Want to create an interactive transcript for this episode?
Podcast: Hoops Paradise: The Philippinesā Love of the Game
Episode: Episode 1 - Welcome to Paradise
Description: In 1998, while a young Cassidy Hubbarth sat next to her mother on their couch in Chicago, yelling at the TV as the Bulls went for their second three-peat, Nikko Ramos was playing at recess in Manila, eagerly waiting for updates from ārecess runnersā who darted between the canteen and a payphone to relay the gameās play-by-play from a cousinās bootleg satellite. A 13-hour time difference, a hazy satellite feed, and questionably-accurate third party updates wouldnāt keep Filipino fans from the NBA finals. Today, according to the NBAās yearly surveys, 62% of the general population in the Philippines...