[Noh] Townsend was the first Filipino-American to ever play in the NBA… “It brings tears to my eyes to see Dylan Harper hug his mom the way he did,” Townsend told me.. Maria’s voice began to crack.. “If that shines through with the way that we interact.. then I’ve clearly done my job as a mother”
It’s somewhat of a mystery why the Philippines are so passionate about basketball. The country is the NBA’s No. 3 market despite having a modest population of 118 million. Other sports that came with colonization in the 1900’s didn’t catch on nearly as well, yet a game dominated by giants resonated in a land where the average male stands at somewhere between 5’4” and 5’5”.
That may explain why the Philippines haven’t had much international success in the sport. Their national team is currently 36th in FIBA rankings. Another reason is the lack of funding. The country’s entire sports commission operates on a budget that is eclipsed by NIL spending for some college football programs.
That hasn’t stopped Filipinos from adopting basketball as their national sport.
“You go to anywhere that’s middle income or below, you will see a makeshift basketball court. Whether it’s a piece of iron that they bend to make it round and tie to a coconut tree or street post or a legit hoop, it’s in the middle of the street. It’s the culture. It’s all over the place,” longtime Filipino media member TJ Manotoc told The Sporting News. “Even if they don’t have basketball shoes, people play in their flip flops.”
Filipinos embrace celebrities from Bruno Mars to Dave Bautista. Manny Pacquiao filled up movie theaters in Manila during his fights. Tennis sensation Alex Eala recently packed a 5,000-seat stadium at the Dubai Masters, much to the astonishment of her opponent Coco Gauff.
“The reason for that is because we’re everywhere,” Salao explained. “Our biggest export is humans. Labor pay is so low, so people find any way possible to leave.”
One of those emigrants was Maria Harper, whose parents brought her from Bataan, Philippines, to America at the age of seven. Harper’s ex-husband Ron is the more famous of the two, having won five championships between his time with the Bulls and Lakers. That helped Dylan’s rise in popularity in the Philippines.
It was Maria who took chief ownership of training Dylan and older brother Ron Jr., who played in the NBA last season on the Celtics. Maria was a Division I basketball player at the University of New Orleans and spent decades in coaching after her playing days were over.
Maria taught her sons everything that she knew about basketball. She also exposed them to her culture. Recently, she saw an Instagram post showing Dylan participating in a youth Filipino-American game at Madison Square Garden when he was nine.
With Dylan, Maria tried to get him to understand the why of being hard on him, challenging him every day during 4 a.m. workouts or late nights and doing the extra things that she knew he needed to get to the next level. With her daughter Mia, it means driving up to three hours on some days to get her to cheer practices.
“My Filipino culture really helps me do that,” Maria said. “We came to this country with not much. We never forget where we came from. But we’re always striving to be a better version of ourselves.”
Maria’s mother taught her to be the best that she could be. Lillia Pizarro, or Lola to her grandkids, always put her four daughters before herself. Maria does the same for her kids, who all love Lola’s adobo. It’s Ron’s favorite pregame meal, and he was excited to move to Boston in part because of the better Filipino food. More important than the food were the values that she imparted on all three of her children.
Maria’s close relationship with Dylan was captured in a viral clip where the two embraced a hug after the Spurs won the Western Conference Finals.
Raymond Townsend was the first Filipino-American to ever play in the NBA. He was drafted by the Warriors in 1978. He watched the clip of the Harper family from 1700 miles away, at his home in San Jose. He saw Maria, but he also saw his own deceased mother.
“It brings tears to my eyes to see Dylan Harper hug his mom the way he did,” Townsend told me. “Because I know that feeling. Our mothers are the reason why I think Filipino Americans push themselves so hard to reach the epitome of greatness. We do it for our mothers. And that is something you have to be Filipino to understand, the power of women in our culture.”
Upon having Townsend’s words relayed to her, Maria’s voice began to crack.
“That just brought literal tears to my eyes. I don’t know him but I know him,” she said of Townsend.
“If that shines through with the way that we interact, and people are observing that without seeing our intimate moments, then I’ve clearly done my job as a mother and I’ve represented the Filipino culture the way that it deserves to be.”
Townsend never got a chance to play for Gilas. He wasn’t even recognized as the first person of Filipino heritage to make it into the NBA until 20 years later, when people started doing homework on him. Like Harper, he is half-Black, half-Filipino.
“Coming from UCLA with an afro, I could have told you until I was blue in the face that I was Filipino, and nobody would have believed it because they would have said you’re Black,” Townsend said.
“I’ve been very proud to be a kababayan, and I’m very outspoken about my heritage, but the world wasn’t ready for it in the NBA when I was playing. I’m grateful that it is now, and I’m really excited for Jordan and Dylan playing in the NBA Finals.”
Townsend hasn’t been able to meet Harper or Clarkson yet. When he does, he knows what he will say.
“I want to thank you for the dreams that you’re bringing to pass in so many young Filipinos. That’s what I would tell them. That I’m grateful, honored to meet them, and proud to pass on the torch to such gifted athletes.”
The dream for Filipinos still remains to have a homegrown star to represent them in the league. But Townsend, Blatche, Douthit, Clarkson, the Harper brothers, Jalen Green, Jared McCain, and others have shown that being Filipino isn’t defined by where you were born. It’s an energy, a state of mind, and a passion for caring for others.
Maria Harper is already seeing the effects of her sons making it to the NBA on the people. The family recently launched a junior EYBL program called Harper U. At the first tryout, dozens upon dozens of Filipino kids showed up. Parents and kids told her how much it meant to see a human being that looks like them playing in the league.