The arena enjoys a rich basketball tradition having been the venue of most of the games of the Philippine Basketball Association, the first and oldest professional basketball league in Asia and the oldest in the world outside the U.S., from 1985 to 1992 and from 1999 to 2002.
In January 2011, FIBA Asia deputy secretary general Hagop Khajirian along with SBP president Manuel V. Pangilinan inspected the venue.