National Basketball Association (NBA) and Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant kicked off his five day-Asian tour with a visit to Manila , his third visit to the nation’s capital in the past 5 years, on 12 July 2011. Arriving on board a Nike Business Jet Gulfstream 5 at the Ages Aviation Center, Inc. facilities in Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Manila Kobe’s first stop before proceeding to Seoul in South Korea and to cities in China.
Ages Aviation was put in charge of providing support for his flight. A special arrangement was also provided to accommodate MEDIA press stand section. This preparation resulted in the front page shot at the Philippine Star newspaper of Kobe Bryant. The last time the Los Angeles Lakers star visited Manila was in July 2009.