NBA star Kobe Bryant visits Manila Sept 5

National Basketball Association (NBA) superstar Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers is set to visit Manila on Sept. 5 where he will launch a new brand of shoes and conduct a basketball clinic to young Filipino basketeers. In a statement, Melissa Crucillo, Nike Philippines country marketing manager, said the Manila visit is part of Kobe Bryant’s Supernatural Asia Tour 2007 where he will unveil the new version of Kobe II, part of the Fall 2007 basketball footwear product line. The shoes will hit the Asian markets on Sept 6. Crucillo added that part of Kobe's Manila visit will also include the basketball superstar meeting kids from Eliseo Belen Charity at Nike Park, The Fort at 2 p.m. From there, Kobe will headline the Kobe Supernatural Manila Event at the Phil Sports Arena (formerly Ultra) where he will share his training regimen with young Filipino ballers. Gates will open at 3 p.m. "Kobe Bryant serves as a basketball icon, inspiration and role-model to a lot of our young Filipino athletes and Nike Philippines is proud to bring him closer to his fans," Crucillo said. "The one-day visit is developed as an opportunity for Kobe to work with Filipino kids and to inspire them to work towards realizing their hoop dreams," Crucillo added. Crucillo said tickets to the Kobe Supernatural Manila Event will be distributed for one day only on September 1 at 12 noon at Nike Park, The Fort. She said tickets are free of charge on a first come, first serve basis and only two tickets will be given per person. Kobe fans can also tune in to radio stations, Magic 89.9, Wave 89.1, RX 93.1, and NU 107.5 to win tickets to see Kobe in action. "In addition, Nike will be launching a special Kobe Tour Tee for the occasion, which will be available on September 1st at select Nike stores," she said. From Manila, Kobe will visit Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing, China. - GMANews.TV