In his illustrious 20-year career, Kobe Bryant made sure to always drop by the Philippines.
And so when he passed away Monday, the country made sure to pay him a tribute for the king that he was.
Various parts of Manila shone in bright purple and gold, paying homage to the life of the global icon.
Over at Valenzuela, the gym aptly named House of Kobe became a temple, as seen in this report by Alyssa Aquino.
The SMART Araneta Coliseum — a place that hosted numerous exhibition games and tour shows of Bryant — held a tribute at its green gate. Fans of Kobe gathered around to light candles, showcase their Kobe memorabilia, and write their heartfelt messages to Kobe on a tribute wall.
Photo from Araneta Coliseum
Two malls also turned purple and gold late in the evening.
The Globe of SM Mall of Asia displayed Bryant’s no. 24 all night long as the Sy Family’s way of giving thanks to his service to the game of basketball.
Photo from SM Mall of Asia
In BGC, the Uptown Mall also turned purple and gold with the words “KOBE” and number “24” smack in the center of the structure.
Photo from Uptown Bonifacio
The most ambitious project, though, was at the Tenement in Taguig.
Mike Swift began a week-long project to repaint the court in the image of Kobe hugging his daughter Gigi, who was also killed in the tragic helicopter crash, early Monday morning (Manila time).
For the renowned rapper, he does not know when the project will be done. But he knows that he and his group have to do it for every Filipino basketball fan out there.
“Ilang dekada natin nakasama si Kobe. Araw-araw natin siya pinapanood simula teenager pa lang siya hanggang sa tumanda na siya,” said Swift, a certified basketball junkie.
“Ito ‘yung way natin na maibalik ang saya na binigay niya sa atin.”
