What a spin

First, a disclaimer. I had nothing to do with the photo that was published in The STAR last Sunday showing me trying to spin a basketball. And I definitely had nothing to do with the caption that said I won the spinning contest and took home a Spalding basketball for it.

The photo was taken during the National Basketball Association (NBA) press conference announcing the staging of the fifth Madness event here on June 2-5.

So what was I doing in the picture?

Here’s what happened.

I was invited to attend the press conference at the Manila Peninsula Hotel conservatory last May 6. NBA Asia flew in Asia-Pacific managing director Phil Hayes-Brown, marketing manager Carlo Singson and public relations manager Marcus Chu from Hong Kong to host the conference over lunch.

Tessa Jazmines, who operates Larc & Asset PR, gathered the press for the affair.

Among the luminaries who came for the media launch were Solar chief operating officer Peter Chanliong, Solar vice president for finance Ronald Tieng, Solar sports marketing director Rico Arce, Solar sports marketing manager Martin David, broadcaster Vito Lazatin, event organizer Mart Miranda, McDonald’s celebrity endorser Paolo Bediones and executives from sponsors McDonald’s and Coca-Cola.

Carlo, Marcus and I were enjoying our lunch when Ronald McDonald, in full costume, took the microphone and picked out three contestants for a ball-spinning contest.

First in the spotlight was Inquirer photographer Rudy Esperas. He spun the ball on his forefinger for four seconds. Rudy had three tries in all to register his best time.

Second in line was, to my surprise, yours truly. I knew I’d make a fool of myself. I was never any good at this sort of thing. I can shoot the ball into the hoop but spinning it on a finger is something I never learned to do. I tried thrice. The ball didn’t even spin a second on my finger. For my bumbling performance, I got a merciful applause from the understanding audience.

Before I fumbled all over the place, I said, on the microphone, "I can tell you how it’s done but I don’t think I know how to do it myself." That was my way of toning down expectations.

Third was Carlo who recorded a best time of three seconds.

I thought Rudy was the clear winner. But Ronald McDonald gave each of us a chance by asking the audience to choose the best performer by applause. It was such a tight contest–the audience was extremely kind–that Ronald eventually decided to give all of us a bunch of McDonald’s gift certificates as our prize.

The gift certificates were for free Burger McDos, Big Macs, regular burgers, French fries and sundaes. You couldn’t ask for more.

On the way out, loot bags were given to guests. Each bag contained an NBA Madness shirt, a fancy Coca-Cola retro tray and a Coca-Cola bottle opener. Not a bad haul, I thought.

As for the event, it’s the biggest Madness ever to be held here. Over 30,000 square feet of outdoor space surrounding the Araneta Coliseum has been allocated for what is really a basketball theme park with a carnival atmosphere.

In the US every year, the NBA stages the "Jam Session" as the interactive playground for fans during the All-Star Weekend. The NBA Madness is a scaled-down version of the "Jam Session."

Some of the Madness activities are the Beyond the Arches 3-point shootout, the Mad Skillz where players test their fundamental hoop skills through a series of authentic NBA drills, the Shoot for a Million where lucky participants get a chance to shoot for P1 Million, the Slam Dunk competition, the NBA Theater showing the hottest playoff games live on a big screen, the Shooting Stars, the 3-on-3 with three divisions for boys and two for girls (the prize is replica of the Larry O’Brien trophy) and the Celebrity Challenge.

That’s not all.

Phil said he’s hoping to involve the former NBA cagers now playing as imports in the PBA. They could join visiting guests Luke Walton of the Los Angeles Lakers and Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic in shooting competitions or a friendly game. PBA imports Dickie Simpkins, Anthony (Pig) Miller and Jerald Honeycutt are all NBA veterans. Coach Norman Black, formerly of the Detroit Pistons, is also an NBA veteran.

Then there’s a plan to give campus writers from different schools the opportunity to interview Walton, Howard and the six Houston Rockets Power Dancers who’re coming to spice up the weekend festivities.

Marcus said Walton may be arriving with his brothers, all basketball players. Nate Walton played at Princeton, Adam at Cal Poly-Pomona and Chris at San Diego State. They’re NBA legend Bill Walton’s sons with his first wife.

Howard, the NBA’s top draft pick last year, will likely be accompanied by his parents Dwight Sr, a Georgia State trooper, and mother Sheryl, a former Morris Brown College varsity player.