almost 1,000 children who joined last week’s Jr. NBA Basketball Camp will get the chance to join the more rigid and advanced training in Manila, all of them will however carry the pride of being given the opportunity to be trained by Bernard and Lastimosa, and of joining one of the most prestigious basketball camps in the country.
Their parents will also agree that encouraging their children to indulge in sports like basketball will not only keep them physically fit, but mentally and socially smart as well.(lovely a. carillo)
Jr. NBA Philippines returns for its 6th year
February 1, 2013 by John Paul Manahan · Leave a Comment
The sixth year of the Jr. NBA Philippines presented by Alaska tipped off at
the British School Manila at Taguig City on January 19. The program will
have coaching clinics and school clinics through the stops in Metro Manila,
as well as in Dagupan, Lucena and Davao City for this year’s edition,
reaching out to over 400 schools and communities nationwide, targeting over
40,000 students, parents and coaches in the process.
The Jr. NBA is the league’s international youth development program
promoting basketball participation, teamwork and an active lifestyle. For
the Philippines, it is free and open for players 10-14 years of age, with
the differing clinics leading towards the Regional Selection camps in March
and April, culminating with the fifty participants to National Training
Camp on April 26-28 at the SM Mall of Asia. Out of those fifty, the ten
best camp participants will comprise the Jr. NBA All-Star Team.
In addition, the ten finalists for the Coach of the Year will assist in the
National Training Camp alongside NBA Asia Director of Basketball Operations
Sefu Bernard, members of the Alaska Power Camp’s coaches, led by PBA legend
Jojo Lastimosa.
The past few years of the program has seen it partner with Alaska Milk
Corporation (AMC). AMC President and CEO Wilfred Steven Uytengsu, Jr. notes
Alaska’s mission of nurturing talent and promoting a healthy lifestyle
through sports from an early age coincides with the objectives being put
forth the by Jr. NBA program. This is echoed by NBA Philippines’ Country
Manager Carlo Singson, as he cited Alaska’s central role in the growth of
the Jr. NBA program in the committed development of the sport of basketball
and those playing it in the Philippines.
Joining Alaska as partners with the Jr. NBA are Gatorade, Unilever brands
Rexona and Master, Phoenix Petroleum, with supporting partners KFC and
Spalding, media partners Basketball TV, NBA Premium TV and Studio 23. It
also has the support of the Basketball Coaches Association of the
Philippines (BCAP).
For more details, you can to the Jr. NBA website or check out the dedicated “like” page on
Facebook.
On Avery Johnson
December 28, 2012 by John Paul Manahan · Leave a Comment
You probably know by now that the Brooklyn Nets gave Avery Johnson the pink slip.
The Nets started out scorching, going 11-4 to kick off the season. In fact, Avery won the Coach of the Month for October-November . And then, the bottom gave out, with 3 wins in December (you will probably remember one of those wins very much, thanks to Ian Eagle and Seinfeld).
Someone in my Twitter timeline went out there and used the context on Russian ownership and expectations.
We know about Mikhail Prokhorov’s 5-Year Plan (and the other 5-Year Plan concurrent to that one). Seems like the pressure is on
already. The comparison to Premiership side Chelsea and its Russian owner comes to mind. It was only a fortnight that Roberto Di Matteo was hoisting the Champions League trophy, beating a world class FC Barcelona side to boot. But his struggles along the way this season, both in the Barclays and in Europe, cost him the plum gig.
If you look at Chelsea’s managerial history since Roman Abramovich’s took control of the franchise in 2003, they have had a lot of turnover, especially if you look at it post-Mourinho.
Now what? P.J Carlesimo is now temporarily taking the reigns. And then an interesting offseason in the horizon, where it is expected that Phil Jackson and the inevitable Larry Brown (Billy King is in charge, right)
hiring rumors will fester on.
The NBA D-League & YouTube Form Partnership
November 21, 2012 by John Paul Manahan · Leave a Comment
The NBA (for the NBA Development League) and Google (via YouTube) has formalized a one-year partnership on Tuesday that would, among other things, allow the NBA to stream over 350 D-League games live on YouTube. The partnership allows YouTube to stream freely D-League matches on the D-League YouTube channel <http://www.youtube.com/nbadleague> as well as a video player on NBA.com as well as from the 16 teams that comprise the league on their respective team sites. In doing so, amongst the four major American sports, it would have the most number of live games shown on the video-sharing website The season and coverage will begin on Friday, November 23, with the Maine Red Claws against the Canton Charge, the Erie BayHawks against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Tulsa 66ers against the Texas Legends and the Bakersfield Jam against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. The NBA has always been one of the most innovative with their forays with social media to promote itself. Their partnership with YouTube stretches back to 2005, when the league became the first professional sports league to unveil its own channel <http://youtube.com/nba>. With more than 960 million fan views of its videos, it is the most popular sports channel on the site. The YouTube coverage complements the other avenues that the D-League has in reaching out to its audience, from its television partners in NBA TV and CBS Sports Network, to its free mobile app, NBA D-League Center Court. NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver said that "The NBA’s latest initiative with YouTube marks another milestone in our partnership and a great way to tip off the 12th season of the NBA Development League. By turning to our longtime partner, YouTube, we are able to bring the NBA D-League to basketball fans around the world, further expanding the league’s growth and showcasing future NBA stars.” Scanning the opening day rosters of the 30 NBA franchises shows that 20% of all the players have had D-League experience. Google / YouTube Global Head of Sports Claude Ruibal adds, “As one of the world’s most popular sports with a broad roster of top prospects, the NBA D-League is a perfect fit for the YouTube platform. With our broad global delivery across all platforms and devices, providing live and catch up NBA D-League games and highlights will make this exciting content easily accessible to a whole new generation of basketball fans.” It is believed to be that this is YouTube's biggest sports broadcasting rights deal to date, although both sides did not disclose the actual figures.
