In the Philippines, basketball is a religion. However, the humble yet talented street kid on battered barangay courts rarely gets a chance at achieving anything greater. Our brief was to give them this opportunity and prove to a country that no matter where you are from, anyone can overcome adversity and realize their dreams.

Our target was this raw streetballer. Our objectives: help young players to believe; tell a beautiful, authentic story to inspire and enable a nation, across locally relevant and freely accessible media; and to cement Nike as the #1 sports brand in the Philippines, with significant content, retail and digital impact.

Following nationwide tryouts, 24 kids arrived in Manila to eat, sleep, and breathe basketball at the purpose-built House of Rise, with ex-national head coach Chot Reyes and superstar guest mentors such as LeBron James, Paul George and Jimmy Alapag.

The journey unfolded in five ‘documentary-style’ 20-minute episodes. Broadcast every Sunday on primetime terrestrial TV, it shared their highs, lows and inspirational backstories with millions.

It was supported across OOH, digital and retail, and picked up by the country’s biggest news and sports outlets and influencers in TV, print, and online.

Partner show ‘Rise Live’ went deeper behind-the-scenes after episodes. We also created exclusive, high-octane training videos, enabling anyone to improve.

The finale saw the team play in the 10,000-seater MOA Arena with LeBron, gaining the confidence they needed to rise to their final challenge: a live, televised game against a collegiate All-Stars select, in front of top coaches and scouts.