Kobe Bryant captivates Pinoy basketball fans

Kobe Bryant

I love Manila," NBA Basketball star Kobe Bryant told a crowd in his day long whirlwind visit of Manila."The energy here is off the charts."

Bryant, fresh off a gold medal at the FIBA Americas championship, kicked off his five-stop Asian tour on Wednesday.

A lot has happened to Bryant since his first trip to Manila a decade ago — he chalked up three NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Bryant was still basking in the success of the U.S. basketball team, which earned favorable comparisons with the first two "Dream Teams" put together after professionals were allowed to compete at the Olympics.

"When you have an opportunity to play for your country, it's even more special," he said. "The whole country gets behind you."

Asked who he would choose to surround himself with if he were Lakers owner Jerry Buss, Bryant said: "Can I assume I'm Bill Gates, too? All of the USA basketball team."

Bryant said he has taken off 20 pounds (10 kg) since the end of the NBA season, partly by paying attention to his diet for the first time.

"My primary focus this summer was defense," he said. "I had to guard smaller, quicker players. I wanted to get back some of the agility I had in 2000," without losing strength.

What has he been eating?

"Grass," Bryant joked, before saying he had to give up fast food and some of his decadent favorites – apple pie with ice cream, chocolate cake and sugar cookies.

"I can feel the results already," he said.

The Nike store, in Manila's Fort Bonifacio area, was festooned with a poster promoting Bryant's new shoe, the Kobe II.

Bryant, who later gave a basketball clinic, laughed as the crowd chanted his name, then "MVP."

He appeared to be most touched when children of a school that is getting a new basketball court, donated by Nike, gave him a framed collection of crayon drawings they had done of him.

"Keep your dreams alive," Bryant said. "Keep going after it."

Kobe's Manila visit is part of his Supernatural Asia Tour 2007. His next stops include Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing.