| The NBA Playoff Coach Called “Manny Pacquiao” |
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| Columns - JGL Eye | |||
| Written by Joseph G. Lariosa | |||
| Monday, 27 April 2009 20:07 | |||
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JGL Eye
But in a
Mr. Spoelstra, the head coach of the surging Miami Heat, may not be aware of it that hotel employes call him by the name of the Philippine boxing world champion.
But a hotel employee told me that at one time when he had the chance, he greeted Mr. Spoelstra as “Manny Pacquiao” and the head coach was described as blushing and smiling.
Nobody in the hotel knows how the “Manny Pacquiao” nickname for Mr. Spoelstra came to be. Mr. Spoelstra, at six-foot-one, is too tall for Manny, who is five-foot-six. Maybe their looks or the color of their skin might give it away. Nobody knows.
But I have a hunch, Mr. Spoelstra also wants to have a heart of a world champion, like Manny Pacquiao.
In my recent interview with Mr. Spoelstra, he admitted that “I am a Manny Pacquiao fan. I hope we are still playing in the NBA playoffs when Manny meets Ricky Hatton” (at
If Miami Heat, now with a 2-1 first-round playoffs record lead over Atlanta Hawks, will beat the Hawks on Monday, April 27, and close it out on Wednesday, April 29, they might be idle and will be waiting for their next round opponent by the time Pacquiao faces Hatton and Mr. Spoelstra should have an opportunity to watch the boxing fight on Saturday, May 2nd.
A nd even if the Hawks force Game 7 on May 3rd, the Heat will still be idle on Saturday and it will still give Mr. Spoelstra an opportunity to watch Pacquiao-Hatton on TV. “Either way, I will watch the Pacquiao-Hatton fight on TV,” Mr. Spoestra said.
His mother is a retired school teacher while his father still works in sports marketing as consultant. His elder sister, Monica, is in public relations and marketing and is a short story writer. Erik, who was born in He loves lumpia (egg roll) and rice. He doesn’t speak Tagalog, his mother’s mother tongue.
When Miami Heat president Pat Riley, one of NBA’s legendary coaches, stepped down last year as head coach last year, he anointed the 38-year-old Spoelstra as his successor and the 14th coach of the team. “I believe Erik Spoelstra is one of the most talented young coaches who are technologically skilled, innovative and bring fresh new ideas. That’s what we feel we are getting with Erik Spoelstra. He’s a man who was born to coach," said Mr. Riley. Mr. Spoelstra over-achieved Pat Riley’s prophecy when he took the Miami Heat to the playoff this year. Mr. Spoelstra was lured as player-coach of German professional team Tus Herten for two years. It was right after he graduated from the “I would have been playing in the
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| Last Updated on Monday, 27 April 2009 20:19 |
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Ka Jesse
Coming from a fine writer like you, your complimentary comments cannot be any better.
Take care.
Joseph G. Lariosa