The first NBA preseason game coming to Manila this October already hit a staggering record even before former LA Lakers big man Sam Perkins could drum it up.
Perkins headlined yesterday the “100 Day Countdown” event to the NBA Global Games featuring the Houston Rockets and the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 10 at Mall of Asia Arena, which sold a record P19 million worth of tickets on the first day of release.
“I’m thrilled to be here as part of the process that the NBA has worked on to make the game special here in the Philippines,” said Perkins, who reached the 1991 NBA Finals against the Chicago Bulls with Lakers star Magic Johnson as teammate.
“We did not do this when I was playing. The game has grown so much. It has been gravitating so much attention that we cannot not stop in places like the Philippines and Asia.”
NBA Asia country manager Carlo Singson said there will be more activities leading to the first NBA preseason game in Southeast Asia, including the NBA 3X Philippines bannered by Rockets star James Harden on July 26 to 28.
“There will be a lot of things for our fans to get involved leading up to the games,” Singson said in a press conference at MOA Arena.
“We will have mall events, fan events, online activities, chances to win tickets, meet-and-greets. Sam also won’t be the last legend who will come here before the games. We have maybe two more as we get closer to the games.”
Tickets, which started release on June 16, have been selling briskly even if it ranged from P550 to as high as P32,300.
“We set the record for the highest number of tickets sold in peso value with P19 million sold on Day 1,” said Nicole Deato, marketing and sponsorship head of MOA Arena and SM Tickets.
“Tickets are already 71 percent sold. The movement of tickets have been good for both the high-priced tickets and the not so high. The P550 tickets flew off the shelves in 15 minutes.”