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Fil-Malaysian artist combines hoops and dance in freestyle basketball
A Filipino-Malaysian artist has made a name for himself in Kuala Lumpur through a different kind of basketball.
Scalia Nethanial, 25, practices something called freestyle basketball — a combination of hoops and dance — more of a performance than a game.
In an interview with GMA News Online, Scalia said freestyle is closely related to streetball, which is played like a normal game but involves more showmanship such as fancy dribbling.
"I was actually a dancer, and then I wanted to play basketball as well. That was how I combined and it became freestyle basketball," he said.
Scalia is the son of a Malaysian father and a Filipina mother from Pangasinan. He grew up in Malaysia, a football country, but knew that he wanted to be different and began playing basketball when he was 12.
"A lot of people think na I don't play regular basketball kasi my freestyle career has overshadowed my basketball life, pero I actually play basketball, like I can actually play well. It's just that my career is a freestyler now," he said.
Scalia has won five championships in freestyle basketball and has been hailed as the number one freestyler in Malaysia. He has been named ambassador for a sports lifestyle brand and has performed not just in Malaysia and the Philippines, but also in other parts of Asia like India and Singapore.
"There's a lot of freestylers but not a lot of people get to do it on a big stage and perform, so I'm one of the few and I'm lucky to have that opportunity to travel and perform freestyle [basketball]," he said.
In one of the highlights of his career, Scalia performed in the 2017 Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur.
"There was a basketball program there and I was one of the headline performers, along with a French slam dunk champion. It was really cool to represent the basketball world," he said.
Scalia is also proud to represent the Philippines in Malaysia, even though he has not been open about it until recently because he wanted to show his worth first.
"It was very important for me to do that because once I proved myself, I can go back there with a story. Not just, 'Oh, I'm back now' and no one cares. They wanna know what have you done for us in that country," he said.
"I just don't want to bandwagon off the name, just like simply take on [being] Filipino and you have to support me," he added.
The freestyler said he has used elements of the Filipino flag and music from the Philippines in some of his performances.
"It's very nice to be able to represent the Philippines because I know the Filipino audience. They are so passionate," he said.
"Everything I have today, I earned it here dito sa Malaysia, pero I earned it as a Filipino," he added.
Scalia may be based in Malaysia, but he often looks back to his Filipino roots. He had plans to go back to the Philippines last year to visit his family and conduct freestyle clinics in Pangasinan. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, he opted for a virtual activity instead.
"I organized an online challenge where people can submit videos [of freestyling]. I plan to do that pero live in the place when I go back. This is an idea to give back to my hometown kasi this is not just about how they can support me, but also how I can give back," he said.
For him, his journey is proof that success knows no race or nationality.
"Over here, I'm known as the Filipino kid who became Malaysia's number one freestyler. That for me, one of the biggest lessons there is it's not about your race and skin color or whatever kasi a Filipino came here and took over the game," he said.
Scalia believes freestyle basketball will also become big in the Philippines.
"I can see it going back up kasi nowadays, I see so many kids trying to dribble the ball, trying to be creative how to dribble. They don't know but indirectly that's actually freestyle basketball," he said.
"I hope the culture grows, but for me, most importantly, I hope people use it as a tool for people to live a positive and healthier life. Get to the streets. It's a very beautiful art form." —MGP, GMA News
