Marbury’s latest tattoo made here

MANILA, Philippines - There’s ink all over basketball star Stephon Marbury’s body and it tells the story of his life. Marbury got his first tattoo “Coney Island’s Finest” on his left bicep at the age of 14. Now at 36, his body is covered with words, characters and symbols that characterize his personality. The latest tattoo was made here during his first Manila visit last June, Chinese characters for “Love Is Love” running down the side of his midsection. PBA cager Alex Crisano brought Marbury to P&P tattoo artist Rodel Bernardino in Makati and it took about an hour to inscribe the characters.

Marbury’s strong Christian beliefs are embodied in several of his tattoos. The words “If you believe in Him, He will believe in you” are on his chest. On top of his right hand is “Psalm: 23,” the Bible passage he lives by, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” His jersey No. 3 is for the Holy Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The birthdays of his three children are tattooed, too, to remind him how sweet life is.

Marbury was back in town recently to play in a benefit game. His Asia agent Sheryl Reyes arranged the visit which Marbury turned into a platform to give back. Marbury was recently introduced to poor Filipino children suffering from liver ailments and has pledged to support a fund drive initiated by the National Press Club for the sick. Reyes is negotiating a distribution deal with a nationwide sporting good store to market Marbury’s popular Starbury brand of footwear and apparel with 10 percent of all proceeds earmarked for indigent kids in line for liver transplants.

During his 13-year NBA career, Marbury played for Minnesota, New Jersey, Phoenix, New York and Boston, earning over $150 million. In his last nine seasons, Marbury bankrolled at least $10 million a year. He finished his career with the Celtics in 2008-09, playing 14 games in the playoffs where the defending champions were eliminated by Orlando.

The 6-2 guard has found a new home in China since leaving the NBA. “It was an opportunity to play basketball, to build your brand,” he said. “It was spoken about and just happened. I knew I could still play but I didn’t know about (promoting) my brand in China. We just connected. They felt a way for me and I felt a way for them.” Eventually, Marbury discovered China wasn’t just a place to play the game but also a window that opened global opportunities. He became a cult hero in Beijing that a statue was built for him outside the basketball stadium. “I think I’m the only person other than Chairman Mao with a statue in Beijing and that’s a big deal,” said Marbury. “We eclipsed being the third team to get a championship because Guangdong and the Army were the only two to win in the last 17 years. Beijing’s the capital so winning the title was like a spaceship landing on earth. We beat Guangdong whose lineup had six or seven players on the national team that just played at the FIBA-Asia Championships.”

Now that he’s reestablished his career in Asia, Marbury said this new chapter will mean touching other people’s lives. Change is what motivates Marbury to do good. “It’s the smile, the thank you, the you-don’t-know-what-you’ve-done-for-me-and-my-family, the you-don’t-know-how-much-you’ve-helped-us, that’s the motivation,” he said. “I’m committed to the change of doing something different to make a difference. It’s so important to be able to give back as professional athletes. When you give back, it’s different. When you do things, it basically trickles down to other players and other people doing things, you’re doing something positive.”

Marbury said when he played on the US team that took the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, it meant a lot to wear the country’s colors. “The thing about pressure is it does two things – you bust pipes or make diamonds,” he said. “When you get the opportunity to play for your country especially at home, it’s special, you play to the last second, use the energy of the crowd. So much is at stake when you represent your country. You’re not just playing for yourself, you’re playing for the whole country. You’re blessed to get that opportunity.”

The experience, however, was nightmarish for Marbury. The US lost to Puerto Rico, 92-73, Lithuania, 94-90, and Argentina, 89-81, before beating Lithuania, 104-96, in a rematch for third place. Along the way, the US beat Greece, 77-71, Australia, 89-79, Angola, 89-53 and Spain, 102-94, in the knockout quarterfinals. Marbury’s teammates included LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer, Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson.

Marbury said the US didn’t win the gold because of “bad coaching” and put the blame on Larry Brown. “He came in trying to coach the team like it was his team, not America’s team,” said Marbury. “The way he went about the infrastructure in trying to get everyone to play together, I think it was more his philosophy of how he coaches as opposed to taking a group of personalities and putting them together, trying to tell guys what to do while they’re on the court playing instead of just coaching.” It was evident that even as the US enlisted a slew of superstars, Brown couldn’t develop the chemistry to build a team relationship.