Safe to say, he’s the most popular player in town.
When Team USA emerged from the tunnel at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday, fans stood up and cheered. But when one Austin Reaves was introduced by the venue barker, those same fans went bananas.
The Los Angeles Lakers rising star received the loudest roars from the jam-packed crowd each time he entered the game or made a basket. Literally whatever he did, the fans reacted.
It was understandable. After all, the Philippines is relatively a Lakers country.
Reaves knew it before coming here, though, thanks to Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy, who visited Manila in June to conduct clinics and help out PBA team Converge FiberXers.
Undrafted in 2021, the 25-year-old cager was appreciative of the love Filipino fans have showered him so far.
“I kinda seen it coming. I was talking to Phil Handy and he was telling me they love the Lakers out here,” said Reaves after Team USA's 99-72 win over New Zealand.
“It’s special for me from a super small town obviously. Not a lot of people expected me to be here representing the country. For them [Filipino fans] to accept me the way they accept me means a lot to me,” Reaves added.
When he first checked in at the 4:09 mark of the opening quarter, Reaves made an impact right away, helping Team USA recover from a poor start. He ended up with 12 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals in 22 minutes of action.
But he’s not satisfied.
“Obviously not the start we wanted. We go watch and watch the film and learn from that,” said Reaves, referring to the Tall Blacks’ full-court pressure in the opening minutes that had the Americans struggling early, so much so that they fell behind by 10 in the first quarter.
“But our intensity and physicality after that first five minutes were much better. But like I said, we’re gonna learn from this and move forward to Greece.”
Team USA would need more from Reaves and the others when it takes on the Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Greek squad on Monday at the same venue.
(MDB)