IT was raining cows and pigs on Friday morning, June 24, when yours truly and a friendly pack of sports media friends had a live phone-in interview with four-time National Basketball Association (NBA) champion and All-Star legend Horace Grant at the Valle Verde Country Club in Pasig.
The guy who had played alongside three NBA greats—Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls, Kobe Bryant with the Los Angeles Lakers and Shaquille O’Neal with the Orlando Magic—was in sunny California, while we were experiencing all the raging friendliness of Typhoon Falcon.
But hey, it was a sunny conversation with the Augusta, Georgia, native whose trademark was his wraparound protective goggles.
“I have lots of them,” he confessed to Aaron Limpe Aw of Asian Dragon Magazine, who asked him about them. “Different sets! I had black and red one with the Bulls, a black and blue one with the Magic and a gold and white one with the Lakers.” Did he think they would make a comeback? “I’m pretty sure they could.” He kind of snickered.
Horace Grant will be in Manila from July 1 to 3 for the NBA’s first-ever 3-on-3 tournament in the region, which it will launch in Manila “because Filipinos are probably the most avid and the most passionate basketball fans in the world.”
Presented by Sprite, the event will bring together top male and female street ballers from all over the country for the honor of being crowned the country’s first NBA 3-on-3 champions. The tournament has a VIP/Celebrity and Media Division and will be held at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall. It is envisioned to be an annual basketball tournament in the Asean region. From the Philippines, the NBA will grow the tournament into other parts of Asia.
What should the kids expect from the 3-on-3? asked Jonas Terrado of the Manila Bulletin. “It’s a much quicker game, so the kids have to move faster. The 5-on-5 allows you to swing the ball and do pick and rolls, but the 3-on-3 will test the kids’ skills more,” thus spoke Grant, who has a twin brother named Harvey, who plays basketball, too.
What kind of attitude do you want to impart to Filipino kids playing in the 3-on-3? asked Reuben Ezra Terrado of GMANews.TV. “To work hard and play hard. To never lose their determination and to always work on their game,” answered Grant.
How does your game differ from your twin brother Harvey’s? Diego de la Paz of fullcourtfresh.com was curious. “He likes to go for the outside jumper. And I like to bang it, scratch it and shoot people up. Oh no, [Harvey] could never touch me!” he joked all the way from California. The media group enjoyed a round of warm, hearty laughter as the rain poured down.
What did Dallas do right in the recent NBA Finals? asked Sid Ventura of Yahoo! Philippines. “They did great. They played team basketball and moved the ball around to look for the open guy. It was a phenomenal season for Dirk (Nowitski), too. Experience won it for them,” Grant said.
Do you have coaching plans in your future, was Manila Standard Today’s Peter Atencio’s query. ”I want to be the general manager or president of a ball club! Seriously, right now I’m coaching my 13-year-old daughter’s basketball team, but to be an NBA basketball coach? Maybe, around California. What I do a lot of now is conduct clinics and have 1-on-1 training with a lot of young people. I also travel all over the world with the NBA. Whatever it is I’m doing, I make basketball my priority. I’m so passionate about the game, so I always keep myself busy with basketball. It’s in my blood. If I can sleep with a basketball as my pillow at night, I would.” Laughter again.
Who’s better, Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant? Reuben Terrado asked point-blank. Grant, after an elaborate explanation said: MJ. “Michael Jordan made his teammates better. He would not let us give up. He always made us work hard in practice, and our practices were so hard and so intense, that when it came to the game, we all thought ‘let’s go out and beat these guys.’ Kobe also makes his teammates work hard and be better, but Michael was on a different level. I’d say MJ is 1 and Kobe is 1A.”
Compare ’90s NBA to now, pleaded Theodore Jurado of the Journal Group. “The ’90s were more difficult in a way because it was more hands-on, you relied on more fundamentals than you do now, and you could talk trash. Now, the game is a lot quicker, a lot faster. And you can’t talk trash anymore.”
Who’s the toughest, most difficult player you ever faced? asked Jonas Terrado. “Larry Bird. He was the most crafty guy I ever played. He’d get you with his footwork and his shooting, and man. Overall, it’s Larry Bird.”
What does he think of coming to the Philippines? “I am so excited. This is going to be my first time, and I’ve been told this is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. I know it rains a lot there and that’s OK, because the rain is part of me. But I can’t wait to get there because I want to see firsthand the passion and love that Filipinos have for the game of basketball. See you, guys.”
By the way, the team slots for the first-ever NBA 3-on-3 were all filled up just two weeks after the event was announced in a presscon on June 3. That’s Pinoy passion for basketball in action.
For more information about NBA 3-on-3 Philippines 2011 presented by Sprite, go to www.nba3on3.com/Philippines.
