It was unusual for the Filipinos to witness someone in the NBA carrying its country’s heritage to the championship stage, as Fil-Ams Dylan Harper and Jordan Clarkson were going up against each other.
Speaking of Philippine experience, French star Nicolas Batum opened up being in the country’s basketball as their number one sport, during the 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila.
“I know basketball is huge there. I got great memories. You know, that was a pretty big tournament. The first game was against the Philippines. I remember that. It was a crazy atmosphere. I never seen that really that huge. I was more like watching the crowd than focused on the game at the beginning. But, that was a great, great, great memories. We could see the atmosphere and the love of basketball,” Batum told TalkBasket.net
The Clippers forward also recognized Clarkson and Harper, who either of them could bring a chip home in the Philippines.
“For this country to have, like, you’re going to have one champion anyway. That’s the good news. It’s going to be Clarkson or Harper. So, one of them is going to hold the trophy. They’re all going to be brought back to the Philippines,” he said.
Batum concluded that the league is now all over the world, where the game has evolved in various countries.
“They’re just one example of the NBA’s so worldwide right now. We just talked about France, then we talked about the Philippines. We can talk to so many countries now. Every year, like, some countries are going to get touched. And, so, that’s great. Like, a country like this is represented by two players. By two players. So, that’s amazing.”
Although Batum traveled to Manila with the French National Team for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in July 2016, he did not play due to ongoing contract negotiations with the Charlotte Hornets.
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