Episode 6 - Born and Raised

eventually make the dream come true. The country, with what I believe are the most passionate basketball fans in the world, can't wait much longer for it. But the good news is I don't think they'll have to. Thanks to everyone for listening throughout the series and for sharing the love of the game that exists in the Philippines like no other place in this world. Welcome to Episode six of Hoops Paradise. The Philippines love up the game basketball basketball.

Archell stand Nico. I hate to say it, but disappointed in you. Whoa whoa whoa me? What did I do? It's just that if you believed in yourself like I believe in you, I think the Philippines could have already had that elusive first born and raised NBA player that

the entire nation's been waiting decades to see. Well, well, well, you know when I watched the league these days, I can't tell you how often I find myself sitting there watching just the absolutely dominant play of so many, so many five foot nine and three quarter inch guards who've lost a step and maybe never even had anything to deserve to be called a step to begin with, and thinking, wow, I really am the prototype for the modern NBA. Fully, I had you around to push me to greatness when

I was just a little bit younger. It's what I do. But seriously, though, Nico, I'm curious why you think the Philippines, a country of more than one hundred million people where basketball is the unrivaled number one sport, hasn't produced an

NBA player yet. I mean, before we get there, let's look at the history of NBA players from East Asian nations and remember that any single kids' chances of being one of the four hundred and fifty players on an active NBA roster at any given time they're tiny, no matter where you're born, true, true, I mean, despite the NBA's growth, and popularity in the region. East Asia is still in its developmental stages as a potential source for

NBA talent. I mean, only ten players in history have grown up in the region and then made it to the league, six from China, three from Japan, and one from South Korea, and Southeast Asia has yet to produce an b A player. There have been several more NBA players of Asian descent who were raised in the States, like Jeremy Lynn, the pioneering Japanese American guard wat Missaka, and the Filipino Americans Raymond Townsend, Jordan Clarkson, and Jalen Green.

Of those ten East Asian players, only Yalming, the former Houston Rockets center who was inducted into the Naysmith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in twenty sixteen, made an MBA All Star team. Eight of them if you're keeping count, sure we're in the Wariam Shark. Others like Jan Lyon and Wang Gigi, had long, significant careers in the NBA but never quite broke through among the league's best players.

Japanese forwards Rui Hachimura of the Washington Wizards and Utawatanabe of the Brooklyn Nets are off to promising starts in their careers, but they don't project to be future All Stars. So basically, even the most powerful and well resourced nations in the Philippines global Neck of the Woods have been slower to produce NBA talent as rapidly as other continents

outside of North America, like Europe, Africa, and Australia. And that's fine as basketball fans, or sports fans in general, or just plain old human beings for that matter, But we don't have to treat everything like the metal count at an Olympic Games. But here in the Philippines, the elephant in the room when it comes to why the nation hasn't produced an NBA player yet has always been hyped.

I remember in episode four what coach Dick Mada said in nineteen seventy nine after his Washington Bullets beat a team of PBA All Stars in the first ever exhibition game between NBA players and Filipino pros held on Philippine soil. Good big men will surely beat good little men, but come on, that can't be the whole story. The fact that Filipinos on average are among the shortest people in the world is a major factor but there's got to

be more to it than that. Absolutely, and each next generation of PBA players seems to be blessed with a little bit more height than the last. But height will probably always be a limiting factor in the country's ability to develop NBA talent. But there's an interesting wrinkle to that idea. Filipinos have always been among the best short

basketball players in the world in the PBA. When imports with NBA experience are asked if they see any local players who might have what it takes to compete at the highest level, they often say yes, the best PBA guards are up there with the best of them in terms of raw talent, skill development, and shot making ability. Now, I'm sure those imports know it'll be good for their PBA careers if they engage in a little bit of

flattery when it comes to complimenting the local talent. But we've heard it enough times from enough different players to

believe that there's really some truth to the idea. Of course, that doesn't mean that you can pluck legendary Filipino guard out of the PBA, drop him into an NBA roster, and he'll be ready to contribute what those imports are saying is that if the most talented Philippine pros, regardless of height, had an opportunity to start training for the NBA at a young age, they possess the rats tools

to get there. So what you're saying is that whoever figures out how to unlock that potential and send a Filipino to the NBA will basically become a national hero and have their face put on one hundred pacel bill. But how come nobody's cracked that code yet? One factor that I think gets overlooked is how when it comes to giving our local talent the time and space to reach their full athletic potential, the Philippines passion for basketball sometimes it goes too far and actually can become an

obstacle in a player's development. It's like an unintended consequence of having such a strong local basketball culture, and it can affect Filipino players in a few different ways. For example, how about those great homegrown talents who win multiple PBA Most Valuable Player awards and lead their teams to championship dynasties. Is it really worth it to them to leave the Philippines and their prime of their hall of fame? PBA careers to chase an NBA dream. Maybe the dream isn't unreachable,

but it's still a long shot. And when you're already established as an MVP level talent in one of the world's true hotbeds of basketball fandom, I guess it's hard to walk away from the security and the wealth you've already built in your home country. Take June Mar Fahardo, the best Filipino player of the past decade. Beginning in twenty fourteen, the six foot tenh center won six straight six straight MVPs and made the Sun Miguel beer Man

nearly unbeatable in an all Filipino conference. When he retires, he'll probably be remembered as the greatest player in the history of Philippine basketball. June Mar's game was never tailor made for the modern NBA. He's an overpower, low post scorer with soft hands, can vacuum up rebounds, and pretty much guarantee two points anytime he catches the ball in

the paint. But even though he wasn't the exact type of player NBA teams looked for early in his career, NBA scouts saw how hard June maran the floor his natural finishing instincts and the impact he had on games, and a couple of franchises suggested he joined a summer league roster just to see how it might go. Maybe he'd be a learning experience, maybe it opened the door to something bigger. He said no thanks, and he was

probably thinking no way. He was already living the dream as a multiple time MVP in the league he grew up dreaming of playing in. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Yeah. I mean, it's hard to argue with that, who leaves in Hall of Fame career for what would be a still long shot chance at cracking an NBA roster. But even the players who've tried and not quite made

it to the NBA have accomplished something. I know. There've been a number of players from the Philippines who at least dipped a toe in those waters, exploring chances to play high school or college ball in the States and then maybe reach the NBA that way. And it seems like each time a new player takes the leap, he gets a little bit closer than his predecessors did. When someone finally breaks through, it'll be because of the other

Filipino NBA hopefuls who blaze the trail before him. In two thousand and seven in athletics, six foot nine four named Jopeth Aguilar transferred from the Philippine College hoops powerhouse Attaneo de Manila University to NCA Division one College Hoops at Western Kentucky, where he was teammates with future NBA guard Courtney Lee, But injuries limited jobhets playing time there, and eventually he found his way back to a sterling

career in the PBA. Kobe Paras, a six foot six guard who showed early flashes of brilliant talent and explosive hops in Manila high school tournaments, moved to Los Angeles in twenty thirteen to finish his high school career in California. He was on the right track, putting up big numbers against strong competition in earning D one scholarship offers, first

from UCLA and then at Crayton. But Kobe, the son of former PBA MVP turn comedic actor Benji Paras, struggled to find a role at the college level and returned home to finish his amateur career at the University of the Philippines. He since turned pro and now plays as an import in the Japanese B League. And then in twenty fifteen, Bobby Ray Parks Junior, the son of legendary PBA import Bobby Parks, tried to make the jump to the NBA level after playing college ball in the Philippines.

He went undrafted in the twenty fifteen NBA draft, but showed enough promise in pre draft workouts that the Dallas Mavericks added him to their Summer League roster and then signed him to play a season in the G League with the Texas Legends. Both of those accomplishments made history the first born and raised Filipino to play in Summer League and to make a G League roster, and that brings us to the seven foot two twenty year old

center Kai Soto. I started playing basketball because of mostly of my dad, because he played professionally in the Philippines. I'm from a city of Laskina City. It's a city in the Philippines, in Manila. The culture of basketball and

Philippines is just amazing. It's just it's like a religion. Now, in his second year as a professional with the Adelaide thirty six ers of the Australian abl Kay went undrafted in last year's NBA draft, but he's still working to catch an MBA team's eye, and he still represents the philippines best chance to achieve the NBA dream. Now, I promise I'm not bringing this up to torture you, but

can you give us a quick scouting profile? One more time of the Cassidy hoverth who Once upon a time, I'm dominated middle school basketball competition up and down the North side of Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. What are you doing? I mean, I'll play along because I trust you, Nico, but this better be going somewhere. Okay. From sixth to eighth grade, I ran local basketball leagues, ran them, Okay.

I grew early, so I was already close to my adult height, bigger than most of the girls I played against back then. I was athletic enough, I was coordinated enough, I was competitive enough, and I just out hustled people and scraped my way to back to back to back MVPs three three of them things. And I wasn't the most skilled. But you know, like no one at middle school is so my tenacity one out three times. Basically, you know, I was your classic undersize power forward who

peaked too early. Should have practiced more ball handling, mainly my left and shooting skills instead of you know, my baby shack drop step game in the low post, grab and rebounds like I'm Dennis Rodman, which you know, became kind of useless as soon as I got to high school and I stopped growing and couldn't overpower anyone else on the court anymore. And I mean, can I stop now? Is that enough? I have enough regret that I live with day in and day out. Could that be a

whole episode? Can we just go off on a whole episode just deep diving that talking to all the young girls that you dominate? It then perfect story though, it's a perfect description. Work on your left, boys and girls. Yeah, I mean yeah, I think your experience as you moved from middle school to high school it really helped illustrate one of the challenges regarding skill development in Philippine basketball, at least in terms of training a player for a

potential NBA future. In middle school, you were successful with a skill set that suddenly became less productive when you made the leap up to the high school level and found yourself competing against girls just as big or bigger than you. Once he lost that physical advantage, your game

wasn't three time MVP worthy anymore. Well. The lack of overall height among Filipino players has historically left our prospects in a similar bind when it came to making the leap to higher levels of play, whether it's international competitions like the Olympics or the Feeble World Cup, or even the distant dream of the NBA. I mean, I was over here crying, so I'm glad you brought it back

because I see where you're going. So if you're an athletic six foot four teenager in Manila, you're probably getting more experience in a big man role than a perimeter player, even though that height would still be small for an MBA wing exactly. And even if that six four pinoy had the dexterity and lateral quickness to develop perimeter skills that a player of his height would need to succeed in the NBA or in Europe, he might not get the opportunity to develop that side of his game enough

to make the leap to higher levels of play. The talent could be there, but he might never get the chance to nurture it. And what's he going to tell his high school coach who just sees that he's got the biggest kid on the floor and his team and he naturally wants that player in the paint. I mean, imagine stepping to some toughest nails high school coach and being like, Sir, I can't play center because I need

to develop an outside game for the NBA. Yeah, you'd better be ready to run laps all around Lunetta, Manila's answer to New York Central Park until you collapse if you run that plan by the coach. That's really at the heart of this cruel catch twenty two of basketball development.

The Filipino hooper is still having completely managed to break free from The players with the most NBA ready skill sets tend to be guards who are barely scraping six feet, while the players with more conventional NBA body types don't develop the outside game that they'd need to stand a chance against the best players in the world. I mean, you'd know better than may. But it does seem like the country's basketball coaches and trainers are working hard to

reverse that trend and develop more versatile, taller players. Take Kai Soto literally the tallest prospect the Philippines has ever produced at seven foot two, and he's been working on his touch on three pointers and running offense through his high post passing for pretty much as long as he's been playing basketball, and it shows. If anything, I get the sense that the NBA teams would like to see him develop a little more physicality to go with all

that finesse he flashes one hundred percent. It's definitely getting better, and access to an infinite library of training techniques and philosophies throughout YouTube University is helping players expand their games in ways previous generations never had the chance to, and the difference is already obvious in young national team players like my guy six foot seven UAAP champion up Fighting Maroon Carl Damayo, a twenty one year old forward whose

three point range ality to create off the dribble allow him to switch comfortably between roles as a big and as a wing, depending on the role his team needs

for him to play in different lineups. If Carl becomes a model for future Filipino players with similar height and athletic profiles, then it starts to become much easier to imagine the country producing talents worthy of the NBA's interest, and to get a deeper understanding of what it will take to develop not just the first born and raised Filipino NBA player, but a consistent pipeline of MBA worthy talent.

We wanted to speak with a Philippine basketball legend who has an insider's knowledge of both the PBA and MBA worlds. Jimmy Allipague, a Filipino American guard from Southern California, is currently an assistant coach with the Stockton Kings, the g

League affiliate of the NBA Sacramento Kings. As a player, the five nine point guard had anything but MBA height, but in moments that are unforgettable to Filipino fans, he gave MBA guards like Pablo Prigioni and JJ Borea all they could handle when Jimmy and the Philippine national team matched up against Argentina and Puerto Rico in the twenty

fourteen Feeble World Cup. And that's really just scratching the surface of a career full of international heroics to go along with six PBA Championships, two PBA Finals, MVP Awards, and the twenty eleven PBA regular season MVP. Between his fourteen season pro career playing in the Philippines and his current role helping the Stockton Kings G League players improve their games in hopes of earning full time roles in

the NBA. There's probably nobody on the planet with a better understanding of these strengths and weaknesses of Filipino players and exactly what the country needs to do to develop more NBA talent. You know, I think I think it would be groundbreaking. You know, again for a country that has such a deep love and passion for the game. I think it would just serve as a huge inspiration for the next generation to say, hey, this kid was born and raised here in the country, and now he's

playing against the best in the world. You know, obviously, you know, Kay, you know, is working his way towards blazon that trail. M And I think up to this point, he's he's done a great job. You know, he's only twenty years old. Um, I think I think he's still you know, he still has things to work on his game, but you know, he just went through the draft process. You know, he already played professionally in a very competitive

league in Australia. So I think he's on his way, you know, and hopefully he stays healthy and just continues to grow with his game and continues to just improve because at this level, I mean, it's it's the best in the world for a reason. But it's great to see him really carry the hopes of an entire country on his young shoulders. But getting a chance to talk to him a few weeks ago in Sacramental when he came to work out for the team, um, it was

really good. And again I think he does have time on his side, and it's just a matter of him continuing to work on his game and continue to improve, and hopefully he'll get that opportunity. So what do you think? How long will it be before the Philippines makes history with its first born and raised NBA player? Oh? Man, I don't know. I also don't want to say something presumptuous that it jinxes us and then I wind up

never seeing that moment come in my lifetime. I mean, all right, I asked the question, but like, relax, just looking for an over under here. No need to get like existential on us. But we're beIN noise. Basketball is existential. Fine, okay, okay. Let me think ever since Japetaguilar a College in Manila to make a run at US Division one ball, there's been a steady trickle, trickle of Filipino talent willing to chase the NBA dream. And over that time that trickle

has become more like a stream. And each new player in that lineage, from Kobe Paras to Bobby ray Park's junior to Kai, they all seem to get a little bit closer to the NBA. That's promising, But I don't want to make the mistake of assuming it'll always go that way. That just because Kai got so close to the next hopeful who comes along as a short bed to make it all the way, and it won't be anything to be a shamed of if more players try

and ultimately fall short. I mean, it is the NBA and there's only room for four hundred and fifty of the most gifted basketball players alive. But the way things are going and how fast Filipino players seem to be gaining the sort of skills they'll need to get the league's attention, someday, Hey, here it is, I think we could see the first NBA player born and raised the Philippines within I don't know, ten years time, twenty thirty three,

mark your calendar. Oh okay, marked, I think we need to talk about one more big subject before we wrap a bow around this podcast. What will it mean to each of us personally, to our families, to everyone living in the Philippines, and to the Filipinos based in countries all over the world when that first born and raise Pinoy finally makes it to the league. And to have that conversation, I asked a friend to join us. He has a way of putting things in perspective, which is

my nice way of saying. He's a world class overthinker. And you know he went to Harvard, so you know he's got class. A fellow member of the ESPN Filipino Cabayan Club and a proud chronicler of every major sporting achievement by Pinoy athletes ESPN and Meadowlarks. Pablo Esturing, what would it mean to Filipino fans to see the first born and raise Filipino player in the NBA? You know, have you ever thought about that and what do you think that would mean? Yeah, I've literally dreamed it. It is.

It's a messianic concept. And I say that with all of the knowledge of Catholicism, of religiosity informing our ancestry, Like I think people literally pray for this, and of course they do. I mean, look at the I mean the DNA, and I'll move to the science as well as the spirit of this, like the DNA of the Filipino right. It is defiant. It is so defiant in the face of a basic fact that says this sport is not for you. The universe. It seems at some point like God was like, you know what, I know.

You guys like boxing, grade you can go do that. You guys like cockfighting. It seems like maybe a little questionable ethnically, but can rock with it basketball. It is staggering how unrelenting we are in chasing this as the thing we love the most. I never got over that. I'll never get over it, and I refuse to give it up for that reason. So is that how you

would describe what it would mean to you personally? If as a fan, you're watching the NBA Draft and whoever Juan de la Cruz it is, and the two twenty something, hopefully it's the twenties draft, it's called up with the you know in pick of the draft, like, are you just gonna completely just lose it? What does it look like in the Tory household? In my dream? There are two versions that I'm not sure which version is best.

In the one dream, of course, he's a lottery pick, right, and he's on stage and he's dapping up Adam Silver and he's dancing in a way that also shows another great Filipino talent, maybe grabbing the microphone, doing a little karaoke, a little air supply. Maybe it's that. But in the second version of this dream, which I'm actually kind of more intrigued by, he's like, not there, it's a late round pick. But ESPN cuts to the home and you just see the spread. You see the titas, you see everybody,

like everyone has a plate. They're like they got let chone in their mouth. The csig is still it's still sizzling. You can hear it, like right off screen, you can smell it through the television. I kind of want the chaos of like and there he is with all of his cousins, or at least the people that he says are his cousins. It's really impossible to know based on the sheer numbers inside of this box. Uh yeah, man, I want I want the most Filipino version of this,

and I think that might be it. I think, I think though, that that second version happens. And then right behind him, it's the three of us because the family has reached out and like, these three are vaguely somehow connected to me. You know, we know them, we know them in Yeah, they're Tina baby, knew my Tino junior, and we're we're they went to school together, like you

know they they went to mass once. We're related. I mean, while we're talking about family, who in your life do you feel like would have the greatest sense of joy or pride when it happens. Is it you? Or do you have you know other family members who you feel like, like, does your mom you know, always point out, you know, versus Filipino like anyone. I mean, my life is constantly people pointing with their mouths towards people who are plausibly Filipino and being like miss Usa, y Erican idol, that

girl from high school musical. It's all that. And so I do have to credit like I inherited love of basketball truly from my dad and my mom. I'm first generation American. They came over. I inherited, I mean mostly from my dad. My mom really, I mean she supports, she now supports what I do in sports. So they're

candidates for this question. But the answer really is I have an almost three year old daughter now, and I am trying to raise her to care about basketball in the way that half of her, the Filipino half, truly

he needs to to continue my legacy. And so by the time this happens, and I believe she, I fear and actually hope, I suppose that, yes, she's conscious enough, she's old enough to have the ability to form memories of this moment when this hypothetical Filipino, this Juan de la Cruz is drafted that she will see that television screen and recognize herself, like and that's what this is about in the end, right like it's it's the Philippine.

I mean, look, Asia as a concept is vast, billions of people across so many countries and in America, lots of places, honestly across the world. Everything gets shrunk into one thing. We're all Asian, and I and part of me that resonates I feel it I take pride in that on some level, but really, the Filipino experience is a particular one. It's a particular one in the way that all cultures are, but ours when it comes to basketball,

is ours. Like I can't think of anything else that's like basketball in the Philippines as a matter of love, as a matter of family, as a matter of faith, and that shit to me, Like, I want, I want everyone in my bloodline to know and to feel that in the way that I think we do. And I think it's the ultimate achievement, right, because over the last few decades there has been this diaspoor of Filipino people

just going out into the world and joining workforces. It pick whichever country, right, I think it's the ultimate achievement that the peak elites avenger level ofw Filipino overseas foreign worker is an NBA player. Yeah, it's storybook. That's just where all of this is supposed to be headed. No, you've met our nurses, right you you you you know us. We're good to you. We speak startlingly good English. Look at this guy. You have to dunk on your head.

Enjoy that now. But what if you can't dunk on your head, like doesn't matter if that player goes on to have like a great career, like a regular one or poor one, like it's just being drafted. You know good enough, you know it's a great question. And I don't want to put all of this pressure on somebody who realistically, although Nate Robinson, I have learned in my extensive research is like fractionally Filipino, So I don't want

to absolutely claimed claimed. We tried to make Andre Blatch of Filipino through legislation to play for the national team back to back baskets there by black step back. Remember this is six powerfully we will take a sixteenth of Nate Robinsons. But even still, I don't want to put all the pressure on like, Okay, he needs to be like you know, he needs he needs to do the exact things that our height would not suggest that we can do. Um fare. I think it just needs to

be the style it needs to be. It needs to be a little reckless or a lot reckless. It needs to be unnecessary. Spin moves between the legs on layups like give me that three sixties, just like you know, a little jelly as the kids say now, but like it's the flare. It's the confidence, it's the it's the idea of like this is a culture that dances and things karaoke, and this is how they play basketball. I want all of this. I want I want the clogged

arteries of the Filipino digestive system. It's indulgence, the cholesterol, the unnecessary fat. I want all of that in this person's game. That's all I ask for it. Yeah, that's all you ask. I mean, it's poetic. You are a poetic I have a lot of space in my back for just like a massive tattoo. I think I just found out what I'm going to put there, and it's just like beautiful, perfect curative, entire the entire ten seconds

I'm just gonna have in my back. Yeah, it didn't go as well when I went to my doctor's office and got my physical and he was like, you need to stop eating what you whatever? It is. Yeah, it's like this ray, this X ray just has a picture of a pig on it. I don't understand how this is possible. Follow I know we laugh about it, I know we poke fun about you know us. Really covetting is the word covetting just like a home grown Filipino born and raised Lichon eating basketball player in the NBA.

Is there though a lesson here somewhere about us maybe not being so overly covettis of that one thing that the Philippines hasn't yet achieved in basketball, which is a homegrown NBA player when look at all the other things we have, you know, burden hand, burden bush, you know. O, We're a country that has a basketball culture that's maybe richer, deeper, definitely on the elite, you know, and it goes back through history, you know then compared to anywhere else on

the planet. No, it is I mean true to the whole idea of like exporting Filipinos wherever, right, like there is something truly as a human as a matter of the human condition. It's objectively impressive that this culture has bloomed in the way that it has in the absence of the most conventional ways to install love in someone for something. Right, the way you install love for someone in something most easily is you say, hey, here is something that looks like you. Do you identify with it?

We didn't do that. There is so little to identify with in terms of basketball being sold to us from the very beginning, right, And even the origins story remains a little confusing to me, a little mystical to me, Like in my mind, it's just sort of like it happened. And I'm sure it happened in the way that spam became a thing that my doctor tells me to eat less of, right, like exported from the United States an army base somewhere World War two. I'm sure there are

roots in that. But the fact that we built a flourishing culture, economy, dream dream world around something that isn't for us explicitly that you sent us out somewhere and we thrived in alien circumstances, Like that's the story of the Philippines too, And even if we never get the thing that we dream of, I love that. I love

act literally for us. I love it. I mean, you've said it all, I guess, like, just to put a final bow on this conversation, I don't know how much more poetic you can get, but if you could, just what is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Filipino's relationship to basketball. Yeah, this is

less poetic, but it's real. I have the one of my most treasured possessions is I want I try to explain the Philippines and like the Philippine Basketball Association to people, right, like in what it's like over there, and the rules about imports and height and I mean just all of it, right, all of its. I just show them this jersey that I have. It's an Alvin patrimonial autograph jersey. It is the Tender Juicy hot Dogs emblazoned across the front. And I'm like, I know, you thought I was joking. I

was talking about all the pork stuff. But just imagine, just imagine an NBA team called the Tender Juicy hot Dogs being like the greatest team in the league, and you'll have a little sense as to how it is that our mash up of culture is is both special and in every possible way extremely delicious. Yeah, that's that's the choice of an adjective. Pablo. I mean, they're very red, Nico, They're so red. I mean the hot dogs on question that you gotta know what they are. It's like it's

almost like chemically red. You know, it's like package pre package. It's it's a it's it's not it's it's not necessarily what your doctor wants, but my god, man, with some white rice, and it's always with some more white rice. It's white Pablo the poet Torre. Everyone. Now, we're going to take a quick break before we wrapped this full thing up in a ball. Nico, I can't believe this

experience is over. This has been, I mean enlightening. It's been just special to not only talk to you every single episode, but to learn more about the Philippines, which obviously I have this strong connection too, but still kind of feel incredibly distant from. So you know, this has been a really, really um wonderful experience and I couldn't

think of a better person than you to share it with. Yeah, No, I mean absolutely, I think that our friendship and how it's grown is my favorite thing out of this entire experience. But also I've really felt much more connected to the Philippines and being Filipino, and I feel extremely validated by this basketball craz that I've had ever since I was like two years old, you know, just by talking to all these other people from all around the world who feel the same way, tracing back a little bit of

our history. It's I'm so proud to be Filipino and to be part of this crazy basketball country. I mean, Sames's you said it validation, I will say, you know, it's just learning more and feeling more connected and understanding just the passion that the Philippines has for basketball. I think also makes me understand myself a little bit in the connection that you know, I've always had to basketball

my whole life. I will say, I think my mom, who will definitely be listening, Hi, Mom, I don't know she'll be you know, happy with like the tagala lessons that you gave me throughout the show, or just disappointed in herself since she didn't teach me tegala growing up, because that's only your fault, Mom, Like, like, let's have a real one on one conversation here, like you and

Lola should have taught me to gala growing up. But not that I hold it against you or anything, but at least I found my friend Nico to help me out, you know, thirty eight years later. I think to wrap it up, this would be a good point to finally give you your grade. After all the lessons each episode, right, so not good? I think. I think given the limited time, limited exposure to it, and the fact that I put you on the spot with super difficult terms each and

every episode. I think you get away from this with a really strong B B. I mean, we all know in every Asian household, a B is zon won't cut it. But I will take a BEE because I was more like behind the scenes, there's a thing called an edit button. Our producers, Peter and Grace, I think they would probably grade me more like a D, but I will. I will take a bee, not a curb. No, I think I think a B is strong with a possible B plus if you put in a little bit of their credit.

But your mom and your Lola, they both get sea viruses. Sorry, exactly exactly, but I will say this. It just was so great to talk to so many different people. I think my favorite interview was with Eric Spoelstra because I felt a connection to him, both of us being half Filipino raised and born of course Stateside, but always having

this like deep love for the Philippines. What you hope for is that young kids cannot put limits on what their dreams may be, and so if they see more role models and see more possibilities of what could be, and it maybe you know to be an NBA player you know, like Jordan Clarkson or Green. But it also may be a dream just to work in NBA, to work for the NBA main offices, to be involved somehow,

some way in this great association. There are so many different opportunities and possibilities now and hopefully you and I you know, and everybody else can kind of pull back the curtain for kids that may have just been fans before, they may be able to think bigger now. It was funny at the end of it he called me his sister because we just had this connection of oh, yeah, okay,

we're kind of the same person. We both have our both of our mothers are born and raised in the Philippines, both of our fathers are from you know, European descent, and we also found our careers in the NBA. And to kind of like talk about just the super nova that he is in the Philippines, I mean he is like he is Michael Jackson meets Michael Jordan when he goes over there. And he did extend an invitation for all of us to join for a big party in the Philippines. So we better take him up on that.

I am ready willing and able to be at that party. It's it's great to be able to kind of speak to him now here for this podcast, and the conversation that you guys had is such a fun listen. I remember the first time he came over to the Philippines as head coach of the Heat and he wasn't in a two time champ yet, um, and you know, he was just the guy that we were so proud of for making it to be an NBA head coach. And

obviously we're a whole lot proud of him now. And also we you know, we had conversations with guys who are still deep in it in terms of pushing Philippine basketball, whether it's Tim Cohen who when we spoke to him, he was in the middle of getting ready for practice for a PBA Finals game. And happy belated birthday, Yes, yesterday it's been Yeah, it was, Yeah, it was. It was a weird day yesterday. One of the very few times I've won a game on my birthday. Usually I

feel like I broke the broke the curse. Yesterday? Are you getting ready for practice? Is this? Yeah? In a few hours, a couple of hours, we have a practice and we have another game tomorrow. Game two is tomorrow. Yeah, so we play a game one yesterday, we play game two tomorrow. Or Jimmy Lapage, who Kim Cohen famously passed on in the draft, Jimmy never forgets and is now

coaching in the NBA G League of all places. You know, what I try to do is just with with our young guys and the GI League, just try to help them understand what it means to be a pro and the type of work habits that you need to have and really develop, you know, a routine for yourself, you know, you know, coming in early, staying late, and doing all the things that are prod used to give them the

best chance. Because I know their goal ultimately is to be in the NBA, and so whatever we can do for them the GI League to build those habits to help them work on their game improve growth. We're everywhere. The Filipino basketball diaspora is incredibly impressive and we're gaining power. Well. The one thing, the last infinity stone that we need is that Filipino board and raised basketball player. But everything else we've we've got it covered. Yeah, I mean, and

we still rep hard. Jalen Greene and Jordan Clarkson like they we'll take the happies for right now. I also really enjoyed the conversation with Andy Thompson and the story he told us about the bus trip, Like that was that stopped me in my tracks. Literally, we came out, they shook our hands, We gave them some high fives. There was no autographs. They just wanted to meet us. Coach said okay, now go get back on the bus. And we got back on the bus visibly shaken, and

we didn't say anything. The coaches got back on the bus and we drove away. And to this day I still think I am so fortunate that these were like thumb wife fans are not fans of Janet buy or Toyota or somebody else. What a roller coaster of emotions. What was your teammate thinking And did any of your teammates who were local, did they say anything to you

before you got off the bus. Yeah, when everybody finally felt comfortable enough to talk, they said, you guys are very lucky because normally they take you and they hold up of hostage. Because the United States at that time, when they had a policy, they wouldn't negotiate, and so it was just like once again after the fact, when you when you get back to your hotel room, we

still had a game to play. To this day, I know I have some photographs of where we played, but I don't remember anything about the game because my mind was still on the back of that bus and in that in that jungle. And when you get back to your room and at night, then you lay down in your bed, that's when you realize we definitely dodged a bullet, no question. That to me was a standout interview and story from the podcast. I also loved learning about just the style uh in the PBA because it does it

reminds me of my scrappy style in middle school. I can't believe I continue to talk about my middle school career. I am the saddest person alive. That was my last bit. That was my last bit, being able to visit your middle school greatness. That and Raymond Townsend paving the way for all basketball players with Filipino heritage, and him also being like a top five just nicest person ever in

the world. Yes, it touches your heart to know that these people are so proud and you know, my legacy was forty two years ago but these people act like it was yesterday, so you can imagine. I'm so humble and grateful and I think Jesus every day for the blessed life that He's given me through this wonderful game of basketball. That and revisiting your middle school three year MVP run are tied for me for I guess best experiences of this podcast. Sorry sorry Raymond, but you know

three time MVP over here Chicago's finest. Here you go, here you go, hub in the building, humum fume um. But it was a pleasure and just an absolute wonder to be able to spend this time with Eunico and let's let's do it again. Can't believe it's done.