Pinoy culture interests Chalmers  

MANILA, Philippines — Two-time NBA champion Mario Chalmers never imagined to someday play for a Filipino team when he was coached by Filipino-American Erik Spoelstra in over seven Miami Heat seasons and now that the 6-2 point guard is with the Zamboanga Valientes in the Asean Basketball League (ABL), learning more about Filipino culture is on his mind.

Chalmers, 36, joined the Valientes during the ABL third circuit in Kuala Lumpur and was in Manila to fix his travel documents before proceeding to Ho Chi Minh for the fourth leg last Monday. In his first four games, he averaged 15 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists. At presstime, Zamboanga was fighting for its life against Singapore in trying to qualify for the semifinals.

“I haven’t been (in the Philippines) long to experience the culture which I’ll try to get to know and learn,” said Chalmers. “I know the Philippines loves the game of basketball and I’m aware about coach Spo and Jordan Clarkson (being Fil-Ams).” Valientes team owner Junnie Navarro said Chalmers wanted NBA veteran Michael Beasley to be his Zamboanga teammate but there was no time to negotiate. Instead, Renaldo Balkman was signed up.

Navarro said enlisting Chalmers was a dream come true. “It’s a great honor for the Valientes,” he said. “Zamboanga has produced stars like Hidilyn Diaz, Mark Barroca, Eumir Marcial and Jonas Sultan and we want to keep that winning tradition with the Valientes. Mabait si Mario. Ang taas ng kaniyang basketball IQ. Isang araw lang, alam na niya lahat ng plays. He’s never late for practice. Grabe ang extra shooting niya, 500 to 1,000 shots. Kaya si Rudy (Lingganay) inspirado at parang nasa NBA team na siya.”

Chalmers couldn’t seem to decide who’s better, Michael Jordan or Miami teammate LeBron James. He called Jordan the GOAT and James the best player. With the Heat, Chalmers gained the respect of the Big Three – James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. “We won as a team and LeBron was the star,” he said. “It was a lot of fun playing with three Hall of Famers. To win those championships took hard work and dedication.”

In the 2008 NCAA D-1 final, Chalmers hit a triple for Kansas with 2.1 seconds left to force OT against Memphis and the Jayhawks eventually won. Media called it a miracle shot but Chalmers said “I make that every day at practice.” Late in his NBA career, Chalmers played for the Memphis Grizzlies. He said it was awkward at first to play for Memphis as fans remembered the 2008 final but when the Grizzlies started to win, the painful memory was forgotten. Chalmers will play for Zamboanga in the VisMin Open Cup on Feb. 25.