METTA Sandinford-Artest – more known as Ron Artest and Metta World Peace – was a surprise Philippine visitor as he serves as the East Asia Super League (EASL) ambassador.
Ron Artest as EASL ambassador
The 42-year-old Artest appeared in the EASL grouping ceremony at the Shangri-La The Fort on Tuesday, providing an added star power to the event.
Artest was known for his stints in the NBA, particularly with the Los Angeles Lakers where he won a title in 2010 with Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. He had his share of controversies including his role in the ‘Malice at the Palace’ where he was suspended for 86 games.
Artest is also familiar with Asian basketball as a former player of the Sichuan Blue Whales in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), which is why he is excited to be part of the EASL as its ambassador.
“I’m really grateful. My career has been up and down and for me to come back, from the big suspension that I had, to win a championship, defensive player of the year, and then still has a fan base here, to play in Sichuan Blue Whales in the CBA, and to play against all those great teams, Stephon Marbury over there in Beijing, I grew a love for the continent of Asia. And now to be back with the EASL right here in Manila,” said Artest.
Artest also has a soft spot for the Philippines as his son Jeron’s mother is a Filipina. Jeron once played in the Philippines through FilAm Sports USA in the NBTC a few years ago, and played college ball for University of California Irvine.
Jeron though has been focusing on his studies being a computer game science major. During the 2020-2021 season in fact, Jeron was part of the Big West Winter All-Academic squad for maintaining a minimum of 3.0 cumulative GPA.
“My son is half-Filipino. His mom did a great job raising him. His grandma also. They have family here. I have family here also,” said Artest.
From what he is seeing and observing, Artest sees a competitive EASL this coming October.
“I’m really excited to watch some good basketball. This is a new energy. It felt like that the games are really competitive. You saw the commissioner of the B.League starting off that we are going to win, then everybody was like ‘No, you’re not.’ I think it’s going to change everything,” said Artest.
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