13 years after his bestselling book “Pacific Rims”, Rafe Bartholomew tells his story of falling in love with Philippine basketball culture. Former “No Dunks” host Leigh Ellis talks about his pickup basketball tour across 20 countries, and “Basketball: A Love Story” author Jackie MacMullan shares how she followed the game across 6 continents. And on their travels, they all find a strong sense of community that goes beyond the court.
Filipino references you’ll hear in the episode:
- Laglag bola – Literally “ball dropping”; a pun on the 2015-2016 “laglag bala” (bullet planting, literally “bullet dropping”) extortion scandal at the Philippines’ Ninoy Aquino International Airport
- Tsinelas – Flip flops
- Balut – Fermented duck egg
- Papaitan – Bitter beef or goat stew
- Soup No. 5 – A soup made from a bull’s private parts