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By Krista Angela M. Montealegre, Reporter
FOR Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, nothing can stand in the
way of the Filipinos in their quest for international basketball
glory.
“Why not? There is a lot of potential here,”
said Spoelstra after conducting a basketball clinic to selected
University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s
and women’s teams Thursday at the De La Salle Greenhills court.
“This is one of only three countries in the
world where basketball is the number one sport. With that much
passion and the desire to get better, I guess somebody will come
through.”
Even height is not an obstacle, according to
Spoelstra, the first Asian and Filipino-American to coach a National
Basketball Association team.
“There are a lot of small teams out there. The
team that has the height advantage doesn’t always end up winning.
With a country like this where basketball is number one, why not?”
he said.
The 39-year-old Spoelstra was the hands down
choice of the US Embassy to spearhead the Sports Envoy Program of
the US Department of State in the Philippines to promote goodwill
through basketball. His mother hails from Laguna and according to
reports, he would be visiting his relatives there.
Accompanied by Miami assistant coach David
Fizdale and former Women’s National Basketball Association star
Sue Wicks, he emphasized during the one-day training session the
importance of mastering the fundamentals of the sport, the very
secret to his successful campaign as a rookie coach last season.
After taking over the job of now Miami president
Pat Riley, Spoelstra led the Heat to a 43-39 record for a fifth
overall finish in the Eastern Conference this season. It was a far
cry from the Heat’s performance in the previous season where they
had a forgettable 15-67 slate.
“We focused on the basics of basketball.
We’re working together as a team. We’re trying to accomplish
more as a group than what we can individually. You can do more when
everyone’s going in the same direction,” he said.
Even with a superstar and scoring machine in his
roster, he stressed that team effort still wins games.
“Like Dwyane Wade, he may be our best player
but he can also be the best teammate you can ever have,” he said.
“He likes his teammates to be involved, create opportunities for
them.”
Spoelstra was clearly in awe after witnessing
the performance of the players who attended the basketball clinic
that included the Far Eastern University Tamaraws.
“This is fantastic,” he said. “There’s
nothing better than this: a hot gym, six basketball hoops, a bunch
of basketball and a lot of kids who are enthusiastic and loves to
learn basketball.”
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