MANILA, Philippines — It’s another case of Pinoy Pride in today’s basketball news.
The recent Under Armour Asia Tour in Taipei, Taiwan, saw its camp host – unanimous NBA Most Valuable Player and former champion Stephen Curry – get thwarted by a teenage Filipino participant.
Curry, who was poised to take a long-distance shot to send the scrimmage into an overtime, was guarded by Under-18 national player Gian Mamuyac.
It’s not an everyday thing that you take on an NBA champion, much less a back-to-back MVP recipient.
And clearly, the young Mamuyac embraced the moment:
This was the @mamuinthesea block on @StephenCurry30 that earned him his MVP merch. pic.twitter.com/3c46y93DNW
— SLAM PH (@SLAMonlineph) September 6, 2016
You need not look far for proof that the crowd went stunned. The emcee even went to ask “Why would you want to do that?”
Eventually, a Taiwanese celebrity asked for a replay of the winding moments, per ABS-CBN’s TJ Manotoc. This time, the Warriors superstar met no resistance uncorking the shot.
To clarify, Steph didn't ask for this 5 sec replay. was informed it was Taiwanese celeb ??? who did. But still pic.twitter.com/XMNOF35KLG
— TJ Manotoc (@tjmanotoc) September 6, 2016
Splash. But the real splash in this one? Mamuyac winning the festivities’ MVP and a ticket to Curry’s exclusive camp in the United States.