Kobe court inaugurated in Valenzuela on Sunday

Kobe Bryant’s death stunned the world on Monday morning (Manila time), most especially Valenzuela City where on Sunday, “The House of Kobe” was launched.

RELATED: Kobe Bryant's 13-year-old daughter also killed in helicopter crash

Also known as the Karuhatan Convention Center, The House of Kobe is the 6th NBA-inspired convention center initiated by Representative Eric Martinez.

“Passion ko talaga ang basketball kaya laging NBA inspired yung mga convention center na ginagawa namin. Ginagadahan talaga namin para ganahan naman ang mga kabataan,” Martinez told GMA News Online on the phone Monday morning.

They started construction in March 2019 with Martinez grouping together five street artists from Valenzuela to create murals in the court. One of them was an impressive mural of Kobe Bryant.

After seeing the mural, it hit Martinez: the convention center should be called The House of Kobe. “Last week ko lang naisip yan. He’s the greatest player of all time!”

During Sunday’s inauguration, Martinez even addressed Kobe in his speech. “The moment this reaches you, Kobe, please come back to Manila. Sana makita mo naman itong convention center that was named after you.”

Little did Martinez and the rest of Valenzuela know, the Kobe inspired court would turn out to be a tribute to one of the greatest players of the game.

Kobe, together with his 13-year-old daughter, died in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles. He was 41.

Long live Kobe Bryant. — LA, GMA News