Team USA coach Steve Kerr is very well aware of how crazy the Filipinos are for their basketball.
Kerr learned it all from longtime NBA coach Chip Engelland, who's also part of the Team USA delegation for the FIBA World Cup.
“I know how popular basketball is from talking with friends. One of the guys from our staff played professionally in Manila long time ago, but he's told us how basketball-crazed the fans are there,” Kerr said, referring to Engelland.
For the uninitiated, Engelland was a naturalized player for the Philippine team handled by the late great Ron Jacobs.
During his stint with the national team, the Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coach helped the then Northern Cement Corporation-backed squad win the 1985 Jones Cup Championship.
Kerr, who will lead a youthful USA team bannered by the likes of Anthony Edwards, Brandon Ingram, and Paolo Banchero, is looking forward to experiencing Pinoys’ passion for basketball first-hand when the FIBA World Cup unfurls on August 25.
“I'm so excited to go to Manila. I've never been to the Philippines. This will be fun,” he said.
USA is bunched with Greece, Jordan, and New Zealand in Group C.
(GM)