Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Italy. And back to Philly.

Traditional indoor basketball on the hardwood. Summer league hoops on the blacktop.

Plus plenty of soccer mixed in everywhere.

From the time he was a young kid, Kobe Bryant’s world has been a wide-reaching platform for learning and exploring. And not just the basketball world: the world, in and of itself, at large.

That’s why he’s a soccer aficionado. And that word - aficionado - is especially fitting. It’s got Spanish roots, and Kobe’s fluent in Spanish and Italian.

But his love of basketball isn’t just wrapped in European accents. Because basketball is a worldwide game - so he’s always refused to try and tuck it neatly into any one corner of the globe. And his Road To Beijing experience with USA Basketball’s “Redeem Team” reignited a passion for spreading the global gospel of the game in a way that can’t even be measured in gold medals.

So after returning the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA throne, Kobe returned to Asia.

“I love coming here. It’s like a second home to me,” he said.

First stop: Manila.

The goal: checking up on the young players he met on previous Asia tours and inspiring the next generation of ballers.

“I’m looking forward to returning to Asia to see the progress the kids have made since my last visit,” he said.

The result? Pure pandemonium.

1500 people lined up at the ticket distribution event, including one lady who waited 17 hours for hers. 170 members of the press representing 65 media outlets across web, print and TV cataloged the press conference. Four TV networks (ESPN, GMA-7, ABS-CBN, Solar Sports) and the Philippine Star got exclusive one-on-one interviews with the reigning NBA Finals MVP.

A couple of them even ran those stories live from the airport. And the Philippine Daily Inquirer matched the Philippine Star with front page headlines.

First-stop highlights:

• Playing with and coaching up several of the young players he met during his 2007 tour.
• An impromptu stage move: Kobe pulled two lucky kids up on stage, removed his new Dream Season shoes and autographed them for the unsuspecting youngsters.
• Kobe greeted kids from the Gawad Kalinga charity and helped Nike Philippines present a check for 100,000 pisos to their sports program.

Next stop: Singapore.

Make sure to check out Facebook.com/NikeBasketball and Twitter.com/NikeBasketball to keep up with the tour in real time!

Read Kobe in Asia: Singapore