MANILA – National Basketball Association (NBA) superstar Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers captured the hearts of Filipinos once more on Tuesday during his third visit to the Philippines.

Bryant, who also visited the Philippines in 1998 and 2007, arrived Monday evening. He kicked off his Nike Asia Tour 2009 in Manila on Tuesday with a press conference at The Peninsula Manila hotel in Makati City.

Also called “Black Mamba,” Bryant made known his support for Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao during the press briefing.

He said it would be “Manny all the way” when asked to choose who he thinks will win in the November fight between Pacquiao and Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto.

'The best player'

From the Manila Pen, Bryant proceeded to the Nike Park, at Bonifacio High Street, The Fort in Taguig City.

Around 300 Kobe fans gathered to catch a glimpse of their idol. Some wore Bryant jerseys, Lakers shirts and caps, while other brought banners and posters. Most were armed with cameras in hopes of getting a snapshot of the 2009 NBA Finals most valuable player (MVP).

Three of the fans who trooped to The Fort were friends Patrick, Richard and Ron, who took a leave from work citing a different reason from Bryant’s Manila visit. For them, Bryant is the best player.

“Suwabeng-suwabe,” said Ron. “Siyempre super galing,” added Patrick. “Nahawakan ko na siya,” he said of Bryant’s previous visit in 2007.

The crowd went wild when Bryant appeared onstage at around 2:30 p.m. He greeted his fans who in turn chanted “MVP, MVP, MVP!”

Bryant went on to talk about his never-ending desire to learn more about the game of basketball.

Donation for kids program

He also met with some 17 children from Gawad Kalinga (GK) who got autographs and a photo opportunity with him.

The select children, who play basketball in their respective GK communities, gave Bryant a compilation of their cards and messages for the NBA star.

Bryant, meantime, gave the kids a check worth P100,000 as a donation to GK’s Child and Youth Development program.

The last stop of Bryant was the PhilSports Arena (formerly ULTRA) in Pasig City where he held a basketball camp at 4 p.m. with the Nike Elite Campers, a group of up-and-coming young basketball players.

Thousands trooped to the PhilSports Arena including former Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) players Alvin Patrimonio, Gerry Codiñera and Vince Hizon. Celebrities as Edu Manzano, Gerald Anderson and Toni Gonzaga also watched Bryant’s basketball clinic. US Ambassador Kristie Kenney, an avid sports fan, was also at ringside.

'Home away from home'

Bryant told the PhilSports Arena crowd, “It feels great to be back… to be around people who enjoy the game as much as I do.”

He even described the Philippines as a “home away from home,” much to the delight of his fans.

Before holding the basketball camp, Bryant talked about the Nike Dream Season shoe which was designed with his insights.

The “Black Mamba” related that a lot of his basketball training when he was growing up was done on the concrete of outdoor courts. He said the Dream Season is endurable and would protect a player’s knees and feet. “It’s gotta look hot,” he said of the new Nike shoe.

Bryant carried on to show the crowd a glimpse of his “Blackout” workout which entails a player to make seemingly endless shots (shooting “over and over and over again”) from the various posts and isolation spots, paying close attention to the details of the moves.

“I love you all,” Bryant told his fans after an hour of showing some components of his basketball workout. “I love you, see you next time.”

Several lucky fans were able to bring home signed basketballs which Bryant tossed to the screaming crowd.

From Manila, Bryant will take his Asia Tour 2009 to Singapore on Wednesday, Taipei on Thursday, Hong Kong on Friday, Shanghai on Saturday, and Chengdu on Sunday.