Missed opportunity to see "The Great Wall"

Yesterday, the Philippine men's national basketball team battled against the Shanghai Sharks in an exhibition game at the Mall of Asia Arena. But with all the basketball happening on the court, one guy stands out among the crowd. I mean he literally stands out. That person was Yao Ming, the former Houston Rockets center who is the owner of the team he played for before he was drafted by the Rockets #1 overall in 2002.

Yao and the Sharks arrived in Manila over the weekend, where Yao met with Vice President Jejomar Binay for "Basketball diplomacy" as well as conducting basketball clinics to aspiring Filipino basketball players before his Sharks played against the national team yesterday. The national team would end up defeating the Sharks 80-72. When I said he stands out, he really is as shown on this photo with the Vice President.

Photo ©Yahoo News Philippines

Yeah, I'm having a bit of a regret that I was unable to see him in person. I knew about his visit weeks before he arrived here in the Philippines. I mean he's the reason I became a member of Red Nation (Houston Rockets fanbase for those who don't know it.) from the time he was drafted to the NBA. Even though he hanged up his jersey for good two years ago with all the injuries he got throughout his 9 year NBA career. He's still one of my favorite basketball players of all-time and I've been riding with Red Nation since he left the league to include those 9th place finishes as well as their recently concluded playoff run. 

Then again, I'm saving up for the NBA preseason game between the Rockets and the Indiana Pacers this October which could possibly be worth a lot of money but it will be all worth it if I can get the tickets to see my favorite team in the NBA play on Philippine soil. So yeah, I must control my spending to get a better seat once tickets of the game come out very soon.

I may not have seen him when the opportunity was within reach. But definitely, I hope I will get to see him very soon. He's one of those guys you'll love and look up even if his basketball career was cut drastically short.

The Great Wall lives on.

K-Smoove