Korean star and crowd favorite Minho of SHINee
Ben Chan and Johannes Rissler
Bench Shoot to Asia was designed as a friendly basketball game between members of Team Korea, known as the Rising Eagles, and the Philippines’ Kuys Showtime. But then basketball is not basketball if it’s not incendiary, so it became heated between players from the opposing teams, the players and referees, South Korean players and the coach from Team Philippines, and even the spectators.
Ben Chan with the players
Even after the game was over, fans of both teams argued on social media. On one hand, fans of the Rising Eagles said Team Philippines, specifically Baileys Acot, did not play clean against Team Korea’s captain, Minho of the K-pop group SHINee. On the other hand, Kuys Showtime supporters said Minho was too intense.
Organized by BENCH, the special match brought together sports, celebrity culture, and international fandom in one unforgettable night of hoops and music.
Sandara Park works up the crowd.
Rising Eagles is a basketball team formed for a sports reality show on SBS. With Filipino favorite Sandara Park as team manager and Seo Jang-hoon as coach and Chon Tae-poong (known as Tony Atkins), Rising Eagles is a formidable team.
The team, aside from captain Choi Min-ho, has Jeong Jinwoon (2AM), Johnny (NCT), Lee Dae-hee, Park Chan-woong, Jung Kyu-min, Su In, Eun Seok, Kim Taek, Tae Jin, Seung Hoon, and Chan Woong.
Ben Chan and David Licauco
Team Philippines was led by team captain Vhong Navarro. The all-star line-up included It’s Showtime hosts Jhong Hilario and Billy Crawford, with fan favorites David Licauco, Wendell Ramos, River Joseph, Arthur Nery, and Adie Garcia. Completing the roster were JC De Vera, Ryan Bang, Ion Perez, Dustin Yu, Ronnie Alonte, EA Guzman, Baileys Acot, and Johannes Rissler.
“I love both Korea and the Philippines. This game is very special and historic,” said Sandara Park, a well-loved figure in the Philippines, where she first rose to fame before debuting internationally as member of 2NE1.
Jung Jin Woon
It’s worth noting that while Park was part of Team Korea, she put her hand on her chest during the singing of the Philippine national anthem.
What was an exhibition game also became a heated match, however. And there were a lot of cheers and jeers, with audiences taking sides even days after the game was over.
“Nagulat kami kasi ang lalaki ng kalaban namin. Hindi namin in-expect ganoon sila ka-seryoso. Sobrang seryoso pala…Pero dugong Pinoy, kaya natin lumaban kahit malaki sila (We were surprised to see how tall and big our opponents were. We didn’t expect them to be that serious. But then the Pinoy in us, we were able to fight),” Jhong Hilario said in an interview with ABS-CBN after the game.
“It was a very, very physical game. I thought it would just be for fun. Akala ko nga FIBA games,” said David Licauco in the same interview.
“As an idol myself, every time we go on the stage, we really have to make sure that our performances are perfect, so we really devote ourselves in practices,” said Minho in a press conference before the game.
“And for being a player, a basketball player during competition, I guess the energy really also goes to the audiences who come and to cheer,” said Johnny.
But it was Johannes Risner who summed it up best when he said, “Kahit pisikal, nag-enjoy naman (Even if it was physical, we enjoyed).”
And in the spirit of sportsmanship, Dustin Yu said, “It is normal. at the end of the day, ang important nag-enjoy mga tao. Sports lang.”
Licauco and Risner were named part of the Mythical Five along with Team Korea’s Oh Seung Hoon, Jeong Jinwoon, and Moon Soo In (also named MVP).
Unforgettable cast of an unforgettable night
Bench also brought in Korean girl group Billlie to perform at halftime, along with HORIZON. Park, meanwhile, charmed the audience when she performed three songs at the end of the game.
BENCH Shoot to Asia: The Philippines is indeed basketball country.
