Since its establishment in 2014, the Philippine Arena has done a good job serving as a hotbed of sports and entertainment.

The cavernous, 55,000-seater stadium had already hosted some of the country's biggest and most prestigious sports events, including the 30th Southeast Asian Games, previous windows of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, Philippine Basketball Association championship showdowns featuring Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and FIBA 3×3 World Cup.

The opening salvo of the 2014 PBA season drew 52,612 fans when Kia, then bannered by Sen. Manny Pacquiao as playing-coach, defeated Blackwater, 80-66, while the Kings beat TNT Tropang Giga, 101-81, in the main game.

Ginebra, the league's most popular squad, would set three more records at the Philippine Arena, which was built during the centennial celebration of Iglesia ni Cristo.

The Kings attracted 53,642 spectators in Game 6 of their 2017 Governors' Cup best-of-seven championship series against Meralco. But the Bolts spoiled the party, 98-91, to forge a Game 7 that drew a record-breaking 54,086 fans two days layer.

The Kings won, 101-96, off a heroic Justin Brownlee jumper to complete their first back-to-back titles in 38 years and 10th overall crown.

The same Ginebra magic was again in full display six years later when the Kings battled the visiting Bay Area Dragons in Game 7 of their Commissioner's Cup best-of-seven finals series on 15 January.

The match, which was billed as the battle between the hometown hero and foreign invader, was witnessed by 54,589 fans, making it the most watched basketball game in Philippine history.

But the Philippine Arena hosted not just the good times.

It also witnessed one of the darkest chapters in Philippine sports history when some members of Gilas Pilipinas traded punches with the Australian basketball squad during the 2019 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifying Tournament on 2 July 2018.