Hoops Paradise: The Philippines’ Love of the Game iHeartPodcasts

In the final episode of the series, Cassidy and Nikko are joined by PBA legend and current Assistant Coach for the NBA G League's Stockton Kings, as well as ESPN and Meadowlark's Pablo Torre, to discuss what it would mean for the first born and raised Filipino player to make it to the NBA. 

Thank you for listening to the series and coming with us on this journey to explore the Philippines' basketball culture. We are grateful for everyone who sat down for an interview with us, helped us track down archive audio, and brought this story to life. 
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In 1978, the Golden State Warriors drafted 6'3" guard Raymond Townsend, the first Filipino-American in the NBA. Since then, the Utah Jazz's Jordan Clarkson and the Houston Rockets' Jalen Green have carried the torch, representing the NBA dream to Filipinos around the world. In this episode, ESPN's Cassidy Hubbarth and Titan's Nikko Ramos talk with Raymond Townsend and the Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra, the first Asian-American NBA Head Coach, about their pioneering careers and the power of representation as they pave the way for Filipinos in the NBA. 
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In 1979, the Washington Bullets visited Manila for a game against a selection of PBA players, marking the first official visit from NBA players to the Philippines. Since then, a number of players have visited, both for NBA-sponsored games and events, like the Houston Rockets v Indiana Pacers 2013 preseason game, and for their own sneaker tours and personal visits. LeBron James has been memorialized at the famous Tenement court with his handprint, Chandler Parsons had fans asking his dad for an autograph, and Robin Lopez said he and Wesley Matthews “felt like rockstars” while visiting. However, one NBA star rises above the rest when we think about the impact he had on the Philippines - both at an individual level, connecting with fans one-on-one, and as a nation of basketball lovers. Cassidy Hubbarth and Nikko Ramos discuss the NBA players who have visited the Philippines over the years, and the lasting legacy of the Black Mamba. 
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There are a couple major differences between the NBA and the world’s second oldest pro basketball league, the Philippine Basketball Association (otherwise known as the PBA). For one, the PBA season never really stops. Three back-to-back conferences stretch throughout the year, with the major difference being roster restrictions. Depending on the conference, teams are limited by how many “imports” they can have, and their heights. Imports are held to an all-star standard, expected to put up incredible numbers and play 48 minutes per game. In return, imports - often former or aspiring NBA players looking for a second chance at a career - are treated with the same reverence as NBA legends. In this episode, Cassidy and Nikko explore the life of a PBA import, and the legend of the PBA’s “Black Superman,” Billy Ray Bates – a former Portland Trailblazer who still holds the franchise record career NBA playoff average of 26.7 points per game. 
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What if I told you the 'skyhook' actually originated in the Philippines? Okay, that one might not be true... but what if? 

Only ten years after James Naismith hung two peach baskets and refereed the first game of basketball, there were already reports of American soldiers introducing the sport to Filipino locals in Manila. It caught on quickly, first with college students, and then becoming as central to Philippine culture as adobo. In this episode, Cassidy and Nikko talk to the foremost experts in the colonial history of basketball in the Philippines about the Philippines’ early success in international competitions, and how Pinoy players on the other side of the world from the NBA developed a unique style of basketball like you’ve never seen before. 
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In 1998, while a young Cassidy Hubbarth sat next to her mother on their couch in Chicago, yelling at the TV as the Bulls went for their second three-peat, Nikko Ramos was playing at recess in Manila, eagerly waiting for updates from “recess runners” who darted between the canteen and a payphone to relay the game’s play-by-play from a cousin’s bootleg satellite. A 13-hour time difference, a hazy satellite feed, and questionably-accurate third party updates wouldn’t keep Filipino fans from the NBA finals. Today, according to the NBA’s yearly surveys, 62% of the general population in the Philippines consider themselves NBA fans. 34% consider themselves avid NBA fans. That’s the largest percentage of all countries. Coming from the Philippines, where the average height of men is 5’4”, one might wonder how Filipinos came to be obsessed with a sport usually played by the tallest people on the planet. Cassidy and Nikko explore the deep, colonial roots of basketball in the Philippines, the development of the second oldest professional basketball league in the world, and the creativity of Pinoy basketball fans both while playing and watching the game. 
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