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Legends face Legends in Once-in-a-Lifetime Game

BY MICO HALILI September 19, 2009 | 09:20AM

While the 2009 NBA Asia Challenge fails to deliver a down-the-wire contest (the NBA selection defeated the PBA All-Stars 109-86) it provides enough highlights to attain poignancy. Dominique Wilkins stays true to his pregame promise by completing two slam-dunks in the first period. Vlade Divac plays with the crowd in conjunction with Benjie Paras. Robert Horry hits a three. Tim Hardaway can still do the cross-over. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says he wants to hit our beaches someday. The Dunking Divas steal the show and reduces Yeng Guiao’s time-outs into ogling time for the PBA All-Stars. Overall, the gig packs enough punch worthy of an encore.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in pba, fanboy moments, Mico Halili, sportscasters, basketball | 1 Comment »

Mrs. Kobe Bryant

BY MICO HALILI August 10, 2009 | 09:23AM

Cara Gonzales managed to accomplish what Shane Battier, Dontae Jones and Mikael Pietrus all tried to do. Unlike three of the NBA’s known stoppers, Cara disarmed Black Mamba without having to hand-guard Kobe’s face, clip Kobe’s legs or pull Kobe’s jersey. All she had to do was smile.

Cara Gonzales shows off her front page photo and priceless shoe Formerly a talented power forward for Assumption’s high school varsity team, member of the NBTC Youth Pool and alumna of the Girls Got Game Camp, Cara set aside basketball to focus on her studies in UP Diliman. For one unforgettable afternoon, however, basketball became the focal point of her existence anew.

Remember that young lady who appeared with Kobe on a front page photo in the Philippine Daily Inquirer? That was Cara. She was looking, in fact begging, for Kobe tickets just days before the event. Thus, I had to find out how she ended up from being ticketless to breathless. I had to find out how she morphed from Cara Gonzales to Cara Gonzales-Bryant: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in fanboy moments, Mico Halili, sportscasters, basketball | No Comments »

All Hail The King, Long Live The King, Good Bye Michael

BY MACKY ESCALONA July 09, 2009 | 02:33PM

Watching the Michael Jackson memorial was bittersweet. Michael Jackson is an icon of my generation, the brain child behind songs that have and will continue to inspire our days. Rest In Peace.

Man In The Mirror

I’m Gonna Make A Change,
For Once In My Life
It’s Gonna Feel Real Good,
Gonna Make A Difference
Gonna Make It Right . . .

I’m Starting With The Man In
The Mirror
I’m Asking Him To Change
His Ways
And No Message Could Have
Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place
(If You Wanna Make The
World A Better Place)
Take A Look At Yourself, And
Then Make A Change
(Take A Look At Yourself, And
Then Make A Change)

Posted in fanboy moments, macky escalona, heroes | No Comments »

NBA Finals: The Day Steve Nash Interviewed Me in Orlando

BY MICO HALILI June 11, 2009 | 09:45AM

(ORLANDO, Fla.) - It is two hours before the start of Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic. Media frenzy blankets the Amway Arena hard-court. How guys like Trevor Ariza and Shannon Brown manage to concentrate on shooting jumpers amidst the surrounding media madness is beyond me.

Television personalities scatter and socialize; ABC’s Mike Breen, NBA TV’s David Aldridge, TNT’s Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith, former Lakers forward Mychal Thompson and sports author and NBA TV analyst Peter Vescey.I must admit, and this may sound absurd, but I was more excited to see the NBA broadcasters than the players up close. Sure it was cool to see within speaking distance the entire Laker line-up and coaching staff saunter into the arena. To walk side by side with legendary Lakers broadcaster Stu Lantz, however, was way more poignant.

Steve Nash interviews TNT's Ernie Johnson for Late Night with David Letterman Then I bump into Steve Nash. What was Nash doing here? Shouldn’t he be hiding somewhere avoiding every television report on the NBA Finals? He is here to join the frenetic scene. Sporting a white long-sleeved shirt, skinny necktie, black slacks and Vans sneakers, Nash, in his quirky mind, is already dressed for prime time. I approach Nash and ask him politely if he would have a photo taken with me. Nash graciously says yes. Dr. Andy Jao generously agrees to be our official photographer. Click. Cliché fanboy moment over right? Wrong.

Nash calls out a TV crew and inexplicably asks if he could interview me. Who me? Are you sure? Are you sane? Turns out, Nash is doing a segment for Late Night with David Letterman. An accompanying television producer repeats the question, “Can Steve interview you for a segment on Late Night with David Letterman?” “But I’m a Conan O’Brien guy,” I retort.The crew chuckles.This feels like a prank. It has MTV Punk’d written all over it. Just a few steps away, Dr. J, still holding my digital camera, watches in quiet amusement. I know deep deep deep down he’s ecstatic.

The surreal exchange goes like this:

Nash: What country are you from?

Me: The Philippines

Nash: Is basketball huge in your country?

Me: Absolutely

Nash: Who’s the most popular basketball player of all-time in the Philippines?

Me: In modern history, it has to be Robert “The Big J” Jaworski!

Nash: Oh modern history. What about ancient history?

Me: Ah that would have to be Carlos “The Big Difference” Loyzaga!

Nash: Is Carlos Loyzaga on YouTube?

Me: No. But Jaworski is on YouTube.

Nash: (Looks and talks into camera) Folks go and find that on YouTube!

Me: (Laughs nervously again)

Nash: But what about boxing? Isn’t Manny Pacquiao super popular over there?

Me: Pacquiao is the top athlete in our country but basketball remains the number one sport in Manila.

Nash: Okay. See I’m doing this hosting thing for the first time, what do I need to do to this well?

Me: I think you need to know the game so you can do a great job. You need to have a great grasp of the game.

Nash: (Looks me in the eye and nearly pokes microphone into my esophagus but does so with a wry smile) So what are you saying?

Me: (Nervous laughter) I think you’ll do very well as a basketball host.

Nash: Why thank you.

We shake hands. He goes on to interview Ernie Johnson in the NBA TV live broadcast setup. I step away from the scene, collect my camera from Dr J. and receive neither compliment nor congratulations from my esteemed CS9 colleague. Instead, he quietly offers a smirk as if to say, “Welcome to the NBA Finals. Now let’s eat.”

***

Rafer Alston (20 points) and Mikael Pietrus (18 points off the bench) led five Orlando players who finished Game 3 in double digits. The Magic likewise survived a 17-point blitz by Kobe Bryant in the first quarter. The brilliant performances of Alston and Pietrus kept J.J. Redick and Anthony Johnson stuck on the bench. Alston, Pietrus and the rest of the Magic finally captured their first franchise win in the Finals (1-6) with red-hot shooting.

Moments after Orlando’s Game 3 victory, hordes of Magic fans line up at the souvenir booth to purchase t-shirts, pins, programs, caps, pennants, key chains and the like. A burly male spectator walks by the crowd and shouts to no one in particular, “Nowwww you’re buying shirts!” Bystanders laugh in agreement with his observation. Orlando fans are now buying the idea that the Magic can compete with the Lakers. Now they’re buying into the idea that this is now a legitimate series.