ERIK Spoelstra had a plan. He was going to finish college and head to the Philippines to play professional basketball in his mother’s homeland. He’d been watching games from...
ERIK Spoelstra had a plan. He was going to finish college and head to the Philippines to play professional basketball in his mother’s homeland. He’d been watching games from that part of the world on VHS tapes for years and wanted to experience those atmospheres for himself.
“I have a great deal of pride in my heritage and I’m close with my family over here,” said Spoelstra, the Heat coach who took his team to the NBA Finals this past season. “When I first started coming over, I just wanted to give back and do as much as I could, in terms of clinics and continue to grow the game and just be involved in the movement. That’s what I call it. Basketball really is like a religion in the Philippines.
“It’s a very cool thing that he’s doing this,” said fellow US assistant coach Tyronn Lue, the coach of the Los Angeles Clippers. “He gets a chance to go home, see his family, see his fans. It reminds me a lot of when we went to China with Yao Ming when we were in Houston. That was crazy. It’s the same type of thing and he deserves it. It’s so cool to see it and be a part of it.”
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