TONY PARKER: We need to match the Filipinos’ energy. RAFFY LERMA
TONY Parker isn’t here for a holiday, not by a long shot.
He’s not here to flash his pretty face either as the Manila Olympic Qualifying Tournament fires off today.
The San Antonio Spurs superstar in the NBA will try to lead France to a berth in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games next month, for which he will work very hard to cap a distinguished professional and international career.
“Qualifying for the Olympics would be a perfect ending for my career,” Parker, who has won four NBA championships with the Spurs, told the media yesterday in a brief press conference arranged primarily for French reporters at Hotel Sofitel Philippine Plaza.
“It’s been an unbelievable ride for the last 16 years,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time. It would be a perfect ending to finish [my international career] in the Olympics.”
Parker will have all the help he needs. The world’s fifth-ranked squad will be joined by Nicolas Batum, whose status against Gilas Pilipinas in the 9 p.m. game today at Mall of Asia Arena still hangs.
Also in the lineup are Boris Diaw, rising star Nando de Colo and several others with legitimate NBA experience, making the French the odds-on favorites to prevail here.
Parker gets going against the Filipinos and, being the veteran internationalist that he is, is wary of the fact that they will be up against the host team.
The Philippines is ranked 23 rungs lower than the French.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” Parker said. “We respect everybody. They (Filipinos) will be playing with a lot of confidence, being at home. We have to match their energy.”
Droves of Filipino fans, basketball nuts, have coughed up a lot of money for tickets costing as much as P10,000 a pop just to get a glimpse of Parker in action.
But the 6-foot-2 guard with the boy-next-door looks could end up breaking hearts in this tournament. He has a personal mission to accomplish.