Does it impact their on-court success?
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters' Gabe Norwood, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel's Jared Dillinger, and PBA retirees Sol Mercado and Joe Devance have recently gotten together, bringing along host and radio DJ Tin Gamboa, to start a podcast called Let It Fly.
The conversations, of course, have brought the laughs and memories among the hoopers themselves—and basketball fans, too.
There are tons of stories, from bromances to getting an earful from legendary coaches.
On Monday, Dillinger uploaded on Instagram a new highlight from one of their episodes. It featured Nikola Jokic, centerpiece of reigning NBA champions Denver Nuggets.
It’s now known among fans that Jokic has a healthy detachment from the game. After winning the championship last June, the Joker was raring to go back home to Serbia immediately. He was itching to watch his horse race and spend time with family and friends. In the process, Nikola complained about the championship parade (but enjoyed it later) and lost track of his Finals MVP trophy. He just wanted to get home.
Fans lauded that the two-time NBA MVP has a full life outside of basketball.
Mercado thinks that another big man in the Philippines is just like Jokic. That man is six-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo.
“He (Jokic) kind of reminds me of June Mar. June Mar, when he’s done, he wants to go fishing,” said Sol.
Gabe agreed, recalling their former battles with the San Miguel Beerman, and how the 6-foot-10 behemoth would also be eager to get back to Cebu when the conference is over.
“That’s the thing a lot of people don’t know. June Mar is out of Manila [after the conference]. They win? [He will go] ‘Okay, I gotta go to the office the next day and I’m out of here. I’m gone.’”
Aside from fishing, the PBA GOAT contender is known to have other hobbies like cycling, gaming, and even streaming his game sessions on his YouTube page.
Currently, Fajardo is busy with Gilas Pilipinas as the national team gets into overdrive in its preps for the FIBA World Cup.
San Miguel, meanwhile, is busy trying to find the right import to pair with June Mar when the Commissioner’s Cup starts on October 15.