Fil-Am NBA coach Erik Spoelstra heats up Manila

Spoelstra gave Aquino a black Miami Heat basketball jersey with the number 15, explaining that the number represented Aquino for being the 15th President of the country.

 

In return, Aquino gave Spoelstra an English version of his State of the Nation Address on July 23 and a yellow ribbon pin, Aquino’s political campaign color.

 

 

Inspired by Pacquiao Meanwhile, in a press conference, Spoelstra showed the Larry O’ Brien trophy displayed as part of the NBA Trophy Tour.

 

The Miami Heat dominated the Oklahoma City Thunder in the series 4-1, sealing game five with a 121 – 106 victory to win the championship.

 

Spoelstra cited Filipino boxing star and Saranggani Rep. Manny Pacquiao as one of his and his team's inspirations.

 

“We make a lot of connections and analogies to the world of boxing. He has the perseverance and determination of a champion and you see it immediately,” Speolstra said.

 

Reason for returning

 

 

Spoelstra’s other objective in coming to the Philippines was to spread basketball knowledge among the Filipino youth.

 

He said this was one of the most important values that his mother, Elisa Celino from San Pablo, Laguna taught him.

 

“I hope that’s the one quality that my mother instilled in my sister and I and my family, the Filipino culture of giving,” he said.

 

“The game has been very good to me. I try to get back to it as much as possible and I do that through kids,” Spoelstra added. Basketball all the way According to the website of the Presidential Communications Operations Office of Malacañang, Spoelstra was born in Evanston, Illinois on November 1, 1970. He is the first Fil-Am head coach of the NBA and any North American professional sports team.   With his recent win with the Miami Heat, he became the first Fil-Am head coach in the NBA to win a title and the youngest in history to do so.   He grew up in Portland, Oregon where he graduated from a Jesuit high school in 1988 and college from the University of Portland in 1992 where he was the starting point guard for four years. Spoelstra was ultimately named the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year during his college basketball days excelling in assists, three-points and free throws. In 1995 he joined the Miami Heat staff as a video coordinator where he slowly climbed up the ranks. In April of 2008 he became the head coach of the Miami Heat when he was officially named the successor to Pat Riley. - VVP, GMA News