MANILA – The National Basketball Association and Hoopla Inc. recently announced that the first-ever NBA Café in Asia is coming to Manila, Philippines, at the soon-to-open SM AURA Mall in the Bonifacio Global City, a press release from NBA Asia said.

Scheduled to open in September 2013, the NBA Café will feature a unique dining and entertainment experience that captures the excitement of the league through memorabilia displays, NBA highlights and programming, an NBA retail area, and will host viewing parties and appearances by NBA talent.

At the NBA Café, fans will enjoy American bar and grill favorites and a selection of Asian-Filipino classics, giving it a local twist. It is the first sports bar and restaurant in Manila catering specifically to basketball fanatics and enthusiasts, the press release said.

This is the second league-owned restaurant set to open outside the U.S.; an NBA Café also is planned for Madrid in 2013. NBA City, the league’s first themed restaurant, opened in 1999 at the Universal Studios Resort in Orlando.

“Basketball fans in the country now have a place dedicated and designed specifically for them,” said Nian Rigor, Assistant Vice President, Hoopla Inc. “NBA Café will provide them a taste of the authentic NBA experience that they can share with family and friends, complete with great food, custom-made NBA Café Manila merchandise and the finest in basketball entertainment.”

“The NBA Café will be a unique destination that will bring NBA basketball closer to our fans in the Philippines,” Carlo Singson, NBA Country Manager, Philippines said.*

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