Milwuakee Bucks's Michael Carter-Williams Headlines NBA 3X Philippines 2016 presented by Panasonic

The National Basketball Association (NBA) announced today that 2013-14 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams of the Milwaukee Bucks will headlineNBA 3X Philippines 2016 presented by Panasonic, which returns to Manila from Aug. 19-21 at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall.  Registration for NBA 3X Philippines 2016 begins July 29 at www.nba3x.com/philippines.

Returning for the sixth consecutive year, NBA 3X Philippines 2016 will include a 3-on-3 tournament featuring 200 men’s and women’s teams from all over the country, as well as performances by local artists and DJs.  The event will showcase authentic NBA entertainment and activities free for fans of all ages to experience throughout the weekend.  Carter-Williams will be present throughout the event to inspire the athletes and interact with fans.

“I’m excited to visit the Philippines and experience Filipino fans’ passion for basketball during the NBA 3X,” said Carter-Williams.  “Being a part of this event is a great opportunity to see the growth of the game internationally, and I look forward to working with these talented athletes.”

“We are proud to stage the sixth edition of NBA 3X in the Philippines, which continues to provide fans with a platform to interact with some of the league’s marquee talents,” said NBA Philippines Managing Director Carlo Singson.  “In collaboration with our new presenting partner Panasonic, NBA 3X will once again bring out the players’ competitive spirit and showcase the NBA experience to thousands of Filipino fans through a weekend of fun and entertainment.”

Carter-Williams, a 6’6” guard out of Syracuse University, was drafted 11^thoverall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2013 NBA Draft.  He was named the 2013-14 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year and was unanimously selected to the 2013-14 NBA All-Rookie First Team.  Carter-Williams joined the Bucks during the 2014-15 season, and averaged 11.5 points, 5.2 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game last season.

The competitive 3-on-3 tournament includes divisions for boys (under-13, under-16, under-18, and open category), girls (under-16 and open category) and an invitation only Celebrity Division featuring local personalities.

Registration for NBA 3X Philippines 2016 begins July 29 on a first-come first-serve basis at www.nba3x.com/philippines and runs until Aug. 14 or until all slots are full.  The Philippine International Convention Center will once again serve as a secondary venue to accommodate the teams.

The official partners of NBA 3X Philippines 2016 presented by Panasonic include CloudFone, Globe Telecom, Touch Mobile, and Sprite, with SM Mall of Asia and Spalding serving as Supporting Partners.  Official NBA broadcasters for the event are ABS-CBN Sports and Action, Basketball TV, and NBA Premium TV.

All participants in NBA 3X Philippines 2016 will receive an NBA 3X jersey.  Special prizes await the winners of each division.  Registration fees for the age divisions run at Php1,000 per team, while open divisions run at Php1,600 pesos per team.

For more information on NBA 3X Philippines 2016 and to register for the 3-on-3 tournament, log on to www.nba3x.com/philippines.  Fans can also get event updates by following the NBA on Twitter atwww.twitter.com/nba_philippines and through Facebook atwww.facebook.com/nba3xasia and www.facebook.com/philsnba.  For all things NBA, visit www.nba.com.

About the NBA

The NBA is a global sports and media business built around three professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, and the NBA Development League.  The league has established a major international presence with games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 49 languages, and NBA merchandise for sale in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on 6 continents.  NBA rosters at the start of the 2015-16 season featured 100 international players from 37 countries and territories.  NBA Digital’s assets include NBA.com and the NBA app, which achieved record traffic during the 2014-15 season, as well as NBA TV.  The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with more than one billion likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms.  Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes.

About Panasonic Manufacturing Philippines Corporation

Panasonic Manufacturing Philippines Corporation (PMPC), with factories located in Taytay, Rizal and in Sta. Rosa, Laguna is a manufacturer, importer, and distributor of electronic, electrical, mechanical, electro-mechanical appliances, other types of machines, parts and components and related products bearing the brand name, “Panasonic” in the Philippines. PMPC primarily manufactures refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, and electric fans.  The company has a wide base of sales, distribution, and service centers strategically located at key municipalities, cities, and provinces all over the Philippines.  PMPC posted a sales performance of 8.7 billion pesos for the year ended March 31, 2016.  For more information about the company, please visit PMPC’s website athttp://www.panasonic.com/ph.

2016 NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers Earn Top Honors for Team Merchandise Sales

Unprecedented demand for Cleveland Cavaliers merchandise following the team’s NBA Finals 2016 win helped land them atop the most popular team merchandise list for the first time since January 2015.  Reigning back-to-back Kia NBA MVP Stephen Curry once again tops the league’s list of most popular jerseys, a position he’s held since the end of the 2014-15 NBA season.  Rankings are based on overall sales on NBAStore.com from April through June.

Rounding out the top five players are three-time NBA Champion LeBron James (No. 2), five-time NBA Champion Kobe Bryant (No. 3), 2016 NBA Champion Kyrie Irving (No. 4) and 2015 NBA Champion Klay Thompson (No. 5).

The Cavaliers are followed by the Golden State Warriors at No. 2, Los Angeles Lakers at No. 3, Chicago Bulls at No. 4 and Oklahoma City Thunder at No. 5 on the team merchandise list.

Additional highlights:
·         The Warriors’ Andre Iguodala (No. 14) makes his debut on the jerseys list while teammate Draymond Green (No. 7) earns his highest ranking ever.

·         The San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan (No. 11) and Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard (No. 13) place for the first time since June 2015 and April 2015, respectively.


Top 15 Most Popular NBA Jerseys:                                
1.      Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
2.      LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
3.      Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers*
4.      Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
5.      Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
6.      Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
7.      Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
8.      Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
9.      Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
10.  Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls*
11.  Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
12.  Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
13.  Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
14.  Andre Iguodala, Golden State Warriors
15.  Kristaps Porzingis, New York Knicks



*Denotes players who retired or changed teams after the 2015-16 season.

Top 10 Most Popular Team Merchandise:
1.      Cleveland Cavaliers
2.      Golden State Warriors
3.      Los Angeles Lakers
4.      Chicago Bulls
5.      Oklahoma City Thunder
6.      San Antonio Spurs
7.      Miami Heat
8.      Toronto Raptors
9.      New York Knicks
10.   Boston Celtics

*This is Press Release

The First Basketball without Borders Camp in Australia will be hosted by NBA, FIBA AND NBL

The National Basketball Association (NBA), the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL) today announced that Basketball without Borders (BWB) Asia will be held June 23-26 at Dandenong Basketball Stadium in Melbourne, marking the first time that the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach program will be held in Australia.  BWB will celebrate its 15th anniversary this summer.

BWB Asia will bring together the top male players born in 1999 from around the Asia-Pacific region to learn directly from NBA and FIBA players, legends and coaches and to compete against the best young players from the region.  BWB Asia will also include a girls camp for the top female players in Victoria and a Jr. NBA camp for local youth.

“We are pleased to partner with FIBA and the NBL to bring the first Basketball without Borders camp to Australia,” said NBA Asia Managing Director Scott Levy.  “The league has seen a surge of Australian talent in recent years, and we look forward to supporting the next generation by giving them a platform to showcase their skills alongside their peers from throughout the region.”

“This historic, first-ever NBA and FIBA Basketball without Borders Asia Camp in Australia presents an incomparable opportunity for players from many countries throughout Asia and Oceania,” said Camp Director and President of the World Association of Basketball Coaches (WABC) Patrick Hunt.  “The players and coaches will work with the campers to enhance their skills, shape their character, and teach values that lead to success in life and our wonderful, global game.”

“Victorians love their basketball, and we’ve produced some of the world’s great stars,” said Victorian Government for Sport, Tourism and Major Events John Eren MP.  “Australian NBA and national team players made their names in our local associations, and this is another great chance to uncover another star of the game.  But it’s not just about identifying talent.  Basketball without Borders is a great chance to teach our kids important values and lessons that will stay with them for life.”

“This camp will showcase the best young basketball talent Australasia has to offer in front of some of the world’s best players and coaches from the NBA, and FIBA, along with a very impressive selection of our own NBL coaches and players, past and present, many of whom played in the NBA themselves,” said NBL General Manager Jeremy Loeliger.  “It is a great opportunity to place Australian basketball and the NBL on the map internationally as the premier basketball destination in Australasia, and we are excited to see this event come to fruition thanks to the support of the NBA, FIBA, the Victorian Government, Basketball Victoria and Basketball Australia.”

In addition to working with the campers on the court, NBA, FIBA and NBL players and coaches will lead extensive community outreach events through NBA Cares that will leave a lasting legacy in Melbourne and Geelong.  These social responsibility efforts will focus on youth basketball development and teaching the values of the game on and off the court.  Activities will include a Jr. NBA youth basketball clinic, an NBA Cares court dedication, a Jr. NBA wheelchair basketball exhibition game and clinic and life skills sessions stressing the importance of leadership, character and communication.

Nike, a BWB global partner since 2002, will outfit the campers and coaches with Nike apparel and footwear.

Since 2001, BWB has reached more than 2,500 participants from 130 countries and territories, with 37 campers drafted into the NBA.  Twenty-one former BWB campers were on opening-night rosters for the 2015-16 NBA season.

The first-ever Basketball without Borders camp took place in Europe in July 2001.  Vlade Divac (Serbia) and Toni Kukoc (Croatia), together with former teammates from the Yugoslav national team, reunited to work with 50 children from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia and Montenegro at La Ghirada in Treviso, Italy.  Since then, the NBA and FIBA have staged 45 BWB camps in 26 cities across 22 countries on five continents.  More than 210 current and former NBA, WNBA and FIBA players have joined nearly 160 NBA team personnel from all 30 NBA teams to support BWB across the world.

The full BWB 2016 summer schedule will be announced in the coming months.  Campers and coaches will be announced prior to each camp.

About the NBA

The NBA is a global sports and media business built around three professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, and the NBA Development League.  The league has established a major international presence with games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 49 languages, and NBA merchandise for sale in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on 6 continents.  NBA rosters at the start of the 2015-16 season featured 100 international players from 37 countries and territories.  NBA Digital’s assets include NBA.com and the NBA app, which achieved record traffic during the 2014-15 season, as well as NBA TV.  The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with more than one billion likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms.  Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes.

About FIBA

FIBA (fiba.com) - the world governing body for basketball - is an independent association formed by 215 National Basketball Federations throughout the world. It is recognised as the sole competent authority in basketball by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

For further information about FIBA, visit fiba.com or follow FIBA on facebook.com/fiba, twitter.com/fiba, instagram.com/fiba and youtube.com/fiba.

About the NBL

The National Basketball League in Australasia is one of the of the premier basketball leagues in the world. Established in 1978 the League now has eight teams based in cities across the country - Adelaide 36ers, Cairns Taipans, Melbourne United, New Zealand Breakers, Perth Wildcats, Sydney Kings, Brisbane Bullets and Illawarra Hawks. Some of the NBL’s greatest players include former NBA player and five-time Olympian Andrew Gaze, 21-season scoring-machine Leroy Loggins, five-time championship-winner Larry Sengstock, and 500-game veterans Ray Borner and James Crawford. From humble beginnings the NBL now sells out stadiums with more than 650,000 attending games each season and live TV coverage nationally. The NBL has NBL.com.au, and a live streaming NBL APP.