NIKE PRESENTS KOBE "THE BLACK MAMBA" BRYANT IN MANILA

 

 KOBE "THE BLACK MAMBA" BRYANT as he waves to the crowd during his visit at the NIKE outlet in Bonifacio High Street at the Fort in Taguig City.       Images by Ricky Castillo

 

Kobe Bryant answering questions from different media personalities during the press conference held recently at the Manila Peninsula in Makati City.   Images by Ricky Castillo        

Kobe Bryant together with some kids of the Gawad Kalinga beneficiaries in Taguig City.  Images by Ricky Castillo

NIKE OUTLET AT THE BONIFACIO HIGH STREET AT THE FORT IN TAGUIG CITY.

Kobe Bryant: Basketball Player, Champion, Inspiration

Nike connects Kobe Bryant with the youth of Gawad Kalinga’s SIGA program

As a young boy, Kobe Bryant knew that he wanted to become a basketball player. Every chance he would get, he would practice his drills and skills which helped mold him into one of the world’s best basketball players with an MVP Award, 4 All-Star MVP Awards and five championship rings. Beyond his skills, Kobe’s success as an athlete is grounded in his passion and dedication for basketball which have given him a strong foundation to get him to where he is today.

As an inspiration to many, Kobe’s personal mission is to encourage young athletes to reach for their own sports dreams and his Manila tour is designed to do just that. In his one-day visit, Kobe Bryant was able to touch the lives of the kids of Gawad Kalinga’s youth developmental program, SIGA.

SIGA (siga in Filipino means “to start a fire”) is Gawad Kalinga’s developmental program for out-of-school youth. It provides scholarships to those with mental aptitude to pursue higher education, rehabilitate youth offenders and juvenile delinquents through values formation with sports, creative, health and educational programs to integrate them into social mainstream as productive citizens. GK Taguig has 100 young adults whose age ranges from 14 to 25 – affected by dysfunctional families, drug addiction, poor education, and economic problems -- as program beneficiaries.

Known to be a strong supporter of charitable organizations, Kobe makes it a point to connect with kids on all his tours. During his 2009 visit, Kobe met children from GK’s SIGA program. This year, Kobe returned to check in on the kids he met from his past visit and connected with even more young athletes from the program. His visit was composed of a mini basketball clinic where Kobe gave the young athletes tips to improve their skills.

 “Nike encourages people of all ages to just do it and fulfill their sports dreams, and we continually look for ways to inspire young Filipino athletes. Bringing Kobe Bryant closer to his fans is testament to that,” said Nike Philippines Country Marketing Manager, Mae Dichupa. “We hope Kobe’s visit will have a lasting effect on the children from GK’s SIGA program and will ignite their passion and inspire them to reach their own dreams, just as Kobe worked hard to reach his.”

As part of Nike and Kobe Bryant’s commitment in helping these young athletes fulfill their dreams, the basketball court of Gawad Kalinga’s community located in Barangay Pinagsama, Taguig was refurbished to give them a better venue to practice and hone their basketball skills on, with the hope of molding the next generation’s basketball stars. The refurbished court will also serve as a reminder of Kobe’s time with these kids to continually inspire them.

For more information on Kobe Bryant’s 2011 tour, follow Nike on Twitter @NikePH or like Facebook.com/Nikebasketball.phils.  (PRESS RELEASE)
                                                                                    Images by Ricky Castillo