Introducing: Hoops Paradise: The Philippines’ Love of the Game

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, everyone, it's Cassidy Hubbert from ESPN. In my work,
I spent a lot of time at NBA arenas, and
one of the things I've noticed traveling around the country
and covering the league is that just about anywhere I go,
I bump into fellow Filipino Americans and they're all basketball fans,
and they all follow their NBA teams like their lives

(00:21):
depend on it, and they all called me over to
take about seven thousand selfies together. I grew up around Chicago,
but my mother is from the Philippines, and seeing so
many other phil Ams share my passion for basketball got
me thinking maybe there's a story behind Filipino's love of
the game. You know, there's religion, there's politics, and there's basketball,

(00:43):
and those are the three things you talk about in
the Philippines. So yeah, I didn't even know the half
of it, but I do know somebody who does basketball.
Were in Archionellas standing holde the Sonica, my boy Nico
Ramos from Titan, one of the world's most passionate basketball brands,

(01:05):
and the guy who helps Lebron and Katie launched their
new kicks. Whenever those NBA legends fly to Manila. Hey, Cassidy,
I heard you're looking for a Kuya, you know, a
big brother type to guy you down the rabbit hole
of basketball in the Philippines. Together, we have a new
podcast we can't wait to share with you, Hoops Paradise,
the Philippines love of the game and no joke, the

(01:28):
rabbit hole goes deeper than you'd ever imagine. It's a
love affair with the NBA. It's not just simple fundom.
The general population in the Philippines consider themselves and be
a fans. That's the largest percentage AMAL in all countries. Impressive,
but even those numbers don't tell the whole story. When

(01:48):
it comes to our passion for the NBA and basketball
in general, you've got to feel it to understand it.
We're talking about fans who'd give up whole days to
see their idols, pregame routines that'd be the probably three
hours before the tip off. There's ten thousand people there
for our warm up school children who were so excited
to see Eric Spoelstra and the Miami Heat coaching staff

(02:10):
that the kids nearly lost their minds. They got to
the point where Biz and my other sistant Chad Camra.
We're signing kids foreheads. They didn't even have pieces of paper,
there's nothing to sign. And the story of how being
a basketball player just about saved the life of Clay
Thompson's uncle Andy Once upon a time, my heart drops,
I think I'm gonna get kidnapped, and health ransom. It's

(02:33):
a basketball love affair like no other, and we want
you to explore it with us. Listen to Hoops Paradise,
the Philippines Love of the Game, starting February one on
the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
get your podcasts. Cross the Ball, Cross the Ball,