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The Who in the World Podcast w/ Norm Schriever
Episode #3: Karl Dehesa Karl is a professional basketball player in the Philippines, playing in PBA (Philippines Basketball Assoc.), the top league in that country with surprisingly good talent, including a lot of fringe NBA or US college players. Originally from California and of Filipino descent, Karl played college ball at a small school in Iowa before moving to the Philippines and being taken in the 2012 PBA draft. Since then, Karl found his role as a Ray Allen-esque pure shooter and lockdown defender, playing for Kia Carnival (Manny Pacquiao’s team), Global Port, the Mahindra Enforcers, and Phoenix. He now excels in the FIBA 3x3 league representing the Philippines, taking him places like Saudi Arabia, China, Russia, Singapore, and Europe for games and tournaments. At the time of this recording, Karl is on the Olympic qualifying team for the Philippines, hoping to earn a spot in the Olympics! How cool is that?! Karl’s passion is skill development and teaching the tools of the game, and he does so through ALIGN Worldwide, his brand of skills coaching that helps everyone from kids just trying to learn the game to college players preparing for the draft combine, professionals looking to get a leg-up and more. |
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I met Karl totally randomly at a taco joint while living in the Philippines, as he and his lovely wife was in Clark, Pampanga to check out a gig by our good friend, DJ Mark Afrika. They all were incredibly nice and we kept in touch. I even got to attend one of Karl’s PBA playoff games, in which he played really well (and shook his defender so bad at one point that the guy crumbled to the floor!).
In this podcast interview, Karl Dehesa talks about his roots, what drives him to be great, adjusting to life in the Philippines, and what it’s like to play pro ball in that chaotic (but fun) country. He shares a few Manny Pacquiao stories, and we even delve into racism against Asian players in basketball (and life), a topic that’s relevant now thanks to Jeremy Lin.
Karl also predicts who will be the first ever native-born Filipino to make the NBA!
Enjoy this podcast with the nothing-but-net, always on-point Karl Dehesa and thanks for subscribing.
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-Norm :-)
P.S. You can follow Karl on Instagram at @kd.align
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