Ha, all you pessimists, even David Stern likes the Philippines’ chances:

Meanwhile, this isn’t the only Asian country Stern has his eye on. He also left open the possibility of going to the Philippines, which, under the radar, has become a very promising market.

“That’s been a most popular market for us in terms of TV and the like, and the economy is improving, so that’s something we’re looking at, as well,” Stern said.

For a country of relatively short people, the Philippines is pretty passionate about basketball. Today’s local cagers may be far away from the glory days of Mon Fernandez, Jawo, and so many others. But who knows? If local talent sees full-fledged NBA stars in action, they may actually be inspired to finally develop the skills and athleticism needed to match the home-based fervor.

Of course, I may be getting ahead of myself. Yet there’s still no doubt that hosting an NBA pre-season game next year would be great for the people and reputation of the Philippines. And the dreams of kids and scalpers alike will come true.

Thanks to Alvin for the heads-up.

Xoom recently sent me an email announcing Happy Slip’s new video, Lola in Trouble. Check out the video here.

Christine once again impersonates a distinctively Filipina character, this time your stereotypical Philippine grandma (complete with glasses!) facing some problems. Many foreign-based Filipinos use Xoom to send money back home. A few local probloggers also receive their salaries through the payment website. So it’s easy to see why the folks at Xoom came up with this promotion.

I wonder, is this the beginning of a beautiful business relationship? Will Christine continue taking advantage of her 20 million YouTube pageviews?

In celebration of Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao’s second victory over Marco Antonio Barrera (full story), here’s a rare ad that has impact:

Manny’s trials and ultimate triumph, backed up the Philippine national anthem and its ending words: Ang Mamatay ng Dahil sa ‘yo (rough English translation: Your sons die for us).

Yesterday morning, the producers of Desperate Housewives released an official apology for Teri Hatcher’s infamous line:

“The producers of the show and ABC studios offer our sincere apology for any offence caused by the brief reference in the season premier,” ANC quoted the statement as saying.

“There was no intent to disparage the integrity of any aspect of the medical community in the Philippines,” it said.