More on Tokyo trip

Nike Philippines sports communications manager Rely San Agustin and I were 30 minutes early for the Michael Jordan brand fashion show in a convention hall on the third floor of the Park Tower building here last Sunday.

I got my press pass at the reception desk and was introduced by Rely to Shelley Pang, Nike director of communications for Asia Pacific. Shelley is based in Nike’s headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.

I found out later that some 10 executives and staff from Nike flew in from the US for the week-long Asian tour. Jordan and four companions planed in aboard a private jet.

Outside the convention hall was a Jordan exhibit. Variations of Air Jordan shoes were on display. A huge poster showing Jordan with arms spread out wide was on a wall. There was a TV monitor showing Jordan’s classic Nike commercials. Three lifeless mannequins were decked in Jordan outfits.

I made my way close to the edge of the stage at the far end of the hall. There were at least 500 reporters in the crowd. In front of me was Yoko Miyaji, a freelance writer based in Chicago. Yoko and I often bump into each other during NBA events like the All-Star Weekend and the Finals.

After a few minutes, the lights dimmed and blaring hip-hop music filled the air. One by one, male models paraded on stage and walked down the aisles which separated rows of reporters. I counted 15 models in all, wearing different kinds of footwear, apparel and accessories. A giant screen showing Jordan in Nike commercials was the backdrop.

When the modeling was over, a Japanese announcer emerged to introduce Jordan. The applause was spontaneous. Jordan walked onto the stage wearing a suit and sat on a sofa across the announcer. They talked about the Jordan brand and his thoughts on the Asian tour. Nike brand president Larry Miller later joined the two on stage. Miller made an audio-visual presentation of the Jordan brand–its history and reason for existence.

What Miller and Jordan said will be the subject of future stories and columns in The Star.

The show was over in about 45 minutes. The reporters who came were each given a plastic slingbag with a Jordan poster and a keychain commemorating the event.

Rely stayed behind to confer with other Nike executives while I walked back to our hotel, the Washington Shinjuku a block away. An hour later, we hooked up with Thai reporter Apakorn Yoma for dinner at–where else–a Japanese restaurant. We feasted on sushi, sashimi, tempura and miso soup. The food wasn’t cheap. Our bill amounted to the equivalent of about P5,000. What do you expect from a restaurant that charges $4 for a glass of Coca-Cola?

After dinner, we walked around the Shinjuku shopping district for about two hours. Then we walked back to our hotel and hit the sack.

The next morning, Rely and I ate breakfast in the hotel coffee shop at 8 a.m. Checkout time was 10 a.m. so we turned in our keys before heading for the Jordan interview at the Park Hyatt Hotel. We left our bags with the concierge at the lobby.

The Jordan appointment was scheduled at 9:30 a.m. We were on the 50th floor a half hour before.

Apakorn, a Singapore reporter and I were taken to a waiting room. Then we were called to proceed to a conference room. There were three reporters and two TV cameramen from Korea in the room when we got in.

Shelley said Jordan would stay with us for only 45 minutes. A Korean reporter insisted to sit beside Jordan and tape a one-on-one. Shelley put her foot down and said it wasn’t fair to the other reporters. The compromise was the Korean media would be given the first 20 minutes. The other reporters, including me, would be allotted the next 20 minutes. The final five minutes would be for whomever else had questions.

Jordan wore a round-neck, short-sleeved shirt and sweat pants as he sauntered into the room. The interview went on without a hitch. The Koreans had the first crack but the others had the last.

I presented Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) commissioner Noli Eala’s letter inviting Jordan to attend the league’s 30th season opening on Oct. 2, the PBA coffee-table book "The First 25" and a PBA pin after the interview. It was the only opportunity for a picture with Jordan. Rely took two snaps on my camera. Nobody else had a chance to take a picture with his Airness. We were told not to ask for his autograph.

When it was over, Jordan thanked everyone for spending time with him and left. He would be on a jet flying back to the US in about three hours.

As for Rely and me, we went to the Shinjuku shopping district and decided to check out the four-storey Tower Records store. Alas, it was closed for the day. We ate lunch at an American grill restaurant, strolled back to our hotel and boarded the airport bus for Narita at 3 p.m. Our Northwest flight to Manila was booked to leave at 7 p.m.

At the Narita airport, I bumped into Japanese boxing matchmaker Joe Koizumi and his wife Mie looking for a CD of the Philippine national anthem. Joe was to leave for South Africa to attend Randy Suico’s fight against Mzonke Fana. But that’s another story.

We arrived in Manila at 11:15 p.m. last Monday. My wife Menchu and daughter Cristina were at the airport to meet me. Before we reached home, Cristina had turned 21 at the stroke of midnight. The trip was for just one night but I will never forget it. I had interviewed Jordan in Yokohama and New York City in 1996 and covered him during the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998. But I had never spoken to him so up close and personal until Tokyo.