LOS ANGELES (AP) — Para sa maybahay na si Vanessa, isang mabuting ama at kabiyak si Kobe Bryant.
Inalala naman ni Rob Pelinka, Bryant’s longtime agent and closest friend, ang NBA star na isang matulungin at mapagbigay na nilalanang.
Napaluha naman si NBA legend Michael Jordan, tinawag si Bryant “a little brother” dahil mistulang namatay ang isang bahagi ng kanyang buhay.
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Magkahalong lungkot at papuri ang nangibabaw sa isinagawang ‘memorial’ ng NBA sa namayapang five-time NBA champion at two-time MVP nitong Lunes (Martes sa Manila) sa Staples Center sa California.
Nakiisa rin ang mahigit 20,000 Lakers sa programa bilang pagkilala kay Bryant, sa 13-anyos na anak na si Gigi at pitong kasama mula sa bumagsak na eroplano. Sa pagkawala ni Bryant. Higit na kinilala si Kobe hindi lam,ang bilang sikat at mahusayna basketball player.
“I couldn’t see him as a celebrity, nor just an incredible basketball player,” pahayag ni Vanessa Bryant. “He was my sweet husband and the beautiful father of my children. He was mine. He was my everything.”
Tampok din sa seremonya ang pagawit ng mga pamosong artists tulad nina Beyonce, Alicia Keys at Christina Aguilera. TInapos ang event sa pagpalabas ng “Dear Basketball,” ang Academy Award-winning short film ni Bryant na hango s akanyang buhay kung saan alangan sakanya ang magpaalam sa sports.
Kabilang sa mga dumalo sa memorial sina Lakers legends Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson at Pau Gasol. Nakiisa rin si NBA Commissioner Adam Silver kay Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Phil Jackson and dozens of current NBA players, including Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Klye Thompson, Kyrie Irving at LA natives James Harden, Russell Westbrook at DeMar DeRozan. Dumating din ang mga celebrities tulad nina Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez at Alex Rodriguez.
“God knew they couldn’t be on this Earth without each other,” said Vanessa Bryant, who had been with Kobe since 1999. “He had to bring them home to have them together. Babe, you take care of our Gigi. And I got Nati, Bibi and Coco. We’re still the best team.”
Na g b i g a y d i n n g k a n i l a n g pakikidalamhati sina basketball stars Diana Taurasi at Sabrina Ionescu, gayundin si University of Connecticut women’s coach Geno Auriemma. Masugid na tagasuporta si Kobe Bryant ng women’s basketball, at si Gigi Bryant ay isang promising young player na naghahangad makalaro sa UConn.
“If I represented the present of the women’s game, Gigi represented the future, and Kobe knew it,” sambit ni Ionescu, ang Oregon star na ginabayan ni Bryant.
