HA SEUNG-JIN was a surprise visitor of the PBA games on Thursday night.
For the uninitiated, Ha is a 7-foot-3 former Korean national team member who broke barriers when he became the first and, still the only player from their country to play in the NBA.
Ha, who played for the Portland Trail Blazers from 2004 to 2006, has been in country since Sunday for a family vacation with his wife and children, and initially he had no plans of watching the PBA during his stay.
READ: Magnolia revives flickering playoff hopes by holding off Phoenix
That was until he learned that Ricardo Ratliffe is in Manila for his stint with Magnolia in the PBA. Ha got in touch with Ratliffe and gave him tickets for Thursday’s game against Phoenix in the Commissioner’s Cup at the Philsports Arena.
“Visit for vacation for my family,” said the 39-year-old Ha in an interview with Filipino reporters. “And I heard Ricardo play in PBA. So [I said], oh really? I should go. So, I talked to Ricardo's wife.”
Ha and Ratliffe played together for the Korean national team, and were also competitors during the Korean Basketball League. Over the years, the two has also developed a friendship.
Ha was impressed with way the 35-year-old Ratliffe played on Thursday where he had 22 points, 19 rebounds, and two blocks in the Hotshots’ 110-104 win over the Fuelmasters.
'KBL needs Ricardo'
The Korean star even said Ratliffe should return to the KBL again once his commitment with Magnolia is done.
“He's still strong, still savage, still dominate,” said Ha in broken English. “He definitely (needs to come) back to Korea. KBL needs Ricardo.
“Very good relationship because we play a lot against each other,” said Ha.
Ha enjoyed his time watching the PBA, including his appearances in the league’s gameday experiences during timeouts. He was also glad to see for himself a four-point shot and even a five-point play that was made by RJ Jazul.
“Very fun. First time (in the PBA). I never knew four-point game. It was really little strange but that was very fun. Maybe KBL needs four-point game, too,” said Ha.
Ha had a storied career in Korea which includes being part of the team that finished third at the expense of the Smart Gilas national team in the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship, preventing the Philippines from making it to the 2012 Olympics.
He also won two KBL championships with the Jeonju KCC Egis, which is also one of the ballclubs of Ratliffe in Korea, and was a Mythical Five winner three times.
After his decorated basketball career in Korea, Ha is now a TV and online personality, and has a YouTube channel that has about 457,000 subscribers. After the PBA game, Ha shot an interview with Ratliffe for his YouTube channel.
“When I retired, it was 2019. Every people and friends said, ‘you do YouTube’… Then I started. It was fun. And I’m doing it for five years,” said Ha.
Ha said being a YouTuber fits his personality better than other careers such as coaching.
“People say, hey, do some coaching something like that but I don't know because I don't like (to) teach somebody. I’m just fun guy. So, this is my life,” said Ha, who will come back to Korea on Sunday.
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