Beyond basketball: Nike brings Kobe Bryant to Gawad Kalinga Village

PHILIPPINES, JULY 14, 2011 – five -time NBA Champion, Kobe Bryant a.k.a. “The Black Mamba”, arrived in Manila on July 12 for his five-city Nike “Take Every Advantage” Asia Tour.

 

The 13-time NBA All Star, arguably the best basketball player of his generation, started his Manila Invasion with a press conference at the Manila Peninsula in Makati City at noon the following day.

 

After the meet and greet with the media, the Los Angeles Lakers Superstar visited the kids from Gawad Kalinga Village at Barangay Pinagsamahan, Taguig City.  The 2007-2008 NBA Most Valuable player and Nike endorser gave some shooting and conditioning drills to the children of Gawad Kalinga’s SIGA program who were also given free Nike basketball shoes apart from the opportunity to play with the future NBA Hall of Famer.  

"It is a great move on the part of Nike to partner with a socially relevant organization (or brand) like Gawad Kalinga because it gives a different angle to the personality of someone like Kobe Bryant and it makes the whole Asian tour or even the Kobe brand a very human angle," said Mico Halili, editor-at-large of Slam Magazine and sports analyst during Bryant’s GK activity.  "I think it’s a very effective tool to make a brand like Kobe more human and make filipinos relate with him even more," Halili added.

 

"For the brand of Nike, it’s a great thing that they’re reaching out," said TJ Manotoc, sports commentator from ABS-CBN. "CSR is a great big thing now in the corporate world and it’s nice to see those who I really pinpoint (who are sincere), who really want to make a difference."

 

Bryant went straight to Nike Park Boni High Street after the GK activity to greet his fans before going to the main event of Nike’s five-city “Take Every Advantage” Asia Tour at the Araneta Coliseum for an exhibition game where he teamed up with the UAAP-NCAA selection team against the Smart Gilas Philippine Team.