CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The first leg of LeBron James' annual Asian tour for Nike was canceled Wednesday, as the athletic shoe and apparel giant cited "logistical challenges" in Manila, Philippines.
James was to make his third trip to the Asian country on Thursday and Friday as part of Nike's "Battle the Doubt Challenge" -- a day-long basketball camp and evening event featuring the Cavaliers superstar, who paced Cleveland in its historic comeback from being down 3-1 to Golden State to win the 2016 Finals.
(As no team had ever recovered from such a steep deficit in the Finals, there was definitely some doubt to be battled on the part of James and the Cavs.)
Nike gave no further explanation for the cancellation.
"Due to logistical challenges Nike has made the difficult decision to cancel the Manila portion of LeBron James' Asia tour," the shoe company said in the statement. "We apologize to all the fans in the Philippines and will look to reschedule the tour in the future."
A spokeswoman for James directed all questions to Nike. Late Wednesday, James named on Twitter unspecified "events" as a cause for the cancellation and said he's "always enjoyed my time" there.
This is the second time this week a major figure from the United States has canceled on the Philippines.
Talks between President Barack Obama and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte were called off after Duterte called Obama a slur Monday. The two were supposed to meet in nearby Laos this week.
Also, last week, a terrorist attack in the Philippines killed 14 people.
Neither Nike nor James has released the rest of the schedule for James' annual Asian trip to U.S. media, though it is highly likely he'll spend time in China. According to Nike's quarterly earnings report, sales grew in the Greater Chinese Market in fiscal year 2016 by 27 percent. Globally, Nike's sales were up 6 percent to $32.4 billion -- so sales in China (the world's largest market for basketball) and surrounding Asian nations were a primary driver for the company.
This is James' 12th consecutive trip to the continent with Nike, which has routinely sent its athletes there over the past decade.
And now there's some competition. Stephen Curry has been in China for a week representing Under Armour. According to ESPN's Darren Rovell, who covered Curry's trip overseas, Under Armour revenues in China this year are expected to be $180 million. Nike's entire business is 6.5 times larger than Under Armour's and 21 times larger in China alone, Rovell reported -- though Under Armour's sales in China were just $7.4 million in 2013.
James is expected to host the Cavs for a few voluntary workouts in or near Los Angeles before the team begins training camp in Independence on Sept. 26.
James will also make his first in-person appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show Wednesday, according to WKYC Channel 3, which will air the show locally at 4 p.m.
Curry, for what it's worth, will join DeGeneres next week. James called him a "fierce competitor" and said it "means a lot to me" that both he and Curry -- "two of the most talked about athletes in the world" -- were born in Akron.