Brook Lopez. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/ Andrei Laurel
Monday wasn’t the first time Brook Lopez was in the Philippines.
It was his first time, though, to try one of the country’s specialty treats as he ate halo-halo for breakfast, immersing himself in the Filipino culture.
“It was my first time eating it and I got everything in it, all the toppings,” said Lopez as he graced the AXA Philippines-NBA partnership event at Hard Rock Cafe in Makati. “It was a lot. It was so good and I love the yam especially.”
The Brooklyn Nets center admitted that there’s one more Filipino food he wants to indulge in his short time in the country.
“Jollibee,” he quipped with a grin. “Jollibee is my fastfood spot. The spaghetti is Jollibee is my favorite, no question. That’s where I go to.”
What Lopez is familiar with is the way Filipinos embrace the sport of basketball, with aspiring Filipino ballers looking up to NBA players like him.
“Seeing the passion the Filipino fanbase has for basketball in general, it was overwhelming and amazing to me,” he said.
“My teammate in high school, my point guard was a Fil-Am, so he told me about the passion, how much he and the rest of the Filipinos love the sport. But it didn’t prepare me at all for the love for the game that I saw. Just traveling around the country and seeing players in sandals or barefoot, it shows me the true passion and love for the game.”
He’s also rooting for upstart Filipino talents like Kobe Paras to someday make it to the NBA.
“It’s great to see guys like Kobe who’s playing in America. He’s being a great role model for the younger players here. And I’m confident that the Philippine team will be competitive in the FIBA competitions and they’ll make it to the Olympics,” he said.
Lopez also hopes to get a chance to squeeze in a couple of trips to famous amusement parks in the Philippines like Enchanted Kingdom and Star City despite having a loaded schedule.
“I haven’t had a chance to go there yet. I need to knock them off my list,” he said. “I’m a huge theme park enthusiast. Robin and I are all about that. So I should definitely see some point to visit those two parks.”