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NANDITO sa bansa ang dalawang pambato ng Portland Trail Blazers sa NBA na sina Wesley Matthews at Robin Lopez.
Ang pagbisita nina Matthews at Lopez ay bahagi ng kanilang pagiging espesyal na panauhin ng NBA-Gatorade Training Center na ginanap kahapon sa Gatorade Hoops Center sa Mandaluyong City .
Kasama nila ang dating NBA coach ng San Antonio Spurs na si Avery Johnson.
Sa kanilang pagbisita ay pinangunahan nilang dalawa ang ilang mga drills para sa mga manlalaro at seminars para sa mga coaches.
Si Matthews ay anak ng dating PBA import na si Wes Matthews na naglaro para sa Ginebra San Miguel ni Robert Jaworski noong 1991.
Ginabayan ng matandang Matthews ang Kings sa finals ng Reinforced Conference noong taong iyon ngunit natalo sila sa Alaska .
“Filipinos love basketball. I didn’t know that my father was as big as a pop star as he was out here,” wika ni Matthews. “Basketball is big and it’s nice to be a part of it. The Philippines is a country that’s rich in basketball. I love to be a part of places that love basketball. It’s kinda weird to think about it but I’m looking forward to being here.”
Si Lopez naman ay kambal na kapatid ni Brook Lopez na naglalaro para sa Brooklyn Nets kasama ang naturalized player ng Gilas Pilipinas na si Andray Blatche.
“My best friend from high school played in the PBA D League and he told me about the passion Filipinos have for basketball. But I wasn’t prepared for it because I was surprised about how great the game is here in the country,” ani Lopez. “I have been very fortunate to come here and give back to the Filipinos how much they love basketball.”
Lalong napahanga si Lopez sa kasikatan ng basketball sa Pilipinas nang napanood niya ang exhibition game ng Ginebra at LG Sakers ng Korea sa Smart Araneta Coliseum noong isang gabi.
“I love eating adobo. I even call some people ate and kuya and that is exciting to me,” dagdag ni Lopez. (James Ty III)
