Special Olympics athletes relish experience with Knight, Brown

Former Celtics player Dee Brown interacting with the kids during an NBA Cares event at Trinoma Thursday. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Phoenix Suns guard Brandon Knight and Boston Celtics legend Dee Brown capped off their week-long visit to the Philippines with an NBA Cares Clinic with Special Olympics Philippines Thursday at TriNoma Activity Center.

Together with coach Craig Brown, they worked with 30 special athletes and focused on the players’ fundamental basketball skills and teamwork.

“Every year, pag nandito ang NBA, our athletes are always excited because they know a famous NBA star is coming,” said Kaye Samson, national executive director for Special Olympics Philippines. “It’s special this year because our young athletes recognize Brandon Knight while the older ones are still familiar with Dee Brown.”

Samson also shared that these events are huge for these special athletes, who cherish the experience even long after it’s over.

“After they finish these, the athletes won’t stop talking about the experience and they gain confidence from it. Ang pinakagusto naming benefit dito is they discover that they can play that even some of them can be trained. It also builds their confidence knowing that opportunities are given to them, that though they have special needs and intellectual disabilities, hindi totoo na hindi sila pwedeng maglaro,” she said.

“We’re thankful for the NBA because it’s showing that all people, every athlete deserves to play.”

Knight and Brown also said that the whole trip to Manila, which took them to different places where they interacted with hoops-crazy kids, has been a humbling experience for the both of them.

“It’s been a great week. We’ve been to different places and work with different kids. It’s a pleasure to be here to see how the people love the game and to see how much the game is growing,” said Knight.

“We got a chance to meet and work with a lot kids in different levels. We interacted with a lot coaches, passed on a lot of the knowledge we have. It’s been great,” said Brown.

“It’s been an unbelievable experience and I can’t wait to comeback.”