Although it does not hold the title of national sport, basketball is the game that reigns supreme in the Philippines. The frenzied craze for the sport trick­les down from the professional to the grassroots level, with free spaces often turned into basket­ball courts. Yet if you listen past the buzzer beater shots, a quieter revolution is taking place. Filipino athletes are making names for themselves in other sports and leagues as well. One thing they have in common? Their ties to Japan.
Collaboration between the two nations has long been ap­parent across multiple fields and industries. In the...