Anak ni ex-NBA star Artest interesadong maglaro sa Gilas

MANILA, Philippines — Sinabi ni NBA champion Metta Sandiford-Artest, dating kilala sa pangalang Ron Artest at Metta World Peace na interesadong maglaro ang kanyang anak na si Jeron sa Gilas Pilipinas, bagay na sinang-ayunan niya.

Sa group draw ng East Asia Super League, na kung saan ay tumatayong ambassador si Artest, nagsalita ang 42-year-old kung ano ang koneksiyon niya sa bansang Pilipinas at ang kagustuhan niya na magsuot ng Gilas Pilipinas jersey ang kanyang anak.

“My son is half-Filipino, Jeron Artest. And hopefully one day he can play for the Filipino national team,” sabi ni Artest.

“He recently quit basketball because he’s doing some computer science development software — he’s a smart kid. But with that being said, just being here in Manila, it means a lot to me because my son is a half Filipino,” dagdag niya.

Nanalo ng NBA championship si Artest nang maglaro siya sa Los Angeles Lakers nung 2010, ang nag-iisang titulo niya sa makulay niyang career sa professional league.

Napasama rin siya sa NBA All-Star, sa All-NBA, Third Team member, at kinoronahan bilang NBA Defensive Player of the Year nung 2004.

Interesado rin si Artest sa paparating na EASL, na kung saan ay dalwang teams mula sa PBA ang lalahok sa walang team na lalaban na hinati sa dalawang grupo na may tig-apat na teams.

Ang mga grupo ay nadetermina sa group draw na ginanap sa Shangri-La The Fort sa Taguig nung  Martes.

“I’m really excited that a lot of the Asian countries are coming together playing basketball. Just playing in the NBA brought in my fanbase to Asia also, so I’m really honored to be here,” sabi ni Artest.

“It’s a huge opportunity for a player like myself to have a fanbase not only in America but a huge fanbase in Asia and that has a lot to do with the NBA so I’m super grateful and I’m really excited to see the games, it seems like it’s gonna be really good games right here in Manila,” dagdag niya.

Kasama ni Artest ay isa pang NBA player na nagsisilbing ambassador ng EASL ay isang Fil-Am na si Jalen Green ng Houston Rockets.