Rose surprised RP basketball is blooming

Like the other NBA stars before him, New York Knicks’ Malik Rose was as amazed on the Filipinos’ passion for basketball.

“What really surprised me are the fans, their knowledge of the game, they really know their basketball,” said Rose, in town for the NBA Madness Mall Tour 2008.

Rose, a former member of two championship teams at San Antonio, admitted he has little knowledge of the country and this was through former PBA player Chip Engelland, his shooting coach.

“Actually, I learned it from one of my coaches who was a former star here, Chip Engelland. He’s my shooting coach, he said he shot a couple of 40 points when he was still playing here,” said Rose.

The sexy and pretty dancers of the Sacramento Kings and the Charlotte Bobcats’ mascot, Rufus Lynx, were also on hand to spice up the event at the Hard Rock Café in Glorietta Mall in Makati City.

Some side events spicing up the NBA Madness Tour include the media challenge, the NBA slam dunk competition, the Coca-Cola shooting stars, Caltex 2Ball, the DHL Speed Challenge and the NBA Three-Point Shootout presented by Basketball TV.  – Joey Villar