Got a pleasant surprise from Ronnie Magsanoc prior to the PBL games last March 9. Ronnie and I were scheduled to cover the game between ExcelRoof and Fern-C at The Arena in San Juan for BTV. Minutes before the game, Ronnie gave me a small white plastic bag. I asked what it was. He said I should just look inside the bag. I pulled the contents out and found a complete white “Ronnie Magsanoc” Purefoods TJ Hotdogs jersey set.
I truly get more starstruck when I meet NBA broadcasters up-close. I felt this way during the NBA Finals in Orlando back in June 2009. I still felt the same way during All-Star Week in Dallas last month. Standing beside Old Man Kobe, Lebron and Wade, close enough to analyze their tattoos was cool. Chatting with ESPN’s Mike Breen, however, was the highlight of my working trip.
Remember how, not very long ago at all, Adidas Philippines came out with that (yes, infamous and slightly controversial) Philippine flag jacket that was so limited that everyone just HAD to have it? It was so coveted that, I remember, every time I’d shrug mine on and head out the door, random people would stop me and ask which Adidas branch I’d purchased mine in.
My friends would whine nonstop about getting them their own jacket, and people who lived abroad sent requests to have some sent over. After a while, stalls in Greenhills were lined with knock-offs and imitations of the very same jacket, and a drive through the streets of Metro Manila had you passing motorcycles whose drivers protected themselves from the (humid) wind with the Adi Phil flag rendition.
Well, this 2010, add some more collectibles to your shopping lists! The Adidas Philippine Range is back, and in a, well, broader range of items. Check out the reincarnations available in a jacket, track top, T-shirts and messenger bag.
Notes from Game 1 of the PBA Finals between Purefoods and Alaska:
Chicago, IL - This time we had better seats. Unfortunately, we didn’t see a better game. When we watched the Bulls-Knicks game at the United Center last Saturday, we were seated all the way up in what is the equivalent of Upper Box A if we use the Araneta Coliseum as reference. For the Bulls-Sixers game last night, I received 4 complimentary tickets from the NBA Commissioner’s Office.
We didn’t know how good our seats would be. All I knew was that they should be better than the 60 USD seats we had days ago. As it turned out, I was right.
We were guided to Section 112, just three rows away from the basketball court and two steps away from Vince Vaughn.
My sincerest thanks to Joanitte Rodriguez, Senior Manager for the NBA’s International Distribution, and Martin David, BTV Network Manager, for helping us secure such a great view of the game.
Okay we had a fantastic view of a not-so-fantastic game. Well, if you’re a Bulls fan, I guess the outcome was as good as a dramatic one-point win at the buzzer. The Bulls gored the Sixers as early as the first half. Derrick Rose blasted by opponents. Kirk Hinrich knocked home open jumpers. Taj Gibson was a force on both offense and defense. By the end of the third quarter, the game was over. The Bulls eventually notched their 4th straight win and looked like a legitimate playoff team on the floor.
In contrast, the Sixers have had an up and down season. They win against big teams, then, they lose big to mid-level teams. The three biggest names on their roster are Allen Iverson, Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand.
Iverson really looked like a senior citizen out there last night. He still has that boyish defiance in his eyes. He used to defy odds, criticism, authority. Nowadays, he’s preoccupied with defying father time. Never knew sporting cornrows had no age limit. It’s always tough to watch a former 6-feet force of nature finally succumb to gravity. Hey Iverson can still light it up. He has 6 games with 20 or more points to prove it. Last night, however, he looked more like a 14-year veteran than a 2010 All-Star.
The Bulls’ biggest name is one of the league’s youngest stars. Rose is the cornerstone of a franchise that hopes to sustain what it started last season. He shoots, rebounds and distributes. The only thing he doesn’t do for the organization is dress up as Benny the Bull.
And the Bulls have surrounded Rose with acrobats. Luol Deng, Taj Gibson and new acquisition Hakim Warrick help Rose in the speed department. Gibson and Warrick even conspired for several open-court slam dunks against the Sixers. While Brad Miller and Kirk Hinrich, who became the Bulls’ all-time 3-point FG leader last night, provide experience, it is Rose who’ll determine if Chicago blossoms in the playoffs or not. MH
