Adidas brings back D Rose to Manila

Manila is the last stop of the D Rose Tour

Read about: Manila, Are You All In for DRose?

Hands down, basketball is the most popular sport in the country with basketball courts all over the country.  It has a very large following and a significant majority understands and appreciate the game of basketball and the stars of the game.  This has made the country a constant destination of NBA stars and most recently, no less than the youngest MVP of the National Basketball Association and Adidas icon, Derrick Rose (DRose) as he came back to visit the country last September 14-16, 2013.  With the 2009 Rookie of the Year and the 2011 Most Valuable Player in his resume, DRose is among the top Superstars of the NBA and it was a welcome delight that fans from the Philippines gets this rare chance to meet him once again.  I was lucky enough to be among the few who was able to witness the DRose 3 0n 3 competitions and the visit of DRose himself.

The winners from Thailand had a chance to play 3-on-3 with Derrick Rose, Chris Tiu, JC Intal, and Josh Urbiztondo

The 3 on 3 brought in competition from 16 teams made up of high school athletes from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines.  The 3 on 3 is probably the most basic of basketball tournament as its played in almost all corners in the country.  The 3 on 3 was played under 10 minutes running time with the height of the delegation of Thailand overpowering their competition but not without a lot of scare from the teams from the Philippines.

Belle Daza teamed up with Derrick Rose to play a shoot out game against the Younghusbands

Derrick Rose teamed up with the lovely and athletic Belle Daza to prevail against the football tandem of Phil and James Younghusband.  The Younghusbands started out of rhythm before scoring a total of 17 points in their time.  DRose and Belle Daza was able to catch up fast but it was Belle Daza who made the last two shots to win the game.

Chris Tiu may have had the home court advantage and beat Derrick Rose in a 3-point shoot out

Chris Tiu defeated Derrick Rose and Josh Urbiztondo in a 1 minute three point shoot out.  Chris Tiu filled in the points fast enabling him to build a commanding lead that DRose wasn’t able to overcome by his turn.

DRose teamed up with the Thailand Team Against PBA Stars Chris Tiu, JC Intal and Josh Urbiztondo.

DRose escapes the tight guarding of JC Intal in the baseline and took off for a reverse layup as the crowd erupted and with this move, he started taking over the game which the PBA stars dominated from the start.  He started shooting outside shots after another but Chris Tiu returned the favor which turned the game into a shoot out.  DRose shot the last shot to take the slim lead as Chris Tiu ran out of time in his final attempt to win the game.

A press conference was held at Marriott Hotel

DRose met the press last September 16, 2013 before he left the Philippines.  “This tour is an expansive effort to connect Derrick Rose with his fans and support the growth of basketball on an international scale,” explains Georges Youssef, Country Manager of adidas Philippines.

Albert Sarabia, the winner of the 2k13 Video Game Tournament, had the chance to play against Derrick Rose.

Rose concludes his Philippine visit with a 2k13 video game challenge at the SM Mall of Asia, where the winner of the tournament, Albert Sarabia, had the rare chance of playing against Derrick Rose.  Thus concludes a 3 day visit of Derrick Rose with the appreciative fans, including me, seeing his basketball prowess up close.

The adidas D Rose Tour is supported by the official hotel partner, Marriott Hotel, the official hydration partner, Powerade and the venue partners Smart Araneta Coliseum and SM Mall of Asia.