PBA guest team Eastern's Steven Guinchard is married to a Filipina, Jessrine. They got married last July in Siargao.
Steven Guinchard spent some quality time with a handful of Filipino fans shortly after Eastern’s 117-106 win over Converge in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup on Friday, November 30.
They danced and shared some laughs before Guinchard hurriedly made his way out of the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The love from Filipinos is not exactly new to Guinchard.
It turned out, Guinchard is married to Filipina, Jessrine. They tied the knot in a beach wedding in Siargao last July.
That’s why when asked whether he’s familiar with Philippine basketball before the Hong Kong-based team plunged into action in the PBA, the amiable cager flashed a big smile before answering.
“My wife is Filipina, so I was pretty familiar,” he said.
Like millions of Filipinos, Jessrine and her family are also big time PBA fans.
In fact, Guinchard watched the Meralco Bolts conquer the San Miguel Beermen in last season’s Philippine Cup finale on TV while they were in Butuan City.
“My wife’s family has been watching the PBA since forever. They know more than I do obviously. I’ve been pretty familiar with the PBA,” said Guinchard.
He got his first taste of Philippine basketball when Eastern played Alab Pilipinas in the ASEAN Basketball League.
Years later, he found himself in the country’s basketball Meccah which is the PBA, where his team raced off to a 2-0 start behind Cameron Clark, Glen Yang, and Hayden Blankley.
In Friday’s victory, Guinchard also become the first Eastern player to hit a four-pointer. He ended up with two from that range and finished with 14 points.
“It feels good, especially looking back at my teammates and seeing them celebrate and being happy for me makes me wanna make even more four point shots,” he said.
“Seeing the team being together like that, that makes me wanna make even more. And there’s more coming,” he added with a smile.
[ALSO READ: What does guest team Eastern think about the PBA's 4-point line?]
From the looks of it, Guinchard is bound to learn more about his wife’s roots and Philippine basketball as the Eastern intends to win it all in the mid-season conference.