AFTER spending just a couple of weeks in the Philippines, former NBA cager Craig Hodges is certain he’s coming back soon.
“Basketball in the Philippines is like no other, the love for the game here is second to none,” said Hodges. “I know I’ll be back to do something.”
Hodges—one of only two players to win the NBA three-point shootout for three consecutive years—recently conducted basketball clinics with Nic Jorge’s BEST (Basketball Efficiency and Scientific Training) Center.
“I’ve been blessed with great teachers and coaches in my lifetime, so I’ve also been trying to teach,” Hodges said in the PSA Forum yesterday at Shakey’s UN Avenue.
“Compared to athletes in America, Filipinos are a little bit smaller so you have to be accurate shooters and creative in ball handling and footwork. I’m trying to teach the tricks of the game.”
Hodges, now 51, copped two NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls team led by sports great Michael Jordan. He also had a three-year reign in the NBA All-Stars three-point contest starting in 1990.
“We’ve had a very good seminar and there are so many things I’ve learned which we will put into our future programs,” said Jorge, a former national coach. With a report from Jan Edward B. Ballesteros and Randolph B. Leongson, Contributors