RICKY RUBIO was witness to Gilas Pilipinas’s campaign in the 2014 Fiba World Cup in Spain. And he was impressed on how passionate Filipinos are toward the game.
The problem is, Rubio said, Filipinos lack the height. His advice? Filipinos should use their speed and quickness to the hilt.
“They have to take advantage of that, playing the fast pace of game,” Rubio said on Friday during his Adidas Take on Manila Tour at the Bonifacio Global City.
The Minnesota Timberwolves ace playmaker likened the likened the Philippine style of basketball team to how teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) are playing. The Spanish guard cited the Golden State Warriors who won the NBA title over the Cleveland Cavaliers using the famed “small ball.”
“Especially with the game now is changing. Very up tempo, fast pace and quick,” he said.
Spain, ranked No. 2 in the world, is a perennial contender in the World Cup and Olympics mainly because of the Gasol brothers, Pau and Marc. But Rubio said Spaniards treat basketball with almost the same passion as Filipinos.
“It’s important you have passion on playing basketball,” said the the 24-year-old Rubio, who was already a professional basketball player at 14 in the Spanish ACB League.
“But you also need to be a team player, be smart, work hard and enjoy what you are doing. You need to have passion of what you are doing,” he added.
Rubio arrived on Thursday for his first visit in the country to promote Crazylight Boost 2015, Adidas’s most innovative basketball shoe ever.
Rubio said his privilege to travel the globe to promote his shoe brand is a result of his love of basketball.
“I play six to seven hours a day,” Rubio said, narrating how he became a competitive basketball player that led to a professional contract with DKV Joventut in his teens and was selected fifth overall by the Timberwolves in the 2009 Draft.
“Basketball has been my life,” added Rubio, who idolizes Steve Nash and Jason Kidd, two of the greatest playmakers in the NBA.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes