Spurs To Face Clippers In Preseason Game In Mexico

NEW YORK, July 15, 2010 – The National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced that preseason basketball will return to Mexico when the San Antonio Spurs face the Los Angeles Clippers on Oct. 12 in Mexico City. This marks the NBA’s 17th visit to Mexico City and the league’s 19th game in Mexico overall, the most NBA matchups held in any country outside the United States and Canada. Game tickets are available for purchase starting Friday, July 16 through Ticketmaster.

“NBA Mexico Game 2010 and the appearance of NBA teams in Mexico for the 19th time shows the league’s ongoing commitment to grow the game of basketball and engage fans in the region,” said Raul Zarraga, Mexico’s Country Director for the NBA. "We are thrilled that with the support of our partners, including HP and game promoter Ocesa, our local fans can experience NBA excitement live.”

NBA Mexico Game 2010 presented by HP will give fans in Mexico the chance to see two exciting teams and some of the league’s biggest stars compete in the Palacios de los Deportes. The four-time NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs currently feature two-time MVP Tim Duncan and international All-Stars Tony Parker (France) and Manu Ginóbili (Argentina). The Los Angeles Clippers are a young team on the rise, whose lineup currently features the first overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft Blake Griffin, All-Star point guard Baron Davis and 2010 All-Star center Chris Kaman.

With the NBA Mexico Game 2010 presented by HP, the NBA is making a concerted effort to bring a marquee event to the Olympic Sports Festival that Mexico’s Sport’s Ministry, CONADE, is holding On Oct. 9-17 in Mexico City as part of the bicentennial celebration of Mexican independence. In addition to the oncourt NBA action, the league and its game partners HP, Corona, Gatorade, Sprite and Wonder will conduct community events and programs to bring the game closer to fans.

“HP is a leader in technology innovation with an incredible range of computers for every kind of user,” said Carlos Cortés, GM for HP Personal Systems Group Mexico. “We are pleased to present the NBA Mexico Game 2010, and we are sure that the fans will be amazed with the deployment of HP technology that they will see in the arena and through the game’s TV broadcast.”

With NBA Mexico Game 2010 presented by HP, the NBA has announced five preseason games that will be played outside the United States and Canada this October. The Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and New York Knicks will play a series of preseason games this October in Barcelona, London, Milan, and Paris as part of NBA Europe Live presented by EA SPORTS™. To date, the NBA has staged a total of 98 games outside of the U.S. and Canada in 32 cities in 17 countries and territories.

The league first visited Mexico City in 1992, when the Dallas Mavericks defeated the San Antonio Spurs. Mexico became the only international country other than Japan and Canada to ever host an NBA regular-season game, when the Houston Rockets defeated the Dallas Mavericks in front of the sold-out Palacio de los Deportes on Dec. 6, 1997 in Mexico City. In October 2009, the NBA staged its second game in Monterrey and the 18th game in Mexico overall.

For additional information about NBA Mexico Game 2010 presented by HP, please visit www.nba.com/enebea.

About the NBA in Mexico
For the 2009-2010 season, NBA games reached nearly every household on a weekly basis via television and broadband. NBA postseason games were available in 50 Cinépolis Theaters across 37 cities in Mexico for the first time ever. In addition to 18 games that the NBA has staged in Mexico since 1992, the most NBA games held in any country outside the United States and Canada, the league also reaches fans and consumers through regional NBA merchandise licensees. This year, for the first time, Panini launched collectible NBA stickers and trading cards, which are currently sold – along with other NBA merchandise – at retail outlets throughout the country.