Derrick gets his roses from Cebu fans  

Former Chicago Bulls player Derrick Rose speaks to the audience during a ceremony retiring his #1 Chicago Bulls jersey at the United Center on January 24, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. AFP

CEBU—Derrick Rose saw this progressive province for the first time in his latest Philippine visit and soaked in the experience of still being loved and revered in this basketball-loving country.

The NBA legend also got to see the sights, including beaches along Lapu-Lapu and the famous Mactan Shrine, while also showing off his dancing moves by doing the “tinikling” in the event hosted by ArenaPlus.

An NBA all-time great, Rose has been in the country five times, starting when he joined Kobe Bryant, James Harden and Kevin Durant in a two-day exhibition at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Since last year, Rose has landed thrice here in performing his duties as brand ambassador, and being familiar with the Philippines has made Rose recall one of his early experiences.

“The first time I got here [in the Philippines], me, my friend and my workout trainer were just in the park playing one-on-ones,” Rose said. “There wasn’t any media. It wasn’t a promotional day or anything. We were just there working out.”

“It went from us playing one-on-ones to one person seeing us play one-on-ones to by the end of the game, we almost had to get escorted out of the park because everybody showed up once they heard that I was at the park.”

The Chicago Bulls great and 2011 NBA Most Valuable Player continued that the experience gave him his biggest realization about the country and its passion towards basketball.

“I knew that’s what separates Filipino fans from [everybody] else. They’re really fanatics,” Rose said. “I didn’t know anyone knew me over there in Manila at the time, so I knew basketball was like a gym.”

“I knew that you all cherish basketball, and that’s one of the reasons why we put this on just the, I would say, the books, or we made it prominent, I would say, because of the love.”

“I never forgot the experience [of] leaving that park and seeing everybody follow us out of that park, and that stayed here to my heart,” he concluded.