Dubai: The Philippines Basketball Association (PBA) will return to Dubai in October with two days of action for its ‘Back in Dubai’ weekend to be held at the Coca-Cola Arena.
Scheduled to bring in the best basketball talent from the Philippines, the two-day extravaganza will take place at the 17,000-capacity arena on October 4-5.
It will be a weekend of firsts as PBA star and five-time MVP June Mar Fajardo will be playing in Dubai for the first time in his career as the San Miguel Beermen are set to play its first official PBA game in the Middle East.
The first match on October 4 will see San Miguel Beermen take on NLEX Road Warriors and will follow a carnival-like atmosphere inside the arena as pre-games and shoot-arounds are held before the main action. On October 5, NLEX will be pitted against the locally-supported Barangay Ginebra.
Stars to look out for at the PBA Back in Dubai weekend are reigning five-time MVP Fajardo, who will be joined by Christian Standhardinger, Arwind Santos, Marcio Lassiter, Alex Cabagnot, Chris Ross and the newest member of the San Miguel Beermen, Terrence Romeo.
Joining Stanley Pringle in Barangay Ginebra colours will be the celebrated ‘Twin Towers’ Japeth Aguilar and Greg Slaughter, LA Tenorio, Scottie Thompson, Joe Devance, Jeff Chan, Mark Caguioa and their latest acquisition Jared Dillinger.
Expected to be back after FIBA suspension, Keifer Ravena will lead the pack for NLEX Road Warriors, with Asi Taulava, Poy Erram, Larry Fonacier, Cyrus Baguio and Kevin Alas, who returns from a spell out of the game after knee surgery earlier this year.
Basketball is high on the global agenda at the moment as the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup gets under way in China from August 31 to September 15, while the Philippines is set to host the next FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2023.
Tickets have already gone on sale through Platinum List, 800-Tickets, Book My Show and Coca-Cola Arena with further information and details available at www.coca-cola-arena.com.
