International Spurs Fans (Part 1)

[Kori Ellis]

The Spurs have one of the most international rosters in the league, and the international flavor carries over to their fan base. In a series of articles spotlighting Spurs fans from around the globe, we begin with Mark Johnson Villamar of the Philippines.

International Spurs Fans (Part 1)

By Kori Ellis
SpursZONE.com

Mark Johnson Villamar makes his home in the Philippines, but his heart is in the Alamo City with the Spurs. The 25-year-old has been addicted to Spurs basketball since Tim Duncan was drafted in 1997. Though the Spurs may only be broadcast two or three times a month in the Philippines, Villamar follows the squad religiously through the internet and newspapers.

It was Duncan's game, "so simple yet effective" that initially attracted Villamar to the team, but it's the quality of the organization and the players that keeps him glued to the set.

"They are an ideal team to watch," says Villamar. "Great front office, disciplinarian coach, and a bunch of good citizens."

"I love basketball. I love winning. But most of all, I love and admire humble, classy people."

http://cctvimedia.clearchannel.com/woai/carabao2.jpg

Villamar plays basketball with his younger brother, imitating Duncan's low post moves and his bank shot. He's even managed to transform his girlfriend Marj, who had no interest in sports, into an avid Spurs fan.

"That's what love can do."

From the Argentina to France to the Philippines and everywhere in between, it seems like the love of the Spurs is spreading worldwide.

http://cctvimedia.clearchannel.com/woai/villamar.jpg

If you are an international Spurs fan who would like to be featured here on SpursZONE, email your picture along with how and why you became a Spurs fan to [email protected].

[Duncanoypi]

hey its me!....

milkyway21...mikaela...my fellow filipinos in this forum...send your stories also!...

[Duncanoypi]

Thanks Kori!

[Kori Ellis]

You're welcome. You had very nice answers for the quotes.

[milkyway21]

still searching for my pictures?
BTW, though I live Manila, I grew up in the U.S.
do you live in the south? maybe in Boracay?i see some carabao in the picture.

[Duncanoypi]

nope i currently stayed in Parañaque for my work, but my hometown is in batangas...carabao?oh that was in villa escudero in Quezon...

i'll wait for your article...

[CrazyOne]

My wife is from Tagaytay City in Cavite, and we'll be there the second half of April. Maybe we can try to organize a Spurs GTG somewhere out there...

[SpursWoman]

Very cool! :)

[Shelly]

Nice article!

[krinkx]

madami palang pilipino dito eh... hehe

[SpursIndonesia]

Well, it's pretty hard to follow the Spurs from the media here in Indonesia. ESPN Asia & Starsport only broadcast Rockets & Lakers most of the time. Thank god i have internet access !! :D

Spurstalk.com emang hebat banget dehh !! (warning, it's in Indonesian):lol

[Pandaemonaeon]

hey its me!....

milkyway21...mikaela...my fellow filipinos in this forum...send your stories also!...

ahahaha naks naman si Duncan sikat! :lol

[rold50]

mabuhay mga pinoy.

[carina_gino20]

wow...ang dama palang pinoy dito.. kahit sa pandaemonium pala..:lol

Can i send a story without pics? :lol

or send my story but send my brother's pics...:lol since he's also a Spurs fan

[abelle23]

My wife is from Tagaytay City in Cavite, and we'll be there the second half of April. Maybe we can try to organize a Spurs GTG somewhere out there...
hey im from cavite too!!!...live like 15 min away from Tagaytay City :spin
if theres a GTG my sister and I are goin'!!!!!

[Pandaemonaeon]

Kumusta naman ani mo duncan, o props lang yan? http://img112.exs.cx/img112/8586/giggle1.gif

[TheTruth]

Man, I wish I had the money to go back to the Philippines.

[nkdlunch]

my girl is from phillipines and I make her watch Spurs games :)

[pache100]

My wife is from Tagaytay City in Cavite, and we'll be there the second half of April. Maybe we can try to organize a Spurs GTG somewhere out there...

If you do, please take lots of pictures and post them for us to see. I think it's fantastic that the Spurs have such international appeal and that they can be "our Spurs", no matter where you live!

[Duncanoypi]

^Really...thats cool...Mabuhay mga Pinoy!...

I'll be home sometime april, im currently here in Dayton, Ohio for a work. I think i had no chance to see the spurs game live now...i already passed the Cleveland, Detroit(because its christmas) and the nearest, Indiana...but I'd already seen NBA game live in United Center...Bulls-Rockets...not bad...one of my dreams was fulfilled...

Filipino Spurs fans are rocking!...

Mr. Big Fundamental for life...

[FilSpursFan]

Another one here from Mindanao, South of the Philippines!

I have been a Spurs Fan since 1995... Sadly we have no NBA tv/Internet access that time yet so I was not able to follow all the games.

Its great to be a Spurs Fan! :elephant :elephant

GO SPURS GO! :elephant

Edit: and oh! we had plenty of carabaos :spin

[milkyway21]

Another one here from Mindanao, South of the Philippines!

I have been a Spurs Fan since 1995... Sadly we have no NBA tv/Internet access that time yet so I was not able to follow all the games.

Its great to be a Spurs Fan! :elephant :elephant

GO SPURS GO! :elephant

Edit: and oh! we had plenty of carabaos :spinhow do watch your NBA now-ESPN or thru Solar? Notice there are MORE Spurs games featured locally now? I'm so glad esp they usually air it on Sundays...:D

[FilSpursFan]

how do watch your NBA now-ESPN or thru Solar? Notice there are MORE Spurs games featured locally now? I'm so glad esp they usually air it on Sundays...:D

Yup! daily NBA(NBAtv) games on Solar.. plus... Fri and Sat on ESPN-Starsports, Wed on SportsPlus, Sundays on RPN9.

all in all... 11 live games in a week :spin

[milkyway21]

Yup! daily NBA(NBAtv) games on Solar.. plus... Fri and Sat on ESPN-Starsports, Wed on SportsPlus, Sundays on RPN9.

all in all... 11 live games in a week :spincool :D

here in Manila I see more and more people wearing the #21 Spurs jerseys esp now that the Spurs won their 3rd. Yrs ago Lakers was hot until the Kobe incident and the dismantling.

well, good for you-11 NBA games a week :spin .

[shmoop]

hey, newly-registered, first time poster, and long-time lurker spurs fan from baguio here! (kumbaga eh matagal nang umaaligid pero ngayon lang naglakas ng loob...)

yeah, if you're on cable here in the philippines then you get to see nba games on solar, sportsplus, espn, or rpn9... it's just that sometimes when there is a scheduled game on solar sports, when you open your TV they're playing an old game instead! grrr... i wonder why...

[milkyway21]

Man, I wish I had the money to go back to the Philippines.man, I wish I can visit San Antonio and ask autograph from Tim Duncan :D

[milkyway21]

hey, newly-registered, first time poster, and long-time lurker spurs fan from baguio here! (kumbaga eh matagal nang umaaligid pero ngayon lang naglakas ng loob...)

yeah, if you're on cable here in the philippines then you get to see nba games on solar, sportsplus, espn, or rpn9... it's just that sometimes when there is a scheduled game on solar sports, when you open your TV they're playing an old game instead! grrr... i wonder why...maybe the time you opened it was for the NBA classic games, perhaps? they usually feature games they announced earlier. Unless of there's a Manny Paquiao bout or something.

Baguio, :wow Nice cold cold place. Nice view! And strawberries.

I'll be there in the summer for vacation-during the Lenten Season(April).

nice knowing u:D

[FilSpursFan]

hey, newly-registered, first time poster, and long-time lurker spurs fan from baguio here! (kumbaga eh matagal nang umaaligid pero ngayon lang naglakas ng loob...)

yeah, if you're on cable here in the philippines then you get to see nba games on solar, sportsplus, espn, or rpn9... it's just that sometimes when there is a scheduled game on solar sports, when you open your TV they're playing an old game instead! grrr... i wonder why...


You can look at the Solar Sports sched at http://www.solar-entertainment.com/SPORTS/index.html and ESPN Star at http://www.espnstar.com/tvtimes/tvtimes_index.jsp

:drunk

[shmoop]

Actually i dont have time to watch the games... unless during weekends. I teach that's why (it's morning here during NBA games). I surf the net from time to time when there's a spurs game... in between classes... hahaha...

[rold50]

where do you teach?

[carina_gino20]

when i came home to the Philippines last Christmas, I was disappointed that Solar only had at most 1 spurs game in a week. it wud irritate me esp when they show lakers and mavs and heat almost every day. sports plus had some games too but by the time there were a lot of Spurs games on sked, i had to leave then.

It's great to be a Spurs fan!

[krinkx]

hey, newly-registered, first time poster, and long-time lurker spurs fan from baguio here! (kumbaga eh matagal nang umaaligid pero ngayon lang naglakas ng loob...)


ada gayam kapadak nga taga-baguio ditoy... happy panagbenga :)

spurs latta.... inggana matay... :)

[angel_luv]

Good Stuff :tu

[TheTruth]

wow, lots of spurs fans from the islands.

awesome...

[TheTruth]

man, I wish I can visit San Antonio and ask autograph from Tim Duncan :D
you stay with me when you are down here, and i'll stay with you when go back home. :smokin

[Duncanoypi]

How i wish i can visit San Antonio too...i think its 18 hours drive from here(Ohio) to Texas, but getting into plane will be convenient enough, just the budget.lol.

I'm stack with FSN Ohio every time the cavs have game...wishing that there are more game coverage for the spurs this coming month in ESPN, TNT and ABC.

[ca®lo]

whoa!

andaming pinoys dito! filipinos represent! :)

hey maybe we all can get together for a game or something. that would be great.

[abelle23]

ada gayam kapadak nga taga-baguio ditoy... happy panagbenga :)

spurs latta.... inggana matay... :)

i just came from baguio!!! too bad we will miss the flower festival :depressed

it was sooooo coooold but stil wore my spurs jersey wherever we go :spin

[ObiwanGinobili]

i'm all phsyched to see pics form a Philipines GTG!

[shmoop]

i thought this thread was dead... :elephant


where do you teach?

i teach at PMA... the infamous military school of the philippines...

[Duncanoypi]

whoa!

andaming pinoys dito! filipinos represent! :)

hey maybe we all can get together for a game or something. that would be great.

Are you in Texas kabayan?

[ca®lo]

duncanoypi.

nope.. im here right smack in the philippines. hehe

quezon city.

hey if u guys want a GTG here in the philippines.. the first few rounds.. ok and a couple of food. hehe

is on me :)

[milkyway21]

duncanoypi.

nope.. im here right smack in the philippines. hehe

quezon city.

hey if u guys want a GTG here in the philippines.. the first few rounds.. ok and a couple of food. hehe

is on me :)count me in..:D

I'd bring my other Spurs fans friends too!

[ca®lo]

milkyway..

now did i miss saying st.com posters only? hehe

kiddin

[milkyway21]

milkyway..

now did i miss saying st.com posters only? hehe

kiddin :flipoff

he:D he:D

[ca®lo]

hahahaha lol

it would be great to be with other solid spurs fans for a GTG. lalo na in the playoffs :)

[milkyway21]

count me out! :cuss

:lol

[ca®lo]

hehe kiddin bro :)

when r u gonna be here anyway?

i know a girl poster here whos from the phils also.

[Duncanoypi]

I'll be right back in the Philippines come play-off time...

I lost my oppurtunity to watch the spurs live....grrrr...i have my chance back in Indiana when the spurs visited the Pacers but the online ticket sucks...grrr...oh well...

GTG in the Philippines is great specially come playoff time and finals...Milky...can you lead this one for us...?hehehe....

ps. I have my pictures sizing Tim Duncans life size wingspan taken at the United Center...OMG! TD's wingspan is 7'4...

[krinkx]

duncanoypi.

nope.. im here right smack in the philippines. hehe

quezon city.

hey if u guys want a GTG here in the philippines.. the first few rounds.. ok and a couple of food. hehe

is on me :)

wag lang mabulilyaso ng "state of emergency" daw... kainis... :elephant

[Duncanoypi]

hehe kiddin bro :)

when r u gonna be here anyway?

i know a girl poster here whos from the phils also.

I think milky is a girl...am i right milky?
I also know a young girl poster here...she's a solid duncan fan...

Maybe somebody may create one friendster account for all of us spurstalk filipino posters...

The Truth...may i know your location here in US?

[ca®lo]

errr.. what horse?

[milkyway21]

GTG in the Philippines is great specially come playoff time and finals...Milky...can you lead this one for us...?hehehe....
sure, why not? but i doubt if i can arrange one before he playoffs, you see I'm about to leave for the U.S. before May(hope so:angel). Maybe when I get back?


I think milky is a girl...am i right milky?
yes I am :D

P.S.
Duncanoypi, muntik nang manalo Purefoods team mo.

[charmie21]

hey, I'm a filipino too! Gosh, I'm so thrilled I that we are so many in here..! By the way, Kuya Mark is the only one that I know.. I'm a very avid fan of Timmy.. I'm a girl from Las Pinas City.. I want to experience a GTG sometime, although I doubt if my mom will allow me.. =( Anyway, let's keep loving the Spurs!

Mabuhay ang mga Pinoy Spurs Fan..!!

[Pandaemonaeon]

duncanoypi mukhang maghaharap tayo sa first round, a! Batangas Barackos Vs. MnR Mafia! :lol

[krinkx]

:)

[alamo50]

personally i prefert seeing the Pistons playing than the spurs actually!

WTF are you doing here than?

[carina_gino20]

i don't think i can come if there's any Pinoy GTG in Manila..i live in Davao but currently in Singapore..wala talaga akong mapanood na Spurs game dito(I really can't see any Spurs game here).

[FilSpursFan]

I'm from Butuan City, almost all in this village who watched NBA are Spurs Fans. Too bad most dont have internet access at home yet. We had GTG's during esp. playoffs... :drunk :drunk

[carina_gino20]

wow..that's cool.. it's really good to know a lot of us appreciate Spurs basketball. but some are still stuck in the time of MJ or Shaq-Kobe

[shmoop]

i don't think i can come if there's any Pinoy GTG in Manila..i live in Davao but currently in Singapore..wala talaga akong mapanood na Spurs game dito(I really can't see any Spurs game here).

its kinda hard to have a pinoy GTG somewhere (like for eample in manila) in the country coz we come from different islands... some from outside the country... besides the NBA finals is in june... start of classes and the typhoon season...

unless its during the first and second round of playoffs and its summer here... :elephant

[charmie21]

yeah.. too bad, I wanna be able to bond with you guys.. =) I think it's gonna be alot of fun if we meet.. anyway, it's really good to know that many filipinos know how to pick a better team.. hehehe.. i mean the best team.. =)

[milkyway21]

its kinda hard to have a pinoy GTG somewhere (like for eample in manila) in the country coz we come from different islands... some from outside the country... besides the NBA finals is in june... start of classes and the typhoon season...

unless its during the first and second round of playoffs and its summer here... :elephantyeah! it's hard to arrange one, we are scattered around the archipelago:D

Luzon

duncanoypi-Batangas(near Tagaytay)
CrazyOne-Tagaytay(?)
Abelle23-Tagaytay

milkyway21-Manila

[email protected].

Charmie21-Las Pinas

Shmoop-Baguio
Krinkx-Baguio

Mindanao:
FilSpursfan-Butuan
Carina_gino20-Davao

[krinkx]

we can have a gtg sa cebu... sa gitna yun ng pilipinas eh... hehehe...

[charmie21]

kawawa naman ung mga walang pang punta sa cebu.. isa po ako dun! hehehe...!!

[shmoop]

we can always have a virtual gtg... here... in spurstalk... :lol

baka meron jan gustong mag-umpisa ng sinulid (thread) sa The Club para sa ating mga pinoy... parang quattro bah... anything under the sun... :elephant

[Pandaemonaeon]

E mga pinoy na Mavs fan imbitado ba sa inyong sinulid festival??

[Duncanoypi]

Mavs fan?eh....you can approach mouse or tonto for more details about your GTG!...lol

[Duncanoypi]

sure, why not? but i doubt if i can arrange one before he playoffs, you see I'm about to leave for the U.S. before May(hope so:angel). Maybe when I get back?

yes I am :D

P.S.
Duncanoypi, muntik nang manalo Purefoods team mo.

Honey Milky....I'll be back from the Philippines in early april...maybe we can have a smalll GTG in Manila...(babalitaan na lang natin ang di makakapunta) before you'll leave to U.S before May...Where will you stay in US? Sana pala dito na lang tayo nagkita...hehe...

I think National Sports Grill(tama ba?) is not bad for a spurs GTG, with a spurs game televise...

Little Charmie will be in summer vacation by then...

[FilSpursFan]

E mga pinoy na Mavs fan imbitado ba sa inyong sinulid festival??
We should also welcome Pinoy Mavs fans as well, its good to have someone to heckle with hehehe... just kidding! It should be fun!!!

:elephant :elephant

[charmie21]

Honey Milky....I'll be back from the Philippines in early april...maybe we can have a smalll GTG in Manila...(babalitaan na lang natin ang di makakapunta) before you'll leave to U.S before May...Where will you stay in US? Sana pala dito na lang tayo nagkita...hehe...

I think National Sports Grill(tama ba?) is not bad for a spurs GTG, with a spurs game televise...

Little Charmie will be in summer vacation by then...


honga ate milky.. hehehe.. excited nren akong makameet ng mga kapederasyon pra wla na akong sariling mundo dito..! hehehe..
:lol

[ca®lo]

hey guys tara meet na tayo :)

whos gonna set it? milky? :)

[Duncanoypi]

wait nyoo muna ako dyan....waaaaaaaaaah!

[last_train]

i'm from turkiye with full support for hedo and memo. :)
i wish hedo would stay instead of barry but in orlando he seems happy and plays an all-around basketball. memo is one of the key factors in utah's play-off race and if they can have a 4 or 5 game streak, they will earn the 8th spot.
both of them are very special players and i wish good luck for them.
today there was spurs - blazers 1999 conference finals 2nd game on nba tv that ended with sean elliott's three pointer.
additionally, this month SLAM Turkiye started to be published and there is an article about nick van exel and michael finley as the ones who want to have a ring in the last years of their careers.

GO SPURS GO

[charmie21]

teka muna kuya carlo.. pag bakasyon ko na.. hehehe.. kuya mark kelan k uwi..?

[Sportman]

Well I am still new here, so i can introduce myself. I am from Argentina and i am a manu´s fan for that reason i became a spurs fan. Honestly, i must say before manu came to the spurs i really hated to watch this team because they were really BORING. I am 21 and i play basketball since i was 9. My favourite player in the nba has been always jason kidd and I CANT FORGET to name Pete PISTOL Maravich, of course i never watched him because at that time i didnt exist but through videos i could watch he was the creator of guard position. Well this is a little of me :spin

[milkyway21]

Honey Milky....I'll be back from the Philippines in early april...maybe we can have a smalll GTG in Manila...(babalitaan na lang natin ang di makakapunta) before you'll leave to U.S before May...Where will you stay in US? Sana pala dito na lang tayo nagkita...hehe...

I think National Sports Grill(tama ba?) is not bad for a spurs GTG, with a spurs game televise...

Little Charmie will be in summer vacation by then...L.A. and New Orleans, I have a cousin there... hey how far is New Orleans from S.A.?

BTW, regarding the GTG, I'll check the local Solar/RPN Spurs games first.

[kalikot_boy_kr]

:spin hi everybody! at hi rin sa mga kailian! yehaaaa! go spurs go!

[abelle23]

grabe tagal na ngthread na to....

the time is now...lets volt in!!!!

GTG tayo!!!

hey kalikot are u the 3rd coming of cowboy?...

[kalikot_boy_kr]

yea im the one, i think everybody hate me just bec. of the big elephant..lol.

[abelle23]

yeah you seem to use it excessively...well welcome back!

[Duncanoypi]

L.A. and New Orleans, I have a cousin there... hey how far is New Orleans from S.A.?

BTW, regarding the GTG, I'll check the local Solar/RPN Spurs games first.

I'm not sure about the distance from NO to SA...anyone can confirm? Kori?

One thing for sure its far from my place now...(Ohio) :blah

Thanks Milky, kindly inform us. We're so excited about that...

P.S
Filipino fans want to thank Princess Kori :princess and Timvp :king for this wonderful forum...

[SouthernFried]

The Phillipines?

Wow, who'd a thunk?