MOA Arena: Host of The First NBA Game in the Philippines

Because it's the NBA Playoffs season, I got inspired to share my first live NBA game experience. Well, it's not a regular season game, but for an avid basketball fan like me, a pre-season game is good enough. Good enough for me to shell out PHP 4,000 for a general admission ticket. After all, it was the first time an NBA game will be held here in the Philippines, and of course, I wanted to be a part of it. I bought three tickets: one for me, one for my father, and one for my nephew - three generation of basketball-lovers.

Ratings:
Place: 3/5, when this event happened in October 2013, the Mall of Asia arena was still fairly new, so the place felt bare, but I imagine this place would be world class and could host to more international events in the future
The Game: 4/5, it's my first NBA game (albeit preseason) so it had to be good for me. I wanted to see more of Dwight Howard though.
Price: 2/5, seats are very expensive - PHP 4,000 for a General Admission ticket
Food: 3/5, our tickets came with a free hotdog sandwich and a free NBA tumbler (which I thought would be filled with the free soda they would be giving us for the game). What we got were soda in a plastic bottle and popcorn - not what we expected.

The Game
The game itself is typical of what you may expect from a pre-season game. It was a fun exhibition game, with no real aggressiveness seen from the players. The superstars' exposure was just enough for the fans to see them dunk a few baskets, or do some fancy moves. Dwight Howard got into an early foul trouble, though, and I'm kind of disappointed at Paul George's performance that night since I was expecting his flashy, athletic plays but he played more of the long ball that night. The most exciting plays came from the Rockets squad, especially James Harden, Jeremy Lin, and Chandler Parsons. Dwight Howard and Roy Hibbert had been entangling themselves when playing defense against each other. David West was also superb. He was one of the bright spots for the Pacers that night along with Paul George.

It was not a bad experience for a first-timer. We really enjoyed the game, and the break-time entertainments were crazy! Boomer, the Pacers mascot, can really do amazing tricks like dunking off a trampoline, and Clutch, the Rockets', he's a funny one. My nephew loved him. We were also lucky enough to see NBA legends like Larry Bird, who's part of the Pacers management; his former teammate Kevin McHale, who's now a head coach for the Rockets; Robert Horry, Clyde Drexler, Jalen Rose, Ron Harper, and the former NBA Commissioner himself, David Stern. It was also a great time for me to practice shooting indoor sports with my camera using a zoom lens since we were seated way up in the General Admission area.

The Rockets won convincingly over the Pacers that night, but after the final buzzer sounded, the crowd didn't seem to want to go as most of us are still hoping to catch a final glimpse of our favorite NBA players. This is how crazy Filipinos are about basketball, so the NBA should visit this country more frequently in the future.

David West nailed this fadeaway jumper.

Dwight Howard being hounded inside.

George Hill protecting the ball against Jeremy Lin

The Arena

MOA Arena was still fairly new when this game took place in October of 2013, almost two years ago. The arena lobby felt bare, the floor, and the ceiling weren't completely furnished yet.

I was impressed with the inside of the arena. It felt like we were in the a home court of one of the NBA teams. There's a huge video screen in the center of the ceiling where you can see the box scores, live action and replays.

I truly believe the arena has a potential to be world class and could be a host to more international events in the future.

Then NBA Commissioner David Stern.

Tips for Wandering Peasants

• the PHP 4,000 General Admission ticket was too high, but if you're a big hoops fan like me, it was well worth it.
• with a General Admission ticket in this arena, bring a good DSLR camera with a zoom lens with you so you could capture the moment

Location
Mall of Asia Arena is at the corner of JW Diokno Blvd and Marina Way at the Mall of Asia Complex.

Useful Links and Info
website: http://mallofasia-arena.com/
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mallofasiaarena/
Phone: (02) 470-2222