He came, He played and He conquered Manilaaaaa!
Despite a delayed flight to Manila from Tokyo, Japan, Stephen Curry went on from a media conference to a Fan Meet at Raffles Fairmont Hotel in Makati and had a chance meet up with teenthrob Daniel Padilla whom we heard got so speechless meeting his NBA idol.
Over at MOA Arena and before the Curry appearance, UnderArmour Founder and CEO Kevin Plank talked about the early years of UA as a brand and how it slowly turned into a global brand becomimg influential in sports in general.
Steph did not disappoint his fans and admirers when he finally showed up and asked the shrieking fans,”What’s up Manila?” And how the crowd roared!
Before Steph could even proceed to the next agenda, a 7-year old kid wowed and stole some spotlight and attention with his impressive dribbling and shooting abilities. The two later on had a quick fun one-on-one play to the crowd’s deeelight!
Hosted by Andre Felix and volleybelle Gretchen Ho, the UnderArmour brand ambassador also conducted a basketball clinic to some lucky high schoolers. Assisted by Coach Rob and a number of PBA coaches, the teeners were taught proper dribbling and shooting skills to incorporate in their games.
One of the most-awaited portion was the 3 Point Shoot Out. It is a known fact that 27-year old Curry is a consistent 3 point shooter in all his games. He got challenged in this portion by a handful of hopeful finalists who tried to score as many points as possible. When it was Steph’s turn to shoot some balls, the crowd continued their thunderous reaction everytime Curry sunk in those 3’s! ☺
Of course the Steph Curry UnderArmour Road Show Tour in Manila would not be complete without the 10 minute scrimmage among the high school players who earlier took the drills and Steph. While this was ongoing right in front of me, I imagined I was witnessing an NBA game straight from San Francisco, California USA! It was soooo surreal ☺☺
Before wrapping up the entire play and meet up, Curry gave this advice when Gretchen Ho asked him for some kind words to basketball hopefuls —“You work hard, you focus on your goal.”
As an exciting bonus, Steph even gave some UunderArmour balls to all three corners of the audience section. A few number of lucky takers went home extra happy from this cool gift from UA and MVP Steph.
And when asked if his Filipino fans want him back again next year, the crowd went into a thunderous reaction and obviously the answer was a resounding “YES!!!”
What #UA shoe was Stephen sporting during the MOA Arena event? He looks extra good in those Curry 2 ! ☺
This coverage of mine of the Steph Curry UnderArmour Road Show in Manila would not have been possible if not for Globe PH and Astig.Ph. Many many thanks! I had uber fun ☺☺
Stephen Curry is expected to also appear in Beijing, Chongqing and Shanghai, China on Sunday September 6th.
Photo Credits: Many thanks to some Twitter images from @ChooseTatto by Globe PH and @kickspotting . You guys ROCK! ☺☺