by Monch Palu-ay
NBA star Robert Horry returned to Manila for the third time. He visited the NBA store in Mandaluyong on Wednesday for a meet and greet with fans and answered questions from the media.
Horry’s name is synonymous to winning and heroic shots. He won seven NBA championships playing for the Houston Rockets, LA Lakers and San Antonio Spurs and has made many clutch shots in his career, earning him the nickname “Big Shot Bob”. So when asked which were his favorite championship and shot, the answers didn’t come easy.
He did pick the 1995 championship that he won with the Houston Rockets.
“My favorite championship is 1995, just because of the journey”.
It was indeed a special run as the Rockets were the sixth seed that year and they beat Utah, Phoenix, San Antonio and Orlando to win the Finals. That team is still the lowest seed to win a NBA championship.
Of all the clutch shots that he made, his favorite was the game-winning three-pointer against the Sacramento Kings in 2002.
“After making that shot against the Sacramento Kings, I think fans took around, chanting my name for five, six, ten minutes after the game”.
He added that being a Lakers fan made it more special.
“On a personal note, you know, growing up a Lakers fan, and having that moment to make that shot in a Lakers uniform was so fantastic.”
The former 11th pick of Houston in the 1993 draft also picked his favorite coach. Interestingly, it was not Coach Gregg Popovich or Coach Phil Jackson, but Coach Rudy Tomjanovich or Rudy T.
“Rudy T is going to be my favorite because he’s the only one who ran play for me”, Horry said with a smile.
Horry first visited Manila in 2009 as part of the NBA Asia Challenge. He returned in 2013 as part of the NBA Global Games between the Houston Rockets and Indiana Pacers.
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