NBA Global Games: Day One

What do you do when you realize that a boyhood dream has come true? In my case, amidst all the hustle and bustle of having to do interviews with players, in the middle of taking pictures to document this once-in-a-lifetime experience, I had to sit down and breathe. I had to remind myself that hey, you remember the time when you had to watch the NBA games on Betamax tapes that your father had to borrow from the local video shop?

Or you remember the time when you had to cut class back in high school in order to catch Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals and witness “His Airness” give Bryon Russell that slight nudge for that sliver of separation to launch the shot that broke a thousand hearts? Truth be told, the past came rushing back to me in order to put the spectacle that was unfolding right before my eyes in perspective:

This was the NBA Global Games Philippines 2013. And the Indiana Pacers and the Houston Rockets were right in front me, practicing. The Pacers – a team that I had lustily rooted against a few months ago when they were battling the Miami Heat for Eastern Conference supremacy. The Rockets – a squad that I had my eye on with the sudden emergence of James Harden and the arrival of the Asian sensation, Jeremy Lin, last season and the this year, the center who successfully escaped Los Angeles – Dwight Howard.

I was one of the fortunate few who were given access to all these players and more. Day One proved to be a visual and aural experience and Istorya.net gets dibs on these with exclusive access from the media availability sessions, to the David Stern pregame press conference all the way to the game itself.


The moment I set foot onto the sidelines of the Mall of Asia Arena – a gigantic and state of the art center, the likes of which I have never seen before in my near-decade of sports reporting. This was my first time at the venue and was greeted promptly by the sight of the Pacers in the final stages of their practice session.





The Pacer All Stars – 7-foot-2 Roy Hibbert, Paul George and David West were sitting on the sidelines right in front of me while across the court was none other than the larger-than-life legend, Larry Bird. Head coach Frank Vogel was barking instructions at the players on the court, in various degrees of sluggishness owing to jetlag and the tropical heat. Several newly-acquired players – namely Chris Copeland, CJ Watson and Luis Scola – were rushing to pick up the system that had the Pacers finishing third in the East, with a 49-32 record.



A few moments later, Vogel stepped out from the floor and onto the sidelines to share his thoughts with the assembled media.

In particular, he took the time to heap praise upon the Heat’s Filipino-American head coach, Eric Spoelstra, for the job that he has done with the two-time defending champs.

“He gets not nearly enough credit for the job he’s done on that team. He’s got probably the toughest job in the NBA when it comes to the expectations of dealing with the superstars that they have there and making them gel as a team,” Vogel said.

Vogel and Spoelstra, considered to be two of the youngest and brightest basketball minds in the league today, were at odds during the NBA Playoffs last season when their respective teams clashed for the Eastern Conference crown. Spoelstra’s Heat eventually won that series in seven games before eventually taking the crown against the San Antonio Spurs.

“That’s why they won the championship because of his ability to get them to play as a team. Talent doesn’t win championships. You got to play as a team to do that,” Vogel added.


A while later, the newly-minted Paul George came out of his shell to field questions about the raised expectations and if he was up to facing the hype that comes with battling toe-to-toe with the King himself, LeBron James, in the East Finals.


“I am. Coming into this, I was ready for the expectations. Pressure builds character and I’m not someone who is satisfied with where I am right now. I always want to climb to a higher and higher level. Expectations will only make me play better,” George said.

George is coming off career-high averages of 17.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game that elevated his reputation as one of the league’s brightest stars. He even improved his play in the playoffs where he nearly averaged 20 points in their seven-game loss to James and the Heat. With those gaudy stats, George cashed in and was recently signed to a five-year deal at an estimated worth of $90M.

Expectations are even set to skyrocket with the return of former All Star, Danny Granger, who George feels will help take the team higher this season. “It’s great. Danny’s a great leader for us. He’s another playmaker, another shotmaker for us. He’s someone that we missed. He’s a guy that in his career, has averaged over 20 points and been an all star. He takes a lot of pressure off of myself, Roy (Hibbert), David (West), George (Hill). It’s good having him back in the lineup,” George mentioned. However, he was also quick to temper the expectations.


“We got to take it step by step. It’s a long season so I’m not going to put those expectations as to where we’ll be at. We got a great team heading to this season.”

With the Pacers practice winding down, in came the Rockets with their black and red practice uniforms, all ready to rumble. Point guard Jeremy Lin, the Asian sensation who spawned the international phenomenon known as “Linsanity,” expressed his excitement to be playing before this basketball-mad country for the first time.


The 23-year old, who rose to prominence back in 2011 with an incredible string of explosive performances during his time with the New York Knicks, vowed to put on a show in the hopes of giving the fans an experience to remember.

“I’m definitely excited. It’s my first time to be in the Philippines. I’m just trying to soak it all in and see what the country has to offer,” said Lin in the usual unassuming manner that has endeared him to fans all over the world.

“I’m very excited to play here and I think it’s going to be an electric environment. At the end of the day, we hope to keep getting better as a team and hopefully give the fans a fun game to be able to cheer about and witness. We’re just going to go out here and play as hard as we can and enjoy the experience of playing here in the Philippines. Hopefully, that will be enough,” Lin added.

With the arrival of Howard, Lin bared the team’s plans to integrate the many-time All Star and former Defensive Player of the Year awardee.

“We definitely want to go into the post a little more but at the same time, we don’t want to change our identity too much. Just want to add him into it and have it be as smooth of a transition as possible. Working with him and getting him up to speed the way we like to run without having to compromise anything,” Lin said.


Afterwards, I spied the Houston Rockets’ top wingman James Harden being interviewed by Solar Sports’ Jinno Rufino and later, by ABS-CBN’s TJ Manotoc. I pounced on the opportunity to nab an interview with the man known as “The Beard” and he said that he already knew what to expect out of the basketball-mad Filipinos.


“The energy level will be amazing,” said Harden who had previously been to the Philippines twice, first playing in the Smart All Star Challenge in 2011 and was in the country recently for an NBA event.

With the brand new season less than a month away, Harden, along with the Rockets are working doubly hard to sharpen their skills as well as their cohesion on the floor especially with the recent addition of Howard.

“We have to get a feel for the game, with Dwight now playing for the Rockets. We have to get our chemistry going some more,” bared Harden who is coming off his finest season to date after getting traded from Oklahoma City to Houston in the offseason before the 2012-2013 season. With top dog status clearly his on the Rockets team, Harden went on to average 25.9 points, 5.8 assists and 4.9 rebounds last season.

That’s it from Day One! Watch out for more exclusive coverage from Day Two iSTORYAns!

Jonas Rey N. Panerio
Contributor- Sports & Lifestyle