editorial team
NBA Hall-of-Famer and basketball legend Alonzo “Zo” Mourning wowed basketball fans and sports personalities with his much talked-about appearance during Vivo and NBA’s exclusive media launch for its newest partnership held last Thursday, December 6th at the Harbour Tent at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila.
Mourning, named NBA All-Star Player seven times, flew in to the Philippines to personally grace the event and meet his numerous Filipino basketball fans.
During the program, the basketball icon shared some of his thoughts about the partnership and the Philippines as a basketball nation.
“I was told that the Philippines has the best fans in the world and I was told about your food and cuisines which I would get to try for sure,” said Mourning, who gamely answered the media’s questions during the press conference.
The 7-time NBA All-Star Player answering questions from the media and his fansInducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014, Mourning also express his delight over the ever-growing influence of social media in today’s society and what Vivo and NBA’s latest partnership means for basketball fans.
“I think it’s a great tool for our younger players so that we can connect with the basketball fans around the world. It’s a great tool for them,” remarked Mourning.
The high-profile partnership between Vivo and NBA Philippines is only the latest in a slate of sports-related tie-ups for the global smartphone giant. In recent years, the tech leader has been able to forge solid ties with the sports industry by recruiting NBA All-Star Player and Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry as its global smartphone ambassador.
In 2017, Vivo also partnered with the FIFA World Cup for its 2018 and 2022 tournaments, cementing a deal as the world’s biggest sporting event’s official smartphone partner and besting bids from numerous mobile competitors.
Through the newest NBA partnership, Vivo will be the Presenting Partner of the NBA Playoffs Bracket Challenge, a fantasy basketball game that allows participants to submit their NBA Playoffs predictions. As an official partner of Jr. NBA Philippines and NBA 3X Philippines, Vivo will also leverage the league’s youth platforms to stage interactive fan activities and showcase its latest mobile devices.
Highlighting the importance of the partnership with the tech company, Mourning added, “It helps regrow the brand of the game of basketball when the players are using social media to expose their lives to the basketball fans around the world. So I think it’s extremely important.”
The Vice President of Player Programs and Development for Miami Heat also acknowledged the substantial contributions of partners outside the sports industry such as Vivo, in terms of generating brand awareness for everyone involved. “The more brands and partnerships we have, the bigger [the NBA] will be globally. It makes me feel good as a brand ambassador to have come into this league back in 1992, and to see how it has grown since then. So that means we’re doing something right,” Mourning explained.
Recognizing his role as the face of the Vivo x NBA partnership launch, Alonzo Mourning relayed his excitement for all the wonderful things fans can expect moving forward. With Vivo as the league’s innovative tech platform in the Philippines, basketball enthusiasts will be able to enjoy this all-inclusive access right in the palm of their hands.
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