By NIKOLE JAVIER
Carmelo Anthony was thrilled to be named the newest FIBA global ambassador and follow in the footsteps of his friend and former USA teammate, the late Kobe Bryant.
The NBA star, who was formally introduced as the third FIBA World Cup envoy along with Luis Scola and Pau Gasol at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday, Feb. 24, couldn’t hide his excitement to be in the same venue that Bryant frequented when he would visit the Philippines.
“It’s special to kinda follow what Kobe had created on the global scale of basketball. Him being an ambassador previously and being our friendship and our brotherhood and what we created over the years,” said Anthony.
“Just for me to follow and continue and keep that legacy going not just for myself and not just for the US but also for him too.”
The former Lakers forward arrived in Manila on Wednesday, Feb. 22, and toured around the capital to get himself familiar with the culture which Bryant “raved about” for him to visit.
“I can check this off of my bucket list and on top of that, having somebody like my brother Kobe who raved about the Philippines, kept telling me, you have to get there, you have to get there. They love you. And now I took him up on that and to be sitting across from his mural right in front of me, it says a lot and it means a lot,” said Anthony.
Stepping into the role that Bryant once took on four years ago as FIBA World Cup ambassador, Anthony is honored to continue the same legacy and go beyond what he has already established for the game of basketball on a global scale.
Aside from Bryant’s mural that commemorates his memories at Araneta, Anthony also recalled his admiration for professional boxer and icon Muhammad Ali, who competed against Joe Frazier for the heavyweight championship of the world billed as the “Thrilla in Manila” in 1975 at the same venue.
"I felt it. I felt like I was Ali walking in, walking in here. I’m like one of the biggest Ali fans. You know the way that you guys love basketball the way I love Ali. And for me, to come into this arena and know and understand you know the history that took place in this building with him in the Thrilla in Manila puts a lot of things into perspective for me," he added.