3x3 ‘for her’ caps Nike showcase

It’s been a whirlwind weekend for Japanese, Korean and Filipino male and female high school basketball players gathered by Nike to celebrate the Jordan Regional Showcase through a cultural immersion of the game with a 3x3 competition involving 28 teams of strictly women from 16 to 22 to cap the event at the Nike HyperCourt in BGC today.

A total of 65 foreign visitors flew in from Japan and South Korea last Thursday to join in the festivities. Nike Philippines country marketing manager Jino Ferrer said it’s the first-ever Jordan Regional Showcase in Asia and Manila’s selection as host is an indication of how basketball is loved by Filipinos.

“Nike wanted to bring together the consumers and schools associated with the brand to visit an international basketball hub,” said Ferrer. “The idea was to intersect the consumers and players, set the stage for them to play together and celebrate the game. We also conceptualized a cultural immersion so we brought our guests to the Araneta Coliseum last Friday so they could experience the atmosphere of the iconic venue where some of the greatest sporting events have been held in the country.”

From Japan, 12 males from a high school varsity and 10 females from another high school varsity arrived and from Korea, 10 males and eight females planed in. They came with their coaching staff and Nike representatives. The Korean delegation featured a selection of the best players who starred in the recent “Culture of Basketball Tournament – Nike Battle Force” in the country. 

From the Philippines, Nike assembled the best 20 male high school players from the UAAP and NCAA and the best 20 female high school players from the UAAP. Among the top males were Kai Sotto, R. J. Abarrientos, Joem Sabandal, Carl Tamayo, Inand Fornillos, Terrence Fortea and Joshua David. Leading the females was Trina Guytingco.

The Araneta immersion kicked off the activities. The visitors were taken on a tour of the building and given a brief history of the Big Dome. They were wide-eyed when told that the venue rocked with 50,000 fans jamming the coliseum for the Thrilla In Manila in 1975, that it was where the FIBA World Cup was held in 1978, the Washington Bullets (now Wizards) played against a PBA All-Star team in 1979, over 30,000 fans packed the place for the Asian Youth basketball final between the Philippines and China in 1982, NBA All-Stars like Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul saw action in two games during the NBA lock-out in 2011 and Kobe regaled a crowd of 10,000 for a stop in his Mamba Mentality Tour in 2016. When the coliseum was erected in 1960, it was the world’s largest indoor dome facility. Next year, the Big Dome will celebrate its 60th anniversary as the “mecca of sports.” 

When told that the coliseum is where sports history happens, the visitors knew they stood on sacred ground. They were also shown the crucifix at the players entrance where everyone stops by to pray and ask for God’s protection and strength before a game and the Walk of Fame where the photographs of star performers and athletes are shown to commemorate their appearance at the Big Dome.

After the immersion, Nike Philippines conducted a camp with coach Xavy Nunag supervising the proceedings. Assisting in the clinic were Nike coaches Marvin Bienvenida, Jenkins Mesina, Kim Gandarosa and Britt Reroma.

Yesterday, the players took to the HyperCourt and showed their wares in a day-long tournament. The day before, they shot hoops and got a feel of the bounce off the ground. There were four male and four female teams in action in the blitz competition. Each team played three games in the round-robin eliminations in the morning then at 4 p.m., the semifinals got underway then the final.

Today, Ferrer said the culmination is the Nike HyperCourt For Her, an all-female 3x3 event. “It’s for players from 16 to 22,” he said. “We’ve got 28 teams playing, including our guests from Japan and Korea. It’s our way of showcasing the talents of our female players.”