Phillipines expecting visit from Lakers’ Bryant as part of Nike promotion

Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers guard and MVP scorer in the NBA for last season, is expected to visit Manila, Philippines, Wednesday, Sept. 5 as part of his tour through Asia as part of the promotion of his new Nike shoes launch and as a way to reach out to young Fillipino youth who look up to the basketball star as a mentor and an inspiration to follow their dreams, according to an Aug. 29 article on China’s People Daily Web site. Bryant is scheduled to stay one day in the country and help children further develop their basketball skills by working with them one-on-one. Camps such as these are nothing new for Bryant, who has held some of his own mentoring youth camps in LA as part of a fundraiser for the charity he founded, and has also volunteered as part of Basketball Without Borders, an international athletic and educational mentoring program sponsored by the NBA and the FIBA.

“Kobe Bryant serves as a basketball icon, inspiration and role model to a lot of our young Fillipino athletes and we are proud to bring him closer to his fans,” Melissa Crucillo, marketing manager for Nike Phillippines, said in the article. ” In the Phillipines, basketball has been taking off over the past several years and the country has been seeing an influx of street ball games played in nearly every district, both urban and rural, according to the article. Local TV stations also regularly air NBA games on a consistent basis, making superstars such as Bryant and other team members some of the most popular, sought-after and followed celebrities for Fillipinos. Bryant - who will wrap up his Supernatural Asia Tour 2007 by also paying visits to Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghei and Beijing - will also be getting back to the states to begin season training. Haven’t got season tickets yet for the Lakers? Get all the best deals on Lakers tickets at Stubhub.com.

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