Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao will make a rare visit to Dubai this weekend as he headlines a new basketball event in the emirate.
Here are the details.
What is Dubai Invasion 2019?
A Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) event – the competition’s first trip to the Middle East. Pacquiao, boxing’s only eight-division champion and a sitting senator in his homeland, launched the MPBL in 2017, which has since grown from 10 teams to 31. Semi-professional, it is not yet as popular as the Philippines Basketball Association (PBA).
When is it?
September 27-28, from 4pm.
Where is it?
Hamdan Sports Complex, Dubai
Who is competing?
An avid basketball fan, Pacquiao will feature in an exhibition match on each day of the action, with three MPBL teams - inaugural champions Batangas City Athletics, Imus Bandera and Davao Occidental Tigers - contesting regular-season games across the two days. Other celebrities in action during the event include one-time PBA league MVP Jayjay Helterbrand, Filipino-American actor Gerald Anderson and Derek Ramsay, the British-born Filipino actor. Pacquiao’s brother, Bobby, will also be competing.
How do I get tickets?
Organisers expect up to 15,000 spectators on each of the days. Tickets can be found at meraticket.com. They begin at Dh50.