NBA stars visit Yolanda survivors
Robin Lopez of Portland Blazers displays his dribbling skills at their basketball clinic at D.M.Reynes Gynasium in Compostela as part of the NBA cares and World Visions outreach program. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
Most of the school children in Bagalnga Integrated School in a mountain barangay in Compostela town were left in awe yesterday after coming face to face with three “unusual” visitors.
“Mura man ni ug damgo (It’s like a dream),” said Mark Karim Astillas, on seeing certified NBA players Robin Lopez and Wesley Matthews and former NBA Coach of the Year and San Antonio Spurs standout Avery Johnson enter their classroom.
After greeting the visitors in unison, Astillas and his classmates stood on their wooden desks to give the players’ high-fives and fist-bumps.
“Mura sila ug dili tawo. Dako kaayo og taas labi na ang kulot (They don’t look like humans to me. They’re so big and tall, especially the one with curly hair),” said the 10-year-old, referring to the 7-foot Lopez.
Matthews and Lopez of the Portland Trailblazers and Johnson visited the upland barangay of Bagalnga yesterday through the NBA Cares program and World Vision Philippines.
The NBA stars and their group had to traverse a narrow dirt road and pass through a small bridge to get to the school, which is situated in an upland barangay five kilometers away from the town center.
The players took the time to go around the campus as the school’s drum and bugle corps played along.
At one point, Matthews and Lopez even sat on the wooden desks as Johnson wrote words and phrases on the blackboard.
“I became an impromptu teacher. But it’s okay, it still feels like coaching,” said Johnson with a chuckle.
According to World Vision Philippines media officer Mikhaela De Leon, the delegation was initially scheduled to visit Tacloban City, but authorities had to shut down the airport for repairs prompting a detour to other Yolanda-hit areas in Cebu.
Bagalnga Integrated School was the beneficiary of a four-classroom building donated by World Vision. The players capped their visit in the school by painting a wall in one of the school’s newly-renovated classroom.
Earlier in the day, Matthews, Lopez, Johnson and other NBA trainers facilitated a basketball clinic in the Compostela town’s municipal gym.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
