ACTOR Edward Barber sat down with basketball player Gianni Antetokounmpo for once-in-a-lifetime interview following his win as the Most Valuable Player of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in June.
As the new ambassador of STR8 Perfume Philippines, the former Pinoy Big Brother housemate recently flew to Greece to meet and talk with Giannis, an Athens native, about his successful career as an athlete.
“You gotta stay hungry,” he said when asked about the biggest lesson he’s learned through all his years of playing basketball. “You know, it’s hard to get better if someone is taking care of everything… like paying your bills. You know what I’m saying? It’s hard to grow, you gotta like, fail. You gotta do stuff by yourself. You gotta be hungry to be able to grow as a person and as a basketball player.”
Giannis credited his family for being his support system throughout his journey as an athlete, citing, “They have a real big role. My family helped me. They were there for me during, you know, the years before…”
“They know, when I have a goal, it’s like my whole family has a goal. They’re gonna help me achieve my goal. I’m really blessed to have a family like them,” he said.
When asked of his message to his Filipino fans, Giannis expressed his excitement to return to the Philippines and learn about our culture.
“Man… Thank you guys for supporting me… me and my family, of course. I know you guys are big NBA fans. Keep supporting the Milwaukee Bucks. Two years ago when I visited the Philippines, I know you guys love basketball. You guys are great people. So, I want to learn about your culture and hope that I can visit you guys’ country soon. Thank you, guys,” he said.
As a bonus to his local fans, Edward taught Gianni a few Filipino words in a fun Tagalog-speaking challenge, and quizzed him with random questions, such as the number of pairs in his sneaker collection (the answer: a whopping 3,000 – 4,000) and his favorite dance moves. (Push)
