The star that once was Kobe Bryant shined so brightly with his exploits so far-reaching that his sudden death from thousands of miles away reverberated the world over, especially in this basketball-mad country.
Disbelief shortly ran rife after initial reports on Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash surfaced early on Monday (Manila time), but reality struck quickly and the initial shock was replaced with a somber realization that the basketball icon is truly gone.
Bryant died in a helicopter crash along with daughter Gianna and several others in South California. He was 41 while his daughter was 13.
Tagbilaran City Mayor Baba Yap, a known basketball aficionado, was among the many local personalities who first spoke out on Bryant’s death.
Yap posted on Facebook a photo of the retired basketball superstar whose fierceness in the court earned him the moniker “Black Mamba.” The mayor captioned the post with one of Bryant’s slew of motivational statements.
The quote read: “Pain doesn’t tell you when you ought to stop. Pain is the little voice in your head that tries to hold you back because it knows if you continue you will change. Don’t let it stop you from being who you can be. Exhaustion tells you when you ought to stop. You only reach your limit when you can go no further.”
Former Provincial Administrator Alfonso Damalerio II posted photos he took when he watched Byrant and the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Portland Trailblazers at the Staples Center way back in 1997.
“Such a devastating news today for basketball fans of Kobe Bryant. Here’s what i recovered from my file foto’s watching with excitement, the LA Lakers doin the teams warm-up prior to their game with Trail Blaizers at the Staples Center with my friend highschool batchmate Roy Borja. A simple tribute to a legend,” said Damalerio.
Board Member Jade Bautista who said that she is a Lakers fan and Third District Rep. Alexie Tutor also mourned Bryant’s death.
Both expressed grief over the basketball legend’s tragic passing through Facebook posts.
Bryant played in 20 seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association.
He retired in 2016 and is deemed as among the greatest to ever play the game. (RT)