WEBVTT - Episode 1 - Welcome to Paradise 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:05.160 I used to always come early for the games, and 0:00:05.680 --> 0:00:09.239 there's ten thousand people there for our warm up. It's 0:00:09.240 --> 0:00:13.240 a love affair. It's a love affair with the NBA. 0:00:13.600 --> 0:00:17.760 It's ingrained. I think from the cradle. You know, there's religion, 0:00:18.200 --> 0:00:22.720 there's politics, and there's basketball. It got to the point 0:00:22.720 --> 0:00:26.479 where Fizz and my other assistant, Chad Camra, were signing 0:00:26.600 --> 0:00:33.120 kids foreheads. My legacy was forty two years ago, but 0:00:33.240 --> 0:00:35.840 these people act like it was yesterday. You had lunch 0:00:35.840 --> 0:00:39.239 with him, yeah, but I wasn't able to eat. I 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:42.959 was like, just like I had lunch, cat sat next 0:00:43.000 --> 0:00:47.280 to him. Hey, if we could be partial contributors to 0:00:48.000 --> 0:00:55.080 being dreammakers, I'm all four. Picture a place where basketball 0:00:55.400 --> 0:00:59.120 is everywhere, from the air you breathe, to soil beneath 0:00:59.120 --> 0:01:03.480 your feet, where people hoop anywhere and everywhere, from MBA 0:01:03.600 --> 0:01:06.800 ready arenas to the middle of streets to the slopes 0:01:06.800 --> 0:01:10.760 of active volcanoes, where the most common item in people's 0:01:10.800 --> 0:01:14.440 wardrobes is a jersey, and the soundtrack to everyday life 0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:18.680 is a bouncing ball. This place, this hoops heaven, is 0:01:18.720 --> 0:01:30.280 the Philippines. Basketball where we're standing tallis when you travel 0:01:30.360 --> 0:01:34.000 through the country You're guaranteed to see people outside shooting, 0:01:34.240 --> 0:01:37.839 driving and defending on dirt and concrete courts, and they're 0:01:37.840 --> 0:01:40.520 playing either in bare feet or were just flip flops 0:01:40.640 --> 0:01:44.360 or channellas on their feet. But for real, the Philippines 0:01:44.440 --> 0:01:48.240 passion for basketball is off the charts. Don't take my 0:01:48.320 --> 0:01:51.280 word for it, though. We asked Donna Reus, director of 0:01:51.360 --> 0:01:54.680 Content and Media Distribution at MBA Asia, to bring us 0:01:54.680 --> 0:01:58.440 the numbers. We'll hear from Donna later in the episode 0:01:59.600 --> 0:02:03.240 of the population in the Philippines consider themselves NBA fans. 0:02:03.520 --> 0:02:06.640 That's the largest person to JAMO in all countries, and 0:02:06.840 --> 0:02:10.959 two thirds of households in the Philippines watched MBA coverage 0:02:11.040 --> 0:02:14.640 last season. It's no surprise that basketball caught on in 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:18.320 the Philippines. Basketball is caught on almost everywhere but no 0:02:18.440 --> 0:02:21.679 other country, and people have embraced the game the way 0:02:21.720 --> 0:02:26.360 Filipinos have, where it's almost a national religion. Welcome to 0:02:26.400 --> 0:02:29.440 hoops Paradise, the Philippines Love of the game. Brought to 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:38.040 you by iHeartRadio and the MBA pastable. What's up, everyone, 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:40.960 I'm Cassidy Hubber. If you're a basketball fan, you may 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:43.840 know me from the NBA sidelines, where I'm a reporter 0:02:43.919 --> 0:02:46.840 for ESPN and the host of the show Hoop Streams. 0:02:47.160 --> 0:02:50.080 But what you might not know unless you're Filipino, in 0:02:50.120 --> 0:02:53.560 which case you almost definitely know, is that I'm Filipino 0:02:53.600 --> 0:02:58.120 American and that basketball is in my blood, not just 0:02:58.200 --> 0:03:01.200 because it's a national obsession in the country where my 0:03:01.240 --> 0:03:04.320 mother was born, but because I grew up playing around 0:03:04.320 --> 0:03:06.960 the world with my dad in the driveway of our 0:03:07.000 --> 0:03:10.600 home right outside of Chicago. My father's roots are Irish 0:03:10.600 --> 0:03:13.040 and German, but his love for the game would be 0:03:13.160 --> 0:03:16.080 right at home in the Philippines. Even now, he just 0:03:16.160 --> 0:03:19.760 turns seventy, and he still has a regular pickup run. 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:25.040 He spent a lifetime around American basketball, and so have I. 0:03:25.040 --> 0:03:26.800 I've only gotten the chance to go back to the 0:03:26.800 --> 0:03:29.920 Philippines with my mom twice. I've seen enough to know 0:03:30.000 --> 0:03:33.040 that basketball is a huge deal in the Philippines, but 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:35.880 I don't know the country well enough to explain every 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:39.520 aspect of its roundball infatuation, at least not like someone 0:03:39.600 --> 0:03:42.920 who grew up there could. Luckily, though, I'm taking this 0:03:43.000 --> 0:03:45.480 journey with someone who did grow up in the Philippines, 0:03:45.600 --> 0:03:48.880 and he understands the country's basketball jones about as well 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:54.920 as anyone on the planet. Nico, what a thanks, Cassidy. 0:03:55.160 --> 0:03:58.240 I'm Nico Ramos, a sports broadcaster here in Manila, where 0:03:58.440 --> 0:04:01.120 I used to have a job almost exactly like yours 0:04:01.200 --> 0:04:04.800 during NBA games, only I was a reporter and then 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:07.840 the commentator for a professional league which is called, in 0:04:07.920 --> 0:04:12.480 a very intentional nods for our American counterparts, the PBA 0:04:12.640 --> 0:04:17.400 or Philippine Basketball Association. I played for a very small, 0:04:17.520 --> 0:04:20.240 very bad college team, but I used to tell everybody 0:04:20.440 --> 0:04:22.120 I was the only one who was going to make 0:04:22.120 --> 0:04:26.560 it to the PBA. I was right, kind of Nico, 0:04:26.760 --> 0:04:29.880 inside the lines or outside the lines, you made it. 0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:33.200 And in this podcast, we want to explore the Philippines 0:04:33.279 --> 0:04:36.000 passion for the sport. How did a nation on the 0:04:36.040 --> 0:04:41.440 other side of the world, from the YMCA Gymnasium in Springfield, Massachusetts, 0:04:41.480 --> 0:04:44.760 where doctor James Naismith first hung a pair of peach 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:48.320 baskets and instructed his students to toss a leather ball 0:04:48.440 --> 0:04:52.040 into the hoops, come to a door basketball Like almost 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:55.080 no other country on the planet. It's not like the 0:04:55.080 --> 0:04:58.799 Philippines is an international powerhouse unless you're at least fifty 0:04:58.880 --> 0:05:00.960 years old. The country has sent a team to the 0:05:01.000 --> 0:05:05.440 Olympic Basketball Tournament in your lifetime. It also hasn't produced 0:05:05.480 --> 0:05:12.320 a single homegrown NBA player ever yet, And well, we 0:05:12.400 --> 0:05:15.560 might as well address the undersized elephant in the room. 0:05:15.920 --> 0:05:21.160 Filipinos usually aren't very tall. In fact, statistically speaking, we're 0:05:21.160 --> 0:05:24.880 among the shortest people in the world. National surveys have 0:05:25.080 --> 0:05:29.200 repeatedly measured the average height of Filipino men at about 0:05:29.240 --> 0:05:32.560 five foot four. You know, we're still on average not 0:05:32.640 --> 0:05:34.760 at tall people. So we have to be kind of 0:05:34.800 --> 0:05:38.400 creative to be successful on the court. That's Donna as 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:42.240 director of Content and Needia Distribution at NBA Asia. So 0:05:42.279 --> 0:05:45.920 I think that's kind of the hallmark of Filipino basketball 0:05:46.480 --> 0:05:49.880 is that we're pretty good at, like being creative. I 0:05:50.000 --> 0:05:51.919 like this word a couple of words, I guess. Like 0:05:52.240 --> 0:05:56.320 there's gulang, which literally means age in the basketball sense. 0:05:56.400 --> 0:05:58.760 It sometimes can take on a negative connotation, but I 0:05:58.800 --> 0:06:01.920 think for me means using your smarts to make up 0:06:01.960 --> 0:06:04.440 for lack of like height or hef. But maybe a 0:06:04.480 --> 0:06:08.040 better word is discarte, which I think kind of translates 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:10.280 to being strategic, but I guess it's the same thing 0:06:10.360 --> 0:06:12.840 right to use. You're smart, to outsmart somebody and just 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:16.360 kind of working around your physical disadvantages. Now, Cassidy, let 0:06:16.360 --> 0:06:19.880 me translate that for you, because Donna is though much 0:06:19.920 --> 0:06:23.480 more polite Filipino out of the three of us, All 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:27.040 of that really adds up to a grabbing of the risks. Yeah, 0:06:27.600 --> 0:06:30.960 pulling on the jersey's, hugging on the opponent's shorts without 0:06:31.000 --> 0:06:34.480 the referee seeing scrap. All of that adds up to 0:06:34.600 --> 0:06:38.480 gulang And you know, it's it's kind of it's kind 0:06:38.480 --> 0:06:40.560 of this badge of honor that you kind of earn 0:06:40.680 --> 0:06:43.120 when you're a young player. We all actually have these 0:06:43.400 --> 0:06:47.400 moments when we remember someone older telling us I'm a 0:06:47.440 --> 0:06:50.600 gulan ka, which means, oh, now you know how to play. 0:06:50.640 --> 0:06:53.960 Now you know how to play. I feel like I 0:06:54.000 --> 0:06:56.240 need to start using that a little bit more here 0:06:56.240 --> 0:07:00.520 in the States. And just like surprise people, I'm paper. 0:07:01.040 --> 0:07:02.960 None of this adds up to the profile of a 0:07:03.040 --> 0:07:06.680 country made up of one hundred million basketball junkies and 0:07:06.800 --> 0:07:09.840 NBA addicts. Yet the two times I visited family in 0:07:09.840 --> 0:07:13.400 the Philippines with my mom, I've seen this sport everywhere 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:17.440 around me, pickup games on every street corner, NBA stars 0:07:17.560 --> 0:07:20.760 passed in present, smiling down at me from a twelve 0:07:20.800 --> 0:07:24.920 story billboard, and live game broadcasts on TV from SunUp 0:07:25.160 --> 0:07:28.840 to sundown. When it comes to Filipino fans interest in 0:07:29.000 --> 0:07:33.680 NBA basketball, the numbers are mind blowing. On social media, 0:07:33.720 --> 0:07:37.200 the league's Facebook page has more than eight million followers 0:07:37.200 --> 0:07:40.720 from the Philippines that ranks number two in the world, 0:07:40.920 --> 0:07:45.240 above every country but the States. Last season, viewers from 0:07:45.240 --> 0:07:48.600 the Philippines accounted for one third of the total hours 0:07:48.680 --> 0:07:52.000 watched on the NBA's YouTube channel. And for all those 0:07:52.040 --> 0:07:55.040 critics who say the Dunk contest has lost its charm, 0:07:55.600 --> 0:07:59.120 don't bring that mess to Manila. Because Filipinos watched almost 0:07:59.120 --> 0:08:02.640 ten and a half million hours of MBA content last 0:08:02.640 --> 0:08:07.360 All Star weekend, about twenty percent of all worldwide consumption. Well, 0:08:07.360 --> 0:08:10.880 there's no stopping Filipinos from watching basketball, and watching a 0:08:10.960 --> 0:08:14.600 lot of it. As they say. If you know, you know. 0:08:15.400 --> 0:08:18.160 When I worked as editor in chief of Slam Philippines 0:08:18.200 --> 0:08:20.920 and even now in my position as Senior brand director 0:08:20.960 --> 0:08:23.560 for Titan, I spend a lot of time in meetings 0:08:23.560 --> 0:08:27.760 with basketball and sneaker executives from other countries and Whenever 0:08:27.800 --> 0:08:32.040 I start sharing stats about Filipino basketball obsession, or when 0:08:32.080 --> 0:08:35.319 I tell them stories about teenagers practicing step back threes 0:08:35.360 --> 0:08:39.880 and their flip flops, they can hardly believe what they're hearing. Basically, 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:42.120 a big part of my job is to translate the 0:08:42.160 --> 0:08:45.920 country's national obsession to the international brands we work with, 0:08:46.240 --> 0:08:48.760 and to always be looking for ways to connect people 0:08:48.800 --> 0:08:51.319 through the sport. So does that mean you could tell 0:08:51.360 --> 0:08:54.200 me what's going on with the Senator who has his 0:08:54.320 --> 0:08:58.400 own signature shoe? I thought you'd never ask. But for 0:08:58.480 --> 0:09:01.199 the record, that wasn't us. Don't pin that on us. 0:09:01.240 --> 0:09:05.480 Titan was not the mastermind behind Senator Bong Goes twenty 0:09:05.800 --> 0:09:10.040 eighteen three point King sneaker drop. That was a local 0:09:10.080 --> 0:09:14.280 apparel company called World Balance and the shoe a white 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:18.679 and lime green low top with a mesh body. Yeah, 0:09:18.720 --> 0:09:21.160 it was a real thing. And yes, before you ask, 0:09:21.360 --> 0:09:26.880 the Senator Ken stroke it from way downtown. The sneaker 0:09:26.960 --> 0:09:29.720 was a limited release of only five hundred pairs and 0:09:29.800 --> 0:09:33.280 they were mostly you know, created to drum a publicity 0:09:33.320 --> 0:09:36.959 for Goes. Can I say it? But successful Senate campaign 0:09:37.080 --> 0:09:40.120 that year? All in all, yes, there's no denying they 0:09:40.160 --> 0:09:44.240 were real. Local influencers even did unboxing videos on YouTube 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:48.320 comparing the three point Kings quote unquote, vibe and fit 0:09:49.000 --> 0:09:52.360 to the Nike KD Elevins. You gotta be the shoes. 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:55.040 And here I am still waiting for new balance to 0:09:55.080 --> 0:09:58.000 come out with the Obama. Yes, we can mids the 0:09:58.120 --> 0:10:04.440 intersection between basketball and politics in the Philippines. It's an amazing, 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:08.640 an often ridiculous way to illustrate how deeply the sport 0:10:08.760 --> 0:10:14.360 is ingrained in Filipinos lives. All right, Cassidy, Now it's 0:10:14.480 --> 0:10:17.000 my turn to ask the question. The times you did 0:10:17.080 --> 0:10:19.959 visit family here in the Philippines, what do you notice 0:10:20.000 --> 0:10:24.080 about basketball in the country. Well, regretfully, I've only been 0:10:24.080 --> 0:10:27.160 back twice. First time I was so little i can 0:10:27.200 --> 0:10:30.680 barely remember it. The second time I was in college. 0:10:31.080 --> 0:10:34.400 And Filipino Americans know how it goes when we come 0:10:34.440 --> 0:10:37.080 home for a visit. Our families basically kidnap us from 0:10:37.120 --> 0:10:39.840 the moment we land in Manila till they return us 0:10:39.840 --> 0:10:42.679 to the airport a few hours before the return flight. 0:10:42.960 --> 0:10:46.440 So the entire trip we've been shuttle door to door 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:50.079 from the family home to the mall, to the restaurant 0:10:50.440 --> 0:10:53.840 to the beach and then back. But I did spend 0:10:53.880 --> 0:10:57.760 a lot of time in traffic gazing at my surroundings 0:10:57.800 --> 0:11:01.840 from the backseat of my family car. And during those hours, 0:11:01.840 --> 0:11:05.959 even when I wasn't looking for it, I saw basketball everywhere. 0:11:06.679 --> 0:11:10.320 There were vendors walking through the gridlock selling things you'd expect, 0:11:10.400 --> 0:11:13.520 like water bottles and air fresheners, but also items that 0:11:13.559 --> 0:11:17.800 seem completely useless in a traffic jam, like feather dusters, 0:11:17.840 --> 0:11:23.600 toilet plungers, and yes, fully inflated, bright orange rubber basketballs. 0:11:23.880 --> 0:11:27.160 Are people really working on their handles while waiting at 0:11:27.200 --> 0:11:30.480 red lights? I mean smart, like get that handlework in 0:11:30.520 --> 0:11:33.440 when you can. But other times I'd look out the 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:37.880 window and see Magic Johnson's painted portrait staring right back 0:11:37.920 --> 0:11:40.720 at me, along with Byron Scott, James Worthy, and the 0:11:40.720 --> 0:11:43.360 rest of the Showtime Lakers starting five from the side 0:11:43.360 --> 0:11:46.800 of one of those public transport cheapneys. But what really 0:11:46.840 --> 0:11:50.160 struck me were the basketball courts. Every corner had its 0:11:50.160 --> 0:11:53.320 own makeshift half court, and every town plaza had a 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:58.000 full court, complete with concrete bleachers, an aluminum roof, and 0:11:58.000 --> 0:12:01.400 an electronic scoreboard. A lot of them look like they 0:12:01.400 --> 0:12:05.880 had fiberglass backboards and breakaway rims. You know how jealous 0:12:05.920 --> 0:12:08.320 I would have been of public courts like these during 0:12:08.320 --> 0:12:11.680 the middle school heyday of my playing career. Yeah, that's 0:12:11.679 --> 0:12:14.880 what makes the Philippines basketball heaven in a lot of ways. 0:12:15.200 --> 0:12:17.160 No matter how you connect with a sport, you're going 0:12:17.240 --> 0:12:19.880 to find a court and more importantly, a level to 0:12:20.000 --> 0:12:23.000 play at. If you're elite, you're gonna gravitate towards the 0:12:23.000 --> 0:12:25.840 elite guys. Now, if you're like me and you just 0:12:25.880 --> 0:12:27.920 want to sweat once or twice a week, there's that 0:12:28.000 --> 0:12:30.559 group for you too. If you're just hanging out or 0:12:30.840 --> 0:12:33.800 around your street and your flip flops, there's a half 0:12:33.800 --> 0:12:36.560 court there that you guys built on an electricity pole, 0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:40.200 and playing there means something to whether you live in 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:43.800 a city or in the province, those courts are centers 0:12:43.800 --> 0:12:47.360 of community life. Sometimes it feels even stronger in the 0:12:47.360 --> 0:12:51.480 most rural areas, where the basketball court serves so many functions. 0:12:52.160 --> 0:12:55.240 It's the open space where farmers lay down their rice 0:12:55.280 --> 0:12:58.120 crops out to dry. It's the banquet hall where the 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:01.959 town holds beauty pageants and talent shows and six am 0:13:02.040 --> 0:13:06.520 zoomba classes. It's the evacuation center when it's hyphoon threatens 0:13:06.559 --> 0:13:10.200 people's homes, and it's the spot where local governments administer 0:13:10.360 --> 0:13:15.559 public health programs like vaccination campaigns, and yes, even summertime 0:13:15.600 --> 0:13:20.520 community circumctition events. Don't ask. It's all in the basketball court. 0:13:20.760 --> 0:13:23.800 And I haven't even mentioned the basketball that's played there yet. 0:13:24.200 --> 0:13:27.160 Like I've been lucky enough to play basketball all around 0:13:27.160 --> 0:13:32.120 the world, I played terrible Division three college basketball here 0:13:32.120 --> 0:13:34.920 in the Philippines, and to this day, the best feeling 0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:38.320 I've ever had while playing the game wasn't when I 0:13:38.360 --> 0:13:41.599 shared the court with Kevin Durant or Blake Griffin or 0:13:41.840 --> 0:13:46.240 sneaker launch runs. He drops something, Oh yeah, no, yeah, 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:50.199 just should I double click on some details because that 0:13:51.160 --> 0:13:53.280 time I played with KD he was just talking trash 0:13:53.280 --> 0:13:55.840 at me because I airballed the jumper. He remembers me 0:13:55.920 --> 0:14:00.679 to this day as Manila No jumper. Yes, he still 0:14:00.679 --> 0:14:03.440 calls me that I'm bringing that up next time I 0:14:03.440 --> 0:14:07.080 see him at shoot around. And Blake Griffin once passed 0:14:07.080 --> 0:14:09.320 the ball to me and I shot at three and 0:14:09.400 --> 0:14:11.480 it went in and I told him to please tell 0:14:11.559 --> 0:14:15.960 KDE and he said, that's really weird. So while I 0:14:16.160 --> 0:14:19.640 name drop the details, though, aren't something I'm really eager 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:22.880 to share. As I was saying, it's not when playing 0:14:22.920 --> 0:14:25.160 with those guys that I felt the best. It was 0:14:25.720 --> 0:14:28.320 on the court. Right down the street from my house 0:14:28.360 --> 0:14:32.040 in Marquina City, there was this one special summer where 0:14:32.280 --> 0:14:36.080 our neighborhood, which consists of three streets, was split into 0:14:36.160 --> 0:14:40.440 four teams, and the only rule was brothers and dads 0:14:40.720 --> 0:14:43.160 can't play on the same team. We have to split 0:14:43.200 --> 0:14:46.280 it off so that everyone makes friends with everybody. So 0:14:46.360 --> 0:14:49.360 in the finals, my dad was coaching his team and 0:14:49.440 --> 0:14:52.560 I was playing for mine. He was heckling me the 0:14:52.800 --> 0:14:56.200 entire game. So when I hit a big three pointer 0:14:56.360 --> 0:14:59.400 in the fourth quarter, that really pissed him off. To 0:14:59.520 --> 0:15:02.280 this day, that's my favorite basketball memory because seeing my 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:05.040 dad not knowing if he was supposed to be proud 0:15:05.120 --> 0:15:07.080 of me or if he was supposed to be mad 0:15:07.160 --> 0:15:12.840 because he was losing. It's priceless. Favorite basketball memory. Yeah, 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:15.640 because me and my two brothers were talking smack to 0:15:15.720 --> 0:15:18.160 my dad everyone like, that's what you get for not 0:15:18.280 --> 0:15:21.520 betting on one of us. It's true, talk about tough love. 0:15:22.240 --> 0:15:24.760 My mom was there upset because everybody was late for 0:15:24.840 --> 0:15:27.640 dinner and that double that she had made was getting cold, 0:15:27.680 --> 0:15:30.040 and she didn't go there to watch. She just went 0:15:30.040 --> 0:15:31.800 there and crossed the street to tell the four of 0:15:31.880 --> 0:15:36.160 us to go home. Incredible. To this day, and this 0:15:36.240 --> 0:15:38.800 is no exaggeration, I still have people from that neighborhood 0:15:38.800 --> 0:15:41.480 come up to me and say, I was there when 0:15:41.520 --> 0:15:44.360 you hit that shot and your dad got pissed off. 0:15:45.240 --> 0:15:47.640 Everybody in the country has a story like that. The 0:15:47.760 --> 0:15:51.520 game is tied to our most cherished memories, the unforgettable 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:54.800 moments shared with our whole communities. And even if those 0:15:54.840 --> 0:15:58.120 moments didn't come in a basketball game, they for sure 0:15:58.240 --> 0:16:02.160 happened on a basketball court. Yeah, in Tenement, the one 0:16:02.440 --> 0:16:05.760 important place. He's the basketball court. You know why. The 0:16:05.840 --> 0:16:12.280 camaraderie there, the family itself, it's built there. That was 0:16:12.360 --> 0:16:17.000 coach Eddie Barboena describing the similar connection his community has 0:16:17.080 --> 0:16:20.680 with their central basketball court. Only their court and their 0:16:20.680 --> 0:16:24.480 community is unlike any other in the Philippines. It's the 0:16:24.560 --> 0:16:29.400 only street court in the nation that Jordan Clarkson, Paul George, 0:16:29.720 --> 0:16:34.000 and Lebron James have made round ball pilgrimages too, a 0:16:34.120 --> 0:16:37.080 place so special that Lebron left a cement imprint of 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:40.680 his hand behind to mark his visit. That place is 0:16:40.720 --> 0:16:43.960 located into gig one of these seventeen cities that make 0:16:44.040 --> 0:16:48.520 up Metro Manila, and that famous blacktop court is named Tenement, 0:16:48.720 --> 0:16:51.720 after the housing structure that surrounds it. So I'm a 0:16:51.800 --> 0:16:55.680 trainer coach here they just may see how to help people. 0:16:56.200 --> 0:17:03.120 The Tenement was built on nineteen sixty two President just Oo. 0:17:03.560 --> 0:17:11.000 This building was condemned, but the japan Engineering c and 0:17:11.080 --> 0:17:15.320 test our building here. It lasts more than fifteen years. 0:17:16.080 --> 0:17:20.080 They said that this place is not safe, but they're wrong. 0:17:21.480 --> 0:17:24.320 This place is so much love. Where we come back, 0:17:24.560 --> 0:17:38.439 it's time for a quick ta gala Clesson Cassidy. I 0:17:38.480 --> 0:17:41.000 don't mean to put you on the spot, but how's 0:17:41.000 --> 0:17:45.000 your tag? Um? Look, this is not like I still 0:17:45.040 --> 0:17:47.679 hold this against my mom or my Lola, who you 0:17:47.680 --> 0:17:50.920 know both were in the household. I was my whole 0:17:51.040 --> 0:17:53.920 entire life raising me um. But they didn't teach me 0:17:54.000 --> 0:17:56.679 to galog. That's okay. I know a few words, and 0:17:56.720 --> 0:17:59.720 you I know a few phrases like I'm not cool 0:18:00.119 --> 0:18:07.800 or you know massa rop and uh yepital and you 0:18:07.840 --> 0:18:10.400 know I can. I can say a few things, but 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:12.800 not as much as I want to and I still 0:18:12.840 --> 0:18:16.560 need to. You know, I still hold that against my mom. 0:18:16.640 --> 0:18:19.800 It's their fault. It's completely on that. But look, it's 0:18:19.800 --> 0:18:21.920 not a problem that the gout a lesson have got 0:18:21.960 --> 0:18:24.080 here for you. Isn't something you would have learned in 0:18:24.119 --> 0:18:27.960 college courses or Rosetta Stone. We're pretty much anywhere outside 0:18:27.960 --> 0:18:31.639 of the Philippines among nineties era NBA fans. And I 0:18:31.680 --> 0:18:34.320 can't even blame this on your mom or your lola, 0:18:34.480 --> 0:18:37.120 because you had to be a basketball fan to really 0:18:37.160 --> 0:18:41.160 know this. Now, when I bring up the greatest pick 0:18:41.200 --> 0:18:45.560 and roll duos of the nineties era, who are the 0:18:45.640 --> 0:18:48.879 first two players who come to mind? Quick? Can't you 0:18:49.000 --> 0:18:53.600 watched your hometown Chicago Bulls beat them in the finals twice? Oh, 0:18:53.720 --> 0:18:57.760 easy work? John Stockton and Karl Malone? Right? Perfect? And 0:18:57.840 --> 0:19:00.399 do you remember how the great and be on NBC 0:19:00.560 --> 0:19:03.560 announcer Marv Albert would call their plays together back then? 0:19:06.119 --> 0:19:11.040 Stockton to Malone Bengo. Well, in Filipino, the version of 0:19:11.119 --> 0:19:14.560 expanded Tagalog that serves as the Philippines national language, the 0:19:14.680 --> 0:19:19.919 same exact sounds, that combination of phonetics they happen to 0:19:19.960 --> 0:19:26.000 form the sentence Stockton to Malone, which means Stockton jump 0:19:27.000 --> 0:19:30.840 and every time the mailman delivered on a Stockton assist 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:33.800 in those years, it was like Marv and millions of 0:19:33.840 --> 0:19:37.520 Filipino NBA fans we're sharing an inside joke only we 0:19:37.640 --> 0:19:41.359 could understand. Oh wow, I feel the same kind of 0:19:41.560 --> 0:19:44.479 if you know, you know, connection with Filipino fans. I mean, 0:19:44.760 --> 0:19:47.280 you know, while covering the NBA most of the time, 0:19:47.320 --> 0:19:50.359 will be at the big events that draw spectators from 0:19:50.400 --> 0:19:53.320 all over the world, like All Star Weekend, Summer League, 0:19:53.440 --> 0:19:56.480 or the NBA Finals, and I'll be walking down like 0:19:56.520 --> 0:19:59.600 an arena hallway or spot a few fans sitting together 0:19:59.640 --> 0:20:02.560 in this hands and we'll just make eye contact. And 0:20:02.600 --> 0:20:05.360 this is something you know that like I do just 0:20:05.520 --> 0:20:09.000 on a daily basis, I will make sure if I 0:20:09.040 --> 0:20:12.760 think you're a Filipino, I will say something Filipino. Often 0:20:12.800 --> 0:20:16.720 I'm right, I'm like nine right, But specifically with NBA 0:20:16.800 --> 0:20:19.800 fans who come up to me during games or you know, 0:20:19.880 --> 0:20:24.600 at NBA events, I will absolutely say Filipino and then 0:20:24.640 --> 0:20:29.960 we would embrace and I would say Filipino, Filipino, Filipedo. 0:20:31.160 --> 0:20:33.600 And by the way, they don't point at you then 0:20:33.680 --> 0:20:36.320 giveaways that it's not a head nod. No, it's it's 0:20:36.359 --> 0:20:41.120 not a point. They kind of gesture their lips. Yes, 0:20:41.200 --> 0:20:44.120 because Filipino's talk with their face. Yeah, exactly over there, 0:20:44.400 --> 0:20:47.840 well there. So when you see them talking to someone 0:20:47.880 --> 0:20:50.280 whoever is next to them and then making that like 0:20:50.400 --> 0:20:53.359 kissing mark gesture at you, it's only to say you 0:20:53.359 --> 0:20:57.680 see her, Cassidy. Yes, it's not creepy. Yeah, okay, creeped out. 0:20:58.280 --> 0:21:00.359 And a lot of the time they'll stop me and 0:21:00.359 --> 0:21:03.320 share a quick version of their own basketball love story 0:21:03.320 --> 0:21:05.280 and then tell me how much it means to see 0:21:05.400 --> 0:21:09.840 a fellow Filipino on screen during NBA games. I know 0:21:09.920 --> 0:21:12.359 you hate it every time. I tell you how important 0:21:12.400 --> 0:21:15.040 that is to so many people here to see you 0:21:15.160 --> 0:21:17.880 represent us so well. I mean a lot of the time, 0:21:17.880 --> 0:21:21.639 the country's basketball passion shines brightest when our love for 0:21:21.680 --> 0:21:24.879 the game comes into contact with the oldest and best 0:21:24.960 --> 0:21:27.200 pro league in the world. So to have you there, 0:21:27.560 --> 0:21:32.600 it's incredibly, incredibly a proud moment, NonStop for all Filipinos everywhere. 0:21:33.200 --> 0:21:35.840 We've also seen it up close when great players like 0:21:35.920 --> 0:21:40.200 Lebron or Kde come through Manila during their offseason sneaker tours. 0:21:40.560 --> 0:21:44.280 When Kevin Durant visited Manila, he was greeted by chanting 0:21:44.320 --> 0:21:49.280 fans everywhere he went. It's a dream to look at 0:21:49.320 --> 0:21:51.919 man in the sea and didn't have Enos players here 0:21:51.960 --> 0:21:54.640 with them. Man can't beat there. So you know, I'm 0:21:54.680 --> 0:21:56.919 sure you'll see a future NBA player walking around here 0:21:56.960 --> 0:21:59.280 at some point. I mean, a chance to see a 0:21:59.400 --> 0:22:03.200 Finals MVP in the flesh, maybe even get close enough 0:22:03.240 --> 0:22:06.440 to ask for an autograph, for a selfie. It becomes 0:22:06.560 --> 0:22:10.879 almost like a religious experience, and the players feel it too. 0:22:11.160 --> 0:22:15.679 I mean, I remember any time Kobe Bryant would come 0:22:15.720 --> 0:22:20.359 to the Philippines on a sneaker tour, the country would stop, 0:22:21.200 --> 0:22:24.960 like everybody you knew would be at wherever it was. 0:22:25.440 --> 0:22:28.639 It was rumored that Kolby would be. It was raining, 0:22:28.880 --> 0:22:33.640 didn't matter, it was sun ten feet right over your head, 0:22:33.880 --> 0:22:36.320 did it matter. You were only going to see a 0:22:36.480 --> 0:22:40.800 glimpse of Kobe through the glass, didn't matter. There were 0:22:40.960 --> 0:22:44.119 thousands of people there just waiting to see him. The 0:22:44.280 --> 0:22:47.159 love definitely goes both ways, Nico. I remember back in 0:22:47.200 --> 0:22:50.880 two thousand and eight, after the Boston Celtics be Kobe 0:22:50.920 --> 0:22:53.760 and won their first championship since the Larry bird days, 0:22:54.000 --> 0:22:57.160 the team celebrated by going to a Manny Pacil fight 0:22:57.320 --> 0:23:00.119 in Las Vegas, and then all of a sudden, after 0:23:00.240 --> 0:23:03.600 Manny knocked out some poor guy named David Diaz, there 0:23:03.680 --> 0:23:08.800 was Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Sam Cassell, 0:23:08.960 --> 0:23:12.520 and Tony Allen partying in Manny's locker room, and you 0:23:12.560 --> 0:23:15.600 couldn't tell who was more starstruck to meet the other. 0:23:15.880 --> 0:23:18.640 I'm not sure Cage even knew, but before they went 0:23:18.680 --> 0:23:22.280 in there, Manny had been calling him his favorite player 0:23:22.440 --> 0:23:26.200 for years. Huge Man, huge Man. Just just what it is, Man, 0:23:26.240 --> 0:23:28.800 I'm a huge pac Man fans. While we're here, you 0:23:28.840 --> 0:23:31.000 know that this guy has never asked for the picture 0:23:31.040 --> 0:23:37.600 for anyone except you. He is your number one, the 0:23:37.680 --> 0:23:41.320 Philippines greatest living champion at the time when he could 0:23:41.359 --> 0:23:44.720 almost literally do no wrong in the eyes of fellopen noise, 0:23:45.160 --> 0:23:49.679 engaging in some adorable cross cultural bromance with future NBA 0:23:49.760 --> 0:23:52.480 Hall of famers, with some of the best basketball players 0:23:52.520 --> 0:23:57.040 on the planet looking up to our national sporting hero. 0:23:57.160 --> 0:24:00.840 For Filipinos watching the scene unfold, it was like Manny 0:24:00.920 --> 0:24:05.879 said a dream come true. Later on Manny's love for 0:24:05.960 --> 0:24:08.760 KG and the Celtics wound up playing a factor in 0:24:08.800 --> 0:24:12.280 one of the most controversial fights they June twenty twelve, 0:24:12.320 --> 0:24:15.400 lost to Timothy Bradley Junior that nobody watching the fight 0:24:15.440 --> 0:24:19.040 seemed to see Manny losing. Rumors swirled after the bout 0:24:19.040 --> 0:24:22.840 that Manny had angered the ringside judges by postponing his 0:24:23.000 --> 0:24:26.120 ring walk while he watched the Celtics play the Miami 0:24:26.200 --> 0:24:29.920 Heat in an Eastern Conference Finals game. I'm still I'm 0:24:29.960 --> 0:24:32.440 still sour about that loss. By the way, I still 0:24:32.560 --> 0:24:36.320