Nike Highlights Filipinos’ Passion for Basketball with Battle Force Manila

There's no doubt that Filipinos are mad about basketball. We play it. We watch it. We cry over it. We lose our minds over it. 

We get into fisticuffs when a foul feels funny. We venerate players from their days on the hardcourt to their days on the silver screen. We find ways to play the game, even if we have to shoot on a makeshift hoop found on a busy road (never mind the cars!)

Nike knows this. To celebrate the Filipino's passion for basketball, the Swoosh is putting together, what it describes as, the ultimate expression of basketball culture. This year's Battle Force Manila not only highlights the game, but also other aspects of local life that it has influenced.

“Nike calls on Filipinos to be bold and let their passion manifest through basketball, dance, rap, and art,” says Jino Ferrer, country marketing manager of Nike Philippines. This is an all-out battle about how much you love the sport. Here's all you need to know about the big event. 

A series of events happens November.

You can participate in several activities. The lead, of course, is a tourney, which happens from November 8 to 24 at five Nike Hyper Courts. It's a three-on-three hoops game for teams of up to five players, from 16 to 29 years old. You can sign up here. 

Meanwhile, dance is covered by a dance-off; rap has a live battle scheduled on November 10; and art involves installations made by five artists.  

Key players anchor each activity. 

Here's the list: Thirdy Ravena and Katrina Guytingco for basketball, Gab Valenciano and AC Lalata for dance, Loonie (who performed last year, too) for rap, and Kayo Cosio for art. They'll be releasing a series of videos that will help you out in your field of interest and maybe even lead you to the crown.  

More women are encouraged to join.

Two events here: A training program specifically made for female players will be held at the Nike Hyper Court in BGC on November 13, while the female-exclusive hoops battle will go down at the LeBron Court on November 18. 

New Air Force 1s are arriving.

Aside from art inspired by the AF1 (these are done by Blank Canvas Collective), new styles of the iconic sneaker arrives every Friday of November. Last year's event brought out ultra-rare Acronym, Travis Scott, and Roc-a-Fella AF1s. We'll be waiting for what pops up this time.  

nike.com/manila