Kobe Bryant arrives in Manila

LA Lakers star Kobe Bryant during his arrival in Manila on Tuesday.

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE) – Five-time National Basketball Association (NBA) champion Kobe Bryant arrived in Manila on Tuesday for his 5-city Nike Asia tour.

The Los Angeles Lakers star arrived in Manila on board a private jet at around 5 p.m.

Nike Philippines’ Mae Dichupa said Bryant has always prioritized Manila to be part of his Asia tour because of the Filipino's love for basketball.

This is the 3rd time Nike has brought in the NBA superstar to spend time with his fans and the cream of the crop of Philippine college basketball.

Bryant’s Manila stop will begin with a press conference on Wednesday noon.

This will be followed by a visit to a Gawad Kalinga community in Taguig at 1:30 p.m. where Bryant will dedicate a refurbished basketball court to the underprivileged kids of GK’s SIGA program.

"These are kids who have been chosen by Gawad Kalinga to be the lucky [players] to be able to spend sometime with Kobe Bryant on the court," reported ABS-CBN's TJ Manotoc.

At 3 p.m., Bryant will greet his fans at Nike Park, The Fort.

The day’s big event will take place at the Araneta Coliseum where Bryant will watch an exhibition game between Smart-Gilas Pilipinas and UAAP-NCAA selection.

After the game, Bryant will pick a player who will undergo his trademark basketball drill.

“He will do what he calls the ‘Blackout Drill’ as you might recall as he done in the past in 2007 and 2009,” Manotoc said.

During Bryant’s Manila visit in 2009, he put Ateneo’s Nico Salva through several routines picked from his “Blackout drill” training regimen.