EXACTLY 22 years ago today, NBA legend Kobe Bryant capped the first of his many visits to the Philippines that endeared him to Filipino fans.
Just two years after being selected 13th overall by Charlotte in the 1996 NBA Draft and traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, Bryant, 19, arrived in the country for a three-day promotional visit for adidas that ended on August 16.
In those three days, the teen phenom wore the traditional barong, met President Erap Estrada, played with street kids, and gamely danced the Tinikling in a ‘Girl Friday’ event at the Manila Peninsula.
On his first day, he slipped past the hotel's security cordon and felt secure enough to wander into a mall in Makati, thinking perhaps that he won't be recognized and can roam around freely. He was wrong.
He soon returned to the hotel, huffing and laughing after being chased by a scrum of fans.
Bryant would visit the country six more times since, the last in 2016 just months after his retirement. He died on January 26 in a helicopter crash.
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