T-Mac to fly Davao team to Houston

Barely a few hours after blowing into town, basketball star Tracy McGrady yesterday promised to send the Holy Child of Davao high school 3-on-3 team to Houston at his expense.

McGrady’s gesture of generosity was the talk of the well-attended press conference that kicked off his two-day promotional visit here for Adidas. Applause rocked the Rizal Ballroom of the Makati Shangri-La Hotel after McGrady said he would reward the team for an exceptional showing at the Adidas Asian Streetball 3-on-3 finals in Guangzhou last Sunday.

McGrady was in Guangzhou to witness the finals and acted as guest annotator at courtside. Holy Child lost an 11-10 decision in overtime to the host city team on a free throw from a disputed loose ball foul. McGrady later told Holy Child guest coach Ryan Gregorio and the four Davao players he would fly them to Houston, watch a Rockets game and dine at Yao Ming’s restaurant.

The prize for the winner was an all-expense-paid trip to Houston, courtesy of Adidas.

Gregorio, who flew in from Guangzhou yesterday, said nobody expected Holy Child to win even a game because the team was the shortest in the tournament. But in the preliminaries, Holy Child posted a 4-1 record and advanced to the semifinals where the Davao squad upset Shanghai. The team was made up of 5-8 R. R. Wong, 5-9 Lloyd Lacida, 5-8 John Pinto and 5-10 Vincent Lim.

"We went up against bigger guys, some as tall as 6-6, but we never gave up," said Gregorio who coached Purefoods to the Philippine Basketball Association All-Filipino title last season. "In the beginning, the boys were just happy to get a free trip to China. But we talked about what we could achieve if we work hard together. We prayed to God for strength."

In the finals, the Chinese officials slapped a pair of dubious flagrant fouls on Holy Child, resulting in free throws and possession for the hometown team. A 20-second shot clock violation was even called against Holy Child when there were six seconds left. The calls clearly went against the Philippines in the 15-minute contest. Gregorio, however, encouraged his players to just keep their focus.

"The boys cried after the game," said Gregorio. "Can you imagine playing under those circumstances? We went to a corner, prayed and thanked God for the chance to play in the tournament. Then, T-Mac spoke to us. It was such a blessing. Even the Chinese players called us the champions. It was better than winning the title."

McGrady, 27, said when he first visited Manila in 2000, the impression that stuck in his mind was the Filipinos’ passion for basketball. That’s why, he continued, returning to the Philippines had to be a part of his four-stop Asian itinerary.

McGrady explained what Adidas’ tagline "impossible is nothing" means to him and related it to the 2004-05 regular season game where he scored 13 points in the last 35 seconds to lift Houston to an 81-80 come-from-behind win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Aside from basketball, McGrady said he has a passion for baseball. He was once a star pitcher in high school before trying his luck on the basketball court at the Adidas ABCD camp in New Jersey in 2005. McGrady shone at the camp, overshadowed highly-touted Lamar Odom then joined the Mt. Zion Christian Academy high school varsity as a senior. After a year, McGrady was picked in the National Basketball Association draft.

McGrady said when he found out Adidas offered him a lifetime endorsement contract, he was flabbergasted.

"If I was in a room with an eight-foot ceiling, I would’ve jumped so high my head would’ve hit it," said McGrady who couldn’t thank Adidas enough for its support through the years.

McGrady will check out the Adidas shop at the Glorietta 3 Mall in Makati at 11 this morning and conduct an open-to-the-public clinic with the Purefoods coaching staff for 40 underprivileged kids at the Ateneo Blue Eagle Gym on Katipunan Road this afternoon. He will sign limited edition T-Mac 1 signature shoes of five lucky buyers at Glorietta 3 and five other lucky buyers at the Blue Eagle Gym. — Joaquin Henson