IN June 2016, Nike Philippines brought Kobe Bryant to Manila for his Mamba Mentality Tour. It was just over two months after he played his last game at Staples Center in Los Angeles, on April 13, 2016.
That unforgettable moment when he officially closed his National Basketball Association (NBA) career by saying “This has been…absolutely beautiful..I can’t believe it comes to an end. You guys have been absolutely, absolutely beautiful. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you guys, I love you guys.” Then ended it with those oft-copied words “Mamba out.”
Kobe had visited the Philippines a total of seven times for various brands and various reasons, the seventh and last time that June. Fresh into retirement, Nike brought their prized athlete to the Philippines so he could continue to inspire, challenge and pass on his Mamba Mentality to young ballers and basketball-loving, Kobe-adoring Pinoy fans in this archipelago.
He was here two days, the first day to meet members of the media and engage the public in a show at the Araneta Coliseum entitled Mamba Mentality Night. The next day he trained young girls and boys at Kerry Sports Gym and at a neighborhood covered court in Osusan in Taguig.
The media had an absolutely marvelous time with Kobe. Ten of them—Reuben Terrado, formerly from this paper but at that time already with Spin.ph; James Velasquez of ESPN, Christian Jacinto of the Bulletin, Jerome Lagunzad of Malaya, Mark Zambrano of GMA, Migs Rocha of SLAM, Joey Puno of kickspotting.ph, Cedelf Tupas of the Inquirer, Mark Escarlote of abs-cbn.com and Paolo del Rosario, then of CNN—were to have a special training session with the Mamba at the Kerry Gym. But while they were just putting on their gear in the locker room, Kobe surprised them with a jolly “hello,” lots of high fives and handshakes, topped by his trademark sunny LA smile.
The sports boys were stunned, beyond belief, that their idol of idols had so casually entered their locker room, as if he were one of them, and engaged them in casual banter, just like a regular guy.
But when the action shifted to the court, they got the full Mamba Mentality treatment. They were made to warm up, do drills, push themselves to the limit and try their hardest—just like The Mamba. “Napagod ba kayo? [Were you tired?], I asked Reuben Terrado. “Hindi pagod. Pagod na pagod, Ma’m. [Not tired. Very tired],” he answered.
“We were expecting that Kobe would just show up on the court for the training session. But to my surprise, he showed up in the locker room. Nakakagulat talaga. [We were really shocked.] Never imagined I’ll be that close to an NBA legend. Sobrang nakakapagod nung session. [The session was very tiring.] I think it was eight minutes of running, working on your laterals, basically working on your laterals, non-stop. You understand why he’s that great because he works so hard.”
That afternoon, Kobe brought his LA smile to the Araneta Coliseum where young Nike athletes got to meet him up close and show their idol their game. Collegiate stars like Ricci Rivero, Thirdy Ravena, Jeron Teng, Tyler Tio, the Nieto Brothers Matt and Mike, Aljun Melecio, Jolo Mendoza, Andre Caracut, Aaron Black, Mac Belo, Roger Pogoy and Mike Tolomia, among others, shared the court with Kobe as they went up against a PBA squad in an exhibition game. Jared Dillinger, Cliff Hodge, Baser Amer and Chris Newsome were among the PBA stars who played at the event.
It was at Araneta where the crowd poured on the love for Kobe. One of the highlights of the afternoon was the unveiling of a giant banner that showed Kobe, just about to enter the hard court from a darkened tunnel, his back to the viewer showing his No. 24, with the bright lights of the court beckoning him on. You could almost hear the crowd roaring in the picture.
Kobe spoke to the crowd, but I forget now what he said exactly. But he ended it with “Thank you so much. I’m deeply honored by that. I’m speechless about it. I love you. I will see you soon.”
Now of course we know he won’t. But at that moment, the huge crowd turned on the lights on their cell phones and waved it in the air, engulfing Kobe on the hard court with what seemed like a thousand stars. He was indeed speechless. And I, a Celtics fan, felt goose bumps. This was pure love. And Kobe felt it. You could see it in his eyes, in how he gestured back to the crowd and tried to face all sides of the Coliseum to acknowledge the love.
That is how I will always remember Kobe. In that surreal image that seemed to take place in outer space, among the moon and the stars.
Lakers fan or not, we all feel pain now. He was not just for one team, or one league, or one country. He belonged to all of basketball, to the whole world, to all of us.
His biggest legacy is in living inside every basketball loving person, athlete or not, through the Mamba Mentality he bequeathed to all of us. Many, many more generations will stay fearless and chase after perfection the way Kobe did. He has transcended the limits of this imperfect world and has slipped into the mists of immortality.