'Doraemon' maker producing basketball anime set in the Philippines

A new basketball anime is set to follow in the footsteps of classics such as "Slam Dunk" and "Kuroko No Basuke."

Fittingly, the series will be set in the basketball hotbed of Asia — right here in the Philippines.

Nikkei Asian Review is reporting that TV Asahi, the company behind "Doraemon" cartoons, is producing the new basketball series that will air in  the Philippines.

"It is cooperating with a local animation and game developer, the Synergy88 group," reads the report.

"'Barangay 143' will tell the story of high school basketball players in Manila when it begins airing in 2017," it added.

According to the report, the Japanese firm handles character design, while Synergy88 writes the scripts and manages the production.

The series is part of the TV Asahi's move to open up new markets for its series.

"People in fast-growing emerging economies have begun to look for familiar stories they can relate to," TV Asahi's Takahiro Kishimoto told Nikkei. —JST, GMA News