Twenty-nine-year-old National Basketball Association (NBA) guard James Harden, currently playing for the Houston Rockets, has just announced that he will be coming back to Manila for his fourth visit on June 26 for Adidas event Philippines’ Free To Harden, which will be held at the SMX Convention Center.
An announcement by Adidas Philippines Brand Communications and Sports Managers Jen Dacasin stated, “We’re excited to bring back James Harden to Manila, this time for Adidas, in this great opportunity for him to meet and get to know his Filipino fans better.” This is in honor of the third volume release of his signature shoe, the Harden, which are available in stores for P7,500.
For this promotional tour, fans will have a chance to meet the California native with a single receipt purchase of P5,000 from participating Adidas stores from June 16 to 25. The tour honors the 2018 Most Valuable Player’s (MVP) greatest milestones in his career.
Harden first visited Manila back in 2011, joining Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, and other professional stars in a series of exhibition games against both the Gilas Pilipinas and the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) All-Stars. The second and third times Harden visited the Philippines was back in 2013 for the NBA 3x Manila and a preseason match against the Indiana Pacers.
In the most previous NBA season, Harden totalled an average of 36.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game for the Rockets, leading his team to the Western Conference semifinals, where they eventually lost to season first runner ups, the Golden State Warriors.