The first basketball convention

MANILA, Philippines — Conventions are so common in the Philippines, they’ve become ubiquitous. Everything from guns to cars to toys and every sector of fandom has been represented at least once a year, pulling in hundreds of thousands of consumers and spectators. Ironically, there has never been a convention specifically meant for the country’s passion, basketball. It took the restless mind of a music, dance and sports event organizer based in Australia to think of actually trying to bring the hoops community together.

“I remember when I used to live in the Philippines back in 1985 when my parents took me to a Shakey’s restaurant,” recalls relentless event organizer Marco Selorio. “I can still vividly remember, they televised an NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Bullets. That game featured Magic Johnson and I loved it. Around that same time, I started watching PBA games as well, and I was drawn to Ginebra and coach Robert Jaworski’s never-say-die attitude. I was hooked.”

Migrating to the Land Down Under, Marco’s passion for basketball had been lit. This blended well with his love for hip-hop and street entertainment. As happened in places in New York in the US, Australia also became a fertile ground for interwoven creativity. And Marco wanted to share his own culture with his new community.

“In Australia, I was the first person to produce PBA Legends Tours back in 2005,” Selorio recounts. “Since then, I have always dreamt about creating an expo or conference type of event that would bring fans and players together, like a fan fest. Since 2002, I was already heavily involved in the street dance community, so it was just a matter of curating a cross-cultural event that can bring hip-hop and basketball under one roof.”

Which brings us to BasketballCon or BCon for short, a lifestyle event that brings together everyone who loves the game. Scheduled for Sunday, June 25 at Paco Arena. It is a celebration of Filipinos’ love for the sport. Selorio has innovatively combined the three things he believes should be in a basketball conference: education, tournament play and emerging technology. BCon will have basketball industry thought leaders and web3 founders, an Anta Shock The Game 4x4 full-court tournament, a brand-new BCON 7-To-Smoke one-on-one showdown, Battlegrounds Manila street dance battles and basketball stars like six-time PBA Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo and Jared Dillinger, and exhibitors who will showcase basketball products and technology.

The centerpiece of the event will be an opportunity to meet and listen to three-time NBA champion coach Phil Handy of the Los Angeles Lakers, a personal friend of Selorio from when he played as an import in Australia. Handy, renowned for training the greatest players in history from Kobe Bryant to LeBron James, Pau Gasol, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard and many others, will be in the country to conduct exclusive clinics with local coaches, elite schools and one PBA team. Selorio is hoping to both excite and surprise the local sports community, and give back to the sport he fell in love with almost 30 years ago.

“Since I had the opportunity to create a tour with Lakers coach Phil Handy, I thought why not create a conference or meet-up that would connect basketball communities together?” he explains. “I didn’t have much time to pool more resources, I just had to create this event and reconnect with my network. I believe BCon will surprise a lot of fans, enthusiasts and basketball leaders in the country. I’m a very passionate guy. I do what I love, love what I do. Entertaining and connecting with people came naturally to me. I found a skill set that allowed me to produce events that made an impact on people’s lives, empower the youth and build communities.”

Visit basketballcon.ph