HOUSTON, Feb. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The
2011 BBVA NBA All-Star Celebrity Game that tipped off NBA All-Star
2011 last Friday proved to be an exciting event and is drawing rave
reviews, not only by the sold-out crowd that packed the Los Angeles
Convention Center, but by the record number of fans who watched on
TV and fans who participated via Twitter. The viral nature of the
social networking site was readily apparent as fans caught up with
Bieber Fever voted musician
Justin Bieber the Most
Valuable Player of the BBVA NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.
(Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110223/DA52857)
The ESPN telecast of the 2011 BBVA NBA All-Star Celebrity Game
was the most watched in the event's history, drawing 2.3 million
viewers, up 12 percent over last year's game according to Nielsen
Media Research. The game was also one of the top trending topics
worldwide on Twitter leading up to and continuing throughout the
game. At the conclusion of the game, the hashtag
#bbvacelebgame was the #2 trending topic worldwide, trailing
only "Twitter Mobile," a promoted topic by Twitter.
Additionally, during the 2011 BBVA NBA All-Star Celebrity Game,
participants including Justin
Bieber, Mitch Richmond,
Scottie Pippen, Nick Cannon, Jason
Alexander and Jalen Rose were
all top trending topics worldwide.
The East team, coached by Bill
Walton (Basketball Hall of Famer), Jason Alexander (Seinfeld), and
Bill Simmons (ESPN.com
columnist) defeated the West team, coached by Magic Johnson
(ESPN analyst, Basketball Hall of Famer), Jimmy Kimmel (Jimmy Kimmel Live!) and
Ty Burrell (Modern
Family), by a score of 54-49. Basketball Hall of Famer,
Scottie Pippen, led the East team
with 17 points. However, it was the 16-year old Bieber who excited
the crowd with his deft dribbling abilities and solid performance
including eight points, four assists and two rebounds. Following
the game, Bieber was presented the MVP trophy by BBVA Compass
Senior Executive Vice President and head of Retail Banking
Shelaghmichael Brown.
Also participating in the game were legendary NBA players
Rick Fox, Mitch Richmond, Jalen
Rose, AC Green and Chris
Mullin, and WNBA players Tamika
Catchings and Swin Cash.
Celebrities included famous names such as Common, Michael Rapaport, Romeo
Miller, Trey Songs, Nick
Cannon, Zac Levi and
Rob Kardashian.
In addition to the Celebrity Game, BBVA, the Official Bank of
the NBA, also participated in the NBA's All-Star Day of Service by
helping refurbish Virgil Middle
School in Los Angeles
through its U.S. subsidiary BBVA Compass. Joining the more than 50
BBVA Compass volunteers were Mayor of Los Angeles Antonio
Villaraigosa, Secretary of Education Arne
Duncan, and NBA Legends Dikembe Mutombo and David Robinson.
In January, the NBA and BBVA launched the Team. Works. in
Schools(SM) initiative to refurbish schools throughout the BBVA
Compass Sunbelt footprint. Earlier this year, BBVA Compass teamed
up with NBA Cares on a Team. Works. in Schools initiative to
refurbish Jesse Jones High School in
Houston. As part of the
revitalization, the school received new paint, landscaping, and a
complete renovation of the library and technology center, including
new computers, printers, books, and other educational resources.
The total investment of the revitalization of Jesse Jones High School by BBVA Compass exceeded
$200,000. This was the first of six
such projects between BBVA Compass and partner NBA Cares. Team.
Works. in Schools revitalization projects planned for later this
year include schools in Birmingham, Dallas/Fort Worth, McAllen,
Phoenix, and San Antonio.
BBVA joined the NBA in September
2010 as part of a comprehensive multiyear marketing
partnership which makes BBVA the Official Bank of the NBA, the
Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the NBA
Development League (NBA D-League) in the
United States, Spain and
Puerto Rico.
This Spring, BBVA Compass and the NBA will team up for a
grassroots basketball tour called Team. Works. on Tour(SM).
The mobile tour will feature a 67-foot, 18-wheel truck that
transforms into 6,000 square feet of basketball activities. These
activities include two basketball areas, a technology area where
fans can play the latest NBA video games, and a video wall with NBA
game footage and BBVA Compass product and service information. The
tour is scheduled to be held in 10 communities within the BBVA
Compass Sunbelt footprint and will allow fans to experience an
authentic NBA environment. The communities scheduled at this time
include: Albuquerque, Birmingham, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver,
Houston, Jacksonville, Phoenix, the Rio Grande Valley, and San
Antonio.
About BBVA Group
BBVA (NYSE: BBVA) (MAD: BBVA) is a financial services group with
more than euro 557 billion in total
assets, almost 48 million clients, 7,400 branches and 107,000
employees in more than 30 countries. BBVA provides its customers
around the world with a full range of financial services. The BBVA
Group maintains a leadership position in Spain, Mexico, Latin
America and the Sunbelt Region of the United States. BBVA is also developing
strong operations in Asia,
specifically in China, and has
just entered the Turkish market with the acquisition of a 24.9%
stake in the Turkiye Garanti Bankasi, the first bank of
Turkey.
As of December 31, 2010, BBVA has
a market capitalization of euro 38
billion and it is listed in the main international stock
exchanges, London NYSE and Madrid, among others. BBVA reported in
2010 recurrent attributable profit of euro
4.6 billion. BBVA is one of the top leading Euro zone banks
in terms of ROE and efficiency. More information about the BBVA
Group can be found at www.bbva.com.
BBVA Compass is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that
operates 716 branches including 380 in Texas, 93 in Alabama, 65 in California, 77 in Arizona, 45 in Florida, 36 in Colorado and 20 in New Mexico. BBVA Compass is the 15th largest
U.S. commercial bank based on deposit market share. Additional
information concerning BBVA Compass can be found on our website
www.bbvacompass.com.
Editor's Note:
BBVA Compass is a trade name of Compass Bank. Compass Bank,
member FDIC.
SOURCE BBVA Group