NBA 2K League APAC Invitational kicks off in PH

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 17) — Action in the virtual hardcourt is heating up as the NBA 2K League APAC Invitational Tournament kicked off in Quezon City on Friday.

This is the first time the two-day qualifying event is taking place in the Philippines.

The finals set on Saturday evening will determine which players will be eligible for the 2024 NBA 2K League Draft.

Four teams from the Philippines, two teams from Australia-New Zealand, and a team each from China and Indonesia are bringing their A-game to Friday’s tournament. Other than draft eligibility, $5,000 or nearly ₱280,000 is on the line.

According to the rules, they will compete in a best-of-3, 5v5 single elimination bracket, in NBA2K24 Pro-Am gamemode.

Philippines’ Naos Esports was already semis-bound after defeating fellow Filipino team and defending APAC Invitational champions Laus Group Eagles, 2-1.

“And honestly, these are people who have been on our radar for quite some time so some of these people have come out of the APAC invitational in the past,” Lindsay Ullman, the NBA 2K League’s head of business development, said of the players in the tournament.

“So to get them here to compete in person onstage [is an] excellent opportunity to really showcase all the talent that we know is in the region,” she noted.

The league earlier told CNN Philippines that the country is among the most highly engaged areas in Asia for basketball and the NBA 2K game.

The 2023 APAC Invitational is being held at the High Grounds Cafe in Quezon City.