Inks: FLASH aka g_sk1lls
Images: Adrian Sidney and Mae Escobar (via Facebook and e-mail)
Images: Adrian Sidney and Mae Escobar (via Facebook and e-mail)
Last
week, I posted Part 1 of the blog feature about Mae Escobar, one of many
Filipina ballers for the Lingerie Basketball League (which, as you may know is
currently sponsored by AND1). You can click HERE
to read Part 1, or just scroll down for the continuation.
Standing at 5 feet 9
inches, Mae usually plays shooting guard.
She grew up idolizing former NBA player and Indiana Pacer Reggie Miller,
and remembers that “the
most amazing game that I remember watching was Game 1 in 1995, the Pacers
against the Knicks when Reggie scored 8pts in 9 sec. Best game ever!” Currently, she adores the play of LA Sparks
standout Candace Parker and mentioned that if she (Mae) was a little girl
growing up, Parker’s game is definitely what she would want to mimic.
Mae swishes the AND1 free-throw.
I asked her some more questions about
her experiences playing in the LBL, and have posted them below with her
replies.
Flash:
How did you hear about the LBL and how
did you get to join?
Mae: “My best friend, Alex Carcamo actually told me about it.
He found it online and submitted my pictures and information. Received a call the next day and tried out
and obviously made the Starlets team, a week before everything (the tournament)
started. I was hesitant at first trying out, but I’m glad he convinced me to do
it. Thanks Guy!”
Mae-"Day" can hold her own in the tough LBL tournament.
Flash:
What’s the best part about playing for
the LBL?
Mae: “The best part for me
would be that I’m still playing ball. I
just LOVE the game and would love to play as long as I can. Being sponsored by AND1 and getting free
stuff to rock is also pretty amazing as well.”
Flash:
Speaking of AND1, what was your first
AND1 shoe? How was the shoe’s
performance relative to your needs?
Mae: “My first AND1s are
the white and silver Empire Mids. I have never strayed away from Nikes, but
these shoes are really comfortable. They
have a lot of cushion and are very supportive.
I have a narrow foot and usually have to wear 2 socks for the extra cushion,
but these Empires really have the support I need.”
Flash:
Given your hectic schedule, how often
do you train/play hoops?
Mae: “I really try and
train with Keion (Flash: please see
previous article) at least 3x a week. But most of the time I’m doing
individual workouts on my own whenever I can. I work in the mornings and
weekends so I usually get my workouts late at night. Before I went to the Philippines, I was
training after midnight to get the court all to myself with a friend that used
to play overseas. He would rebound and help me get my shots up, do court
workout and pool workouts and then I would go home and wake up 4 hours later
for work. I was doing that at least 4-5x a week.”
Huddle up!
Flash:
Any tips for aspiring female
basketball players?
Mae: “My tips for aspiring
females who would like to play
basketball on a professional level is if this is what you really want, hard
work and persistence pays off. If you
are willing to get in the gym and actually do the work day in and day out,
dreams really can be achieved.
I
have gone through 2 knee surgeries (orthoscopic on my right, and a
reconstruction on my left knee - tore my meniscus, mcl and acl), I have had
some de-motivating coaches who didn’t believe in me and actually killed my
confidence in playing. They convinced me
that I should quit and I wasn’t good enough.
But my love for the game kept me in it.
Everyone
has bad games, and life gets in the way sometimes but if you surround yourself
with motivated and positive people who will help encourage and support your
dream, I really believe you can do anything. I am definitely a good example!”
Flash:
Final message for AND1 Philippines
(and your AND Juan fans)?
Mae: “I
would like to thank you for this great opportunity. I appreciate you even
considering doing an article on me. I would love to thank AND1 for sponsoring
and supporting the Lingerie league and im really excited to see where this
partnership is going to go. The future for this league is going to be big and I
cant wait until everything is revealed. *smiles*”
Lingerie Basketball League photoshoot.
You can follow Mae in
Twitter (@maepebbles) or find her on Facebook (maepebbles@gmail.com) for current Lingerie Basketball
updates and in her words…”me talking smack to the other girls (just
kidding) and where we may be traveling to.”
Be sure to check out the official LBL website for highlights and updates
at www.lingerbasketball.com.
As always, I’ll try to feature other streetball
players soon, and so feel free to email us at and1pinas@gmail.com for your suggestions
on who you want to be featured next.
Please check out and LIKE our Facebook fanpage (www.facebook.com/and1ph) and follow
us on Twitter (@and1ph) for more news, spotlights, and the latest updates about
the And1 brand in the Philippines
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