TGIF FEATURE: FilAm's toaster is key to Warriors wins in homestretch to championship

THE SECRET to the Golden State Warriors unbelievable home stretch leading up the playoffs and eventually to winning the 2017 NBA championship is ... a toaster.

When Ronnie Reyes had his official Warriors toaster - complete with team logo - signed by Klay Thompson in March, little did anyone know that the toaster would be key to the Warrior's winning streak at the end of the regular season.

When Reyes posted on social media a picture of the shooting guard signing the poster, it went viral.

In interviews, the Warriors star jokingly gives credit to the toaster for the team's court prowess, going 31-2 before Tuesday night's clincher.

RELATED:

• Will the Warriors go to the White House?
• The Warriors'' Asian connection
• Warriors star Stef Curry leaves his mark on Asia
•  Curry's barber is a Fiiipino/American 
• Filipinos make up a third of the Warriors' Facebook fans
•  The Warriors secret weapon is a 10-year old Filipina American
•  NBA celebrates Chinese New Year with a special commercial
• Happy Chinese New Year 

“That might be the magic toaster. You never know,” Thompson told the Wall Street Journal. Of the toaster owner he added, “That guy is responsible for 25 out of 26 wins. … Shoot, let’s keep it going.”

As owner of the lucky toaster, HaywardReyes was invited to ride on the float carrying Klay Thompson in the Warriors' victory parade Thursday (June 15) sitting next to San Francisco Giants legend Barry Bonds.

The story of the toaster has become a legend among Dub Nation, the Warriors' loyal fan base. 

“I felt like a local celebrity,” Reyes told the Wall Street Journal. “Which I feel like I am. But only if I have the toaster.”

The team's official ProToast elite toaster, which retails for $39.99 on the NBA’s online store, is sold out. The WSJ reports that the NBA will restock Warriors toasters this summer with inventory from another brand.

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Are the Golden State Warrors Asian America's team?

Fans gather outside Oracle Arena prior to Game One of the 2017 NBA Championship series.

WATCHING the Golden State Warriors play against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the finals of the 2017 NBA playoffs, you couldn't help but notice the makeup of the crowd in Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.

"The Asian/American population is very important to us," said Chip Bowers, the Golden State Warriors' chief marketing officer. "We're the Bay Area's NBA team, and we're very bullish on building a stronger relationship."

From its heritage nights for Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Pacific Islanders, to its aggressive social media strategy to the yearly visits to Asia during the off-season, the Warriors' marketing plan seems to be working.

Basketball is the most popular sport in Asia and Asian immigrants have carried their basketball fanaticism with them. 

The San Francisco Bay Area is home to over 1.6 million Asian American residents, according to the 2010 Census numbers, The entire state of Ohio has only 204,000 AAPI residents.

The Warriors' newest commercial included these Asian/Americans:

Since this is the third year the Warriors are meeting the Cavaliers in the finals, I don't have a lot to add to this topic, but for new readers, here are some links you might be interested in reading.

RELATED:

• The Warriors' Asian connection
• Warriors star Stef Curry leaves his mark on Asia
•  Curry's barber is a Fiiipino/American 
• Filipinos make up a third of the Warriors' Facebook fans
•  The Warriors secret weapon is a 10-year old Filipina American
•  NBA celebrates Chinese New Year with a special commercial
• Happy Chinese New Year 

Go, Warriors!

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

Filipino teen blocks Stephen Curry's shot

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STEPH CURRY of the Golden State Warriors toured Asia for his sponsor Under Armour this summer to promote the game and to sell a few shoes. The tour went without a hitch until towards the end, he met a little bump on the road.

Just like last summer when the NBA's MVP underwent a similar trip, Curry was treated like a rock star with fans following his every move. 

The amiable basketball star gave clinics, interviews and played exhibition games to crowded pavilions.

Curry obliged his fans in Tokyo with the inevitable selfie.

In Taipei, Taiwan, the exhibition game was with a pair of Under-18 teams. Curry had the ball in his hands for the final possession. It’s a scenario we’ve seen plenty of times before. Curry calmly brought the ball up the court, waited patiently for the right moment to take the shot and rose for a potential game-winner from the top of the key.

But then, to everyone's surprise, the shot got blocked by the teenager who was guarding him. The kid that blocked the shot is Gian Mamuyac, who plays for the Philippines' U-18 national team.

Mamuyac knows what he's doing. The teenager is currently enrolled at Ateneo High School, a powerhouse hoops prep school in the Philippines. 

RELATED: 

• The Golden State Warriors' Asian connection
• Filipino fans make up a third of Warriors Facebook friends

So he's a good basketball kid. There are worse shames than having your stuff packed and crated by a good basketball kid — even if you were just selected the planet's best basketball player this year.

Curry handled the block well, jokingly asking for a do-over of the final moments of the game. Mamuyac obliged, this time with Harden defense. The emcee of the even decided that wasn't the right way to end the game, so he asked Curry if he wanted to re-do the last possession. They did replay the last few moments with the expected result when Curry drained a three-pointer over Mamuyac.

Mamuyac was voted the game's MVP and was given an invitation to attend Curry's basketball camp in Oakland, California.

Gian Mamuyac's Instagram account had a picture of his historic block.

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Filipino American musician creates song & video tribute to the Warriors and Steph Cur...

Noah Cutler got to show his basketball handling to the Warriors and Stephen Curry last January.  

AS THE Golden State Warriors grind their way through the NBA playoffs they are attracting more and more love from fervent and casual basketball fans.

This video was sent to me by B Miu, a Filipino/Chinese/American musician playing in the Bay Area. 

He just put his song, "I Can Do All Things" on YouTube a few days ago. Miu dedicated the song to the Warriors and put a little storyline to it about the influence the Warriors' star Steph Curry has on his young fans. Curry was just named as among Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People.

RELATED: The Golden State Warriors' Asian connection 

The sensational 11-year old boy in the video is Noah Cutler, whose basketball skills attracted the attention of the Warriors. The Oakland team invited the young man to one of their games where he got to meet his hero Stephen Curry, whose moves he emulates.

RELATED: Filipinos make up a third of Warriors' Facebook friends

It is a positive and fun song  to sing along with and -- heck, enough talk, listen, watch and enjoy the Warriors' and Steph Curry do their magic as they try for their second straight NBA championship. Oh, yeah!

B Miu had this to say a about himself:

My name is Brian, but you can call me B Miu

I’m Chinese Filipino so you know i love good food

I’m a Bay Area musician that’s been playin in local bands

But I also like to write my very own jams

I play bass, guitar, piano, and a little bit of drums

I like grubbin on burritos, pancit, and authentic dim sum

My heros are my parents, Bruce Lee, and Spider Man

I love my wife, two dogs, and my best friend Dan

The life that I’ve been given inspires me to write

In those times of darkness, music gives me light

I want to share this with you, all these stupid songs

I hope to play them for you and hear you sing along.

Published on Apr 15, 2016

Music by B Miu: https://bmiu.bandcamp.com , https://www.facebook.com/bemiusick/

Starring Noah Cutler: https://www.youtube.com/user/MrJcutle... , https://www.instagram.com/babybirdman3/

Lyrics for "I Can Do All Things":

I can do all things

make them believe

I can do all things

the finals are coming up

what am i waiting for?

history is knocking at my door

i'm down 20 points

but i don't believe the score

i never give up

i'm a Warrior

i can do all things

make them believe

i can do all things

the Oracle, she said to me

if you work real hard, you can beat destiny

now i'm down three points

with little time in the fourth

now it's all tied up

i'm a Warrior

i can do all things

make them believe

i can do all things

when we play we make it rain

make it rain, make it rain

not afraid to change the game

change the game, change the game

Credits:

Starring: Noah Cutler

Music, lyrics, guitar, bass, and vocals by Brian Miu

Recorded, engineered, and mixed @ 11th avenue records with Tommy Phan.

Keys, additional electric guitar, and additional guitar arrangements by Tommy Phan.

Footage: Josh Cutler; Video Editor: Keyana Stevens

As of this writing, the Curry-less Warriors lost a game they almost won against the Houston Rockets. Who can say for sure that the Warriors will go all the way? But the team needs an anthem - a song to strike fear (or at least, irritate the hell out of them) into opponents. Can you imagine if all 21,000 fans at Oracle Arena break into the chorus? Is Warrior management reading this blog? Why not? Sing along: "I can, I ca-an, I can do all things ..."

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For more news about Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, read AsAm News.

All fouled up: Is basketball's Jeremy Lin a victim of on-court bias?

BASKETBALL is supposed to be a non-contact sport but any fan of the NBA knows this is far from the truth.

For one fan of the best Chinese/American pro-basketball player Jeremy Lin, (Well, the ONLY Chinese/American pro-basketball player) this discrepancy just got to be too much. Hsiu-Chen Kuei of San Jose, Calif. put together a six-and-a-half minute video showing the hard fouls being committed against her favorite player - fouls that were not being called by the referees. It went viral.

She uploaded the video "Jeremy Lin: Too Flagrant Not to Call," on April 5 and since then has attracted millions of views and comments, including a good portion from Asia, one of the NBA's growing markets.

RELATED: The Golden State Warriors' Asian connection

The point of the video is that Lin is the victim of hard, perhaps flagrant and deliberate fouls that for whatever reason, goes uncalled by the NBA referees. It shows him him being shoved, clotheslined, whacked and thrown to the floor. In one instance, his nose is bleeding from an obvious hit to the face and there was no call.

Some commenters contend that because Lin is an Asian/American, he is being targeted by other players and not being protected by the officials. Some players believe he doesn't belong in a sport where Asian/American and Asian players are still a rarity. Lin has been 
defying that stereotype his entire career.

Kuei's video attracted the attention of the NBA and it felt compelled to respond. The league is backing the officials, encouraging unhappy fans to read the rules about different fouls, according to the NY Times. That's a pretty poor excuse in my mind. Either call the fouls or don't call them. For the sake of entertainmen valuet, the NBA obviously has opted for the latter.

Regular readers of this blog know that I'm a Golden State Warriors fan. I could put together a similar video of Stephen Curry and the no-calls on hard fouls on the MVP. His arms and face are often black and blue after a hard-fought game. 

The no-calls against undersized players who depend on deception, ball handling and speed to play the game versus brute strength or height can sometimes be exasperating.

RELATED: What's up with Jeremy Lin's hair?

I know it is frustrating for bigger players to have someone like Lin or Curry dribble around them to go to the basket and perhaps some of the fouls are a result of that frustration. Racism? That's a tough call. More likely it is simply poor officiating but that's the problem with racist tendencies. Too often, a person isn't aware of how his or her perception of another person is swayed by the racist enviornment in which they were raised.

Lin - the classy guy that he is - just shrugged off the no-calls as being part of the game. He's been in the league six years, now and he's used to the physicality of the pro-game. 

For Lin, playing for the playoff-bound Charlotte Hornets, it's more a matter of consistency. A few times this year, he's shown flashes of the form that  gave birth to Linsanity, but not often enough.

"I'm just happy that people are noticing this," Kuei told the NY Times. "It's not about views. I didn't get money or anything. I didn't want attention. I just want Lin to get fair calls."

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Jeremy Lin joins James Hardin, Stephen Curry for a dinner to celebrate Chinese New Year

THE NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION is celebrating the Chinese New Year with a TV spot featuring Jeremy Lin, Stephen Curry and James Harden.

The ad is called "Dining Table" and shows the stars sharing a New Year meal with a Chinese family. It is being broadcast until Feb. 22 across all of NBA China's television and digital partners' platforms.

The Chinese New Year is Feb. 8 and celebrates the year of the monkey. Lin plays for the Charlotte Hornets and is the first American-born NBA player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent.

Last year, the Rockets and the Warriors featured t-shirts with a Chinese-theme design. This year, Washington will wear uniforms with the team name in Chinese writing in addition to hosting events in their respective arenas.

Continuing their outreach to their huge Asian fan base in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Asia, the NBA Champion Golden State Warriors will first wear their 2015-16 season Chinese New Year uniforms on the court during a road game on Wednesday, February 3 at Washington in honor of the start of Lunar New Year, held February 7–13. 

RELATED: The Golden State Warriors' Asian connection 

The team will sport the Chinese-themed threads again during Lunar New Year on Tuesday, February 9 when the Warriors hold their official Chinese New Year Celebration, presented by Lucky Buddha Beer, at Oracle Arena when they face the Houston Rockets. 

Last year's Chinese New Years uniform
as modeled by forward Harrison Barnes.

To conclude the 2016 Lunar New Year, the Club will wear the Chinese New Year uniforms for the final time during the 2015-16 season on Friday, February 19 at Portland.

On Tuesday, January 26, from 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Warriors Guard Klay Thompson will first show the new 2015-16 threads in Chinatown in San Francisco to celebrate Lunar New Year and tour San Francisco’s oldest alley way in Chinatown, Ross Alley, according to the team's website. 

Thompson, who will be wearing the new uniform, will start the tour at Ross Alley Gallery (41 Ross Alley). 

The group will also make several stops before  ending at the Fortune Cookie Factory where Thompson will participate in making traditional Chinese fortune cookies. 

RELATED: Filipino fans make up a third of Warriors Facebook friends

“We have an amazing following from our Chinese fans both here in the Bay Area and abroad,” said Warriors President and Chief Operating Officer Rick Welts. “Hosting a Chinese New Year celebration at Oracle Arena and wearing the uniforms to honor Lunar New Year is a great way to not only connect with the Asian culture, but thank our fans for supporting us throughout the season.”

For the first time, 51 live games broadcast and streamed by 10 broadcasters in Greater China, showcasing all 30 NBA teams; and the Chinese New Year Celebration Season of Giving initiative for underprivileged communities in China.

Yao Min, who played center for Houston, introduced NBA-style basketball to fans in China, where he is viewed as a national hero. China. with a population of 1.4 billion, is seen by the NBA as a market with huge potential.

The Warriors, who were one of the first NBA teams to launch a Weibo account, (the Chinese equivalent to Facebook) weibo.com/warriors, have nearly 2 million followers on Weibo, the highest in the NBA and regularly are one of the top teams in the league in engagement metrics on the platform including impressions, reposts, comments and likes. In addition, the Warriors were one of the first NBA teams to have a Chinese website, china.nba.com/warriors, and regularly conduct Q&A’s on Weibo and Tencent.

It is clear that the marketing team over at the Warriors are aggressively pursuing the Asian and Asian/Americans markets. Just last week, they posted a "thank you" graphic in Pilipino to the 2 million fans in the Philippines who joined their Facebook page, over a third of the 5.6 million total "likes" the page has collected.

For more news about Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders, go to AsAm News.

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Filipinos make up a third of the Golden State Warriors Facebook fans

Translation: Two Million Facebook fans in the Philippines. Thank you very much, #Dubnation"

PERHAPS more than any other sport, Filipinos love their basketball. No ... they're CRAZY for basketball. And it looks like the professional basketball team that has attracted their loyalty is the Golden State Warriors.

If there is any doubt that the Warriors know who to target on their Facebook page, take a look at these recent posts.

A week ago, the NBA team from Oakland posted the above message on the team's Facebook page in the Philippines: "Two million Facebook fans from the Philippines. Thank you very much, #Dubnation"

With 5.6 million "friends" on Facebook, that means over a third of the Warriors' "likes" are from the Philippines.

Really? That may sound like miscalculation. Are Filipinos that much attuned to social media? The numbers appear to bear it out. According to figures supplied by Facebook, the Warriors’ audience overseas has grown from 45 percent international to 70 percent international in the past two years, measured by “likes” to the team’s home page. And it appears most of them are coming from their Filipino fans.

Two days ago (Jan. 15), the Warriors crack social media team posted this message (to the right) on the team's Facebook page urging their Pilipino-speaking followers to vote for Draymond Green for the All-star team. Two more posts featuring guard tandem Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson with similar messages in Pilipino were entered at the same time.

RELATED: The Golden State Warriors' Asian connection 

The Warriors' secret weapon is 10-year old Filipina American

“The Warriors have transformed themselves from a local and regional sports team into a very large and truly global media entity on Facebook and Instagram,” said Dan Reed, head of global sports partnerships at Facebook. “In the last six months, the team has reached and engaged with more people on Facebook than any professional sports team in the United States.”

Well aware of their fan base and how popular they are in the Philippines, the Warriors  reinforced that relationship last summer when the NBA's MVP, Stephen Curry, visited the Philippines as part of an Asian tour for 

The team followed that up with a Manila visit by five members of the 2015- 2016 Warriors Dance Team, including two of the team's Filipino/ American members, Clarice Guido and Patricia Yabes.

"It's an amazing feeling, coming back and having our community support the Warriors," said Guido, who lived and studied in the Philippines for two years before graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Relations and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Oregon.

Yabes has been part of the Dance Team for five seasons and she’s one of the captains in the squad. She is currently in college majoring in Public Relations.

RELATED: Curry's barber preps the star for his trip to the Philippines

The Warriors' Asian/American fans are just as loyal

And just a few days into the season when the Warriors' record-breaking win streak was just beginning, the team's first ethnic night was Filipino Heritage Night. One of the giveaways was a slate-colored t-shirt with the Philippine sunburst emblazoned on the front with the Warrior's symbol of the Bay Bridge superimposed on the design. The team wore the shirt during their pre-game warmup.

Vote for your favorite Golden State Warrior.

Center Andrew Boghut models the latest Filipino Heritage Night t-shirt during warmups.

For more news about Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, read AsAm News.

Stephen Curry leaves his mark on Asia

Stephen Curry took a selfie on Instagram with Japan's Under-19 national team.

STEPHEN CURRY, the NBA's  Most Valuable Player, is back from his five-day swing through Asia that included stops in Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, China and Singapore. 

The five nation, five-day trip was sponsored by Under Armor and the release of new shoe bearing Curry's name. It follows a similar swing that Lebron James did a month earlier. It's all part of the NBA's marketing strategy to tap into the huge Asian market.

Sponsors have paid close attention to basketball's growing popularity in the region. Nike and Adidas send their biggest NBA stars on promotional tours in Asia every summer. Dunkin' Donuts hired LeBron James of the Miami Heat and Mercedes-Benz signed Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers to promote their products in Asia; and Colin Currie, managing director of Adidas Group Greater China, says the company signed Charlotte's guard Jeremy Lin more for his Asian marketability than for his American appeal.

In Manila, the Golden State Warrior's point guard graciously took on  a seven-year old fan and let him do a cross-over and a basket.

NBA FINALS: Asian fans of the Golden State Warriors showing their colors

The ultimate Golden State Warriors fan cave

SOME OF the Golden State Warriors' most devout fans are Asian/Americans. As the  NBA championship finals continue between the Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, the fanaticism is hitting a new high. 

The National Basketball Association and the Warriors' organization has noted the makeup of their fan base and have taken deliberative steps to reach out to Asian/Americans and fans in Asia to encourage their loyalty.

Among the fans is Alvan Mangalindan, a resident of Hercules, a few miles up I-80 from Oracle Arena where the Warriors play. He was featured in a recent feature by KGO-TV because Mangalindan has the ultimate Golden State Warriors "fan cave." And that makes his house the obvious choice for an NBA Finals viewing party, whether he and his wife like it or not.

RELATED: 

The Golden State Warriors' Asian connection 

The Warriors' secret weapon is 10-year old Filipina American

Filipino/American barber teaches Steph Curry Tagalog 

Fan creates song & video to cheer on the Warriors 

Filipinos make up a third of Warrior's Facebook fans 

Steph Curry, Jeremy Lin, James Hardin  celebrate Chinese New Year's 

Alvan has been collecting Dubs paraphernalia since he was 12 years old. He has everything Warriors from the early days to the modern days. And much of it is signed. His pool table, his foosball table, his window blinds, and even the Barbie doll are all emblazoned with the Warriors logo.

READ: Super Fan Alvan Mangalindan was featured in the East Bay Times.

The Warriors have made a strong effort to woo the large Asian/American community in the San Francisco Bay Area by having several nights devoted to them: Asian/American Heritage Night, Filipino Heritage Night, Pacific Islander Night and Chinese/American Heritage Night. Apparently, the marketing strategy is working.

To get a sense of how rabid the Warriors' the Asian/American fan base is take a look at the Warriors' Fan of the Day on KGO-TV's website to see plenty more Asian/American Warrior fans! And to get a closer look at Mangalindan's fan cave, view video below:

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NBA FINALS: Warriors' secret weapon is 10-year old Filipino American

10-year-old Nayah Damasen sang the national anthem in Game 1
of the NBA championship series.

NAYAH DAMASEN should sing every Golden State Warrior game. 

The 10-year-old Filipina American is the Dub's good luck charm. They've won every game when she sang the Star Spangled Banner to open the game - the biggest stage in her young life with the championship on the line in front of 20,000 crazy fans and in front of a national audience. 

The good-luck string continues as the Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, 108-100 in overtime.

“I feel so honored and blessed to be here,” Nayah said before Game 1, hours before the sold-out game. “I wouldn’t say that I’m a charm. But music can touch people’s hearts.”

RELATED: The Warriors Asian connection

Nayah began singing for the Warriors games when she was only 5-years old and the team has won every time ... except once; that was against the San Antonio Spurs during the regular season.

A resident of nearby San Jose, she want to pursue and acting and singing career. But her career plans will have to wait until after the championship best-of-seven series is over. I expect we'll see and hear Nayah again before its over.

The Golden State Warriors' Asian connection

NBA

The Warriors recognize the diversity of their fan base.

As the Golden State Warriors pursue their fourth NBA championship in five years, when they play their home games during the 2019 NBA playoffs, take a close look at the gold-clad fans in Oracle Arena, home of the Oakland team. No single race dominates but there are lots of Asians: Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Koreans, Vietnamese, Asian Indians, Pakistanis, Burmese and more. 

The Warriors don't keep the demographics of it's fans but its hard not to notice that half the fans at Oracle are not white. According to the Census about 2 million Asians call the Bay Area home - perhaps the largest concentration of Asians outside of Asia, Hawaii included.

Don't think that the Warriors' management hasn't noticed the composition of their fan base. 

RELATED: NBA celebrates Chinese New Year with a special commercial

The organization started having Asian Heritage Night when Jeremy Lin was a rookie in 2010. When Lin left after one season, the Warriors continued the night and added Bollywood Night, Asian American Heritage Night, Polynesian Heritage Night and Filipino Heritage Night.

They honored Chinese New Year with a special shirt featuring the name of the Warriors in Chinese characters. Some may quibble with the design but it was historic that the team even bothered to have the shirt making them only one of two NBA teams to note the date, important in Asian cultures. (The other team was the Houston Rockets, which was the first team to mine the Asian fan base because of the popularity of center Yao Min, who is still revered as a superstar in China.)

RELATED: The Warriors secret weapon is a 10-year old Filipina American

The Golden State Warriors are also looking to the future -- at the largest market in the world, China. The team recently surpassed one million followers on Weibo. Weibo is a Chinese social media platform that combines the services of Facebook and Twitter, and is one of China’s most popular websites. Last October, the Warriors became the first NBA team to launch an official Weibo account so they will be well set when the NBA Global Games are held in Beijing and Shanghai.

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Golden State Warriors

Jennifer Cabalquinto

It doesn't hurt to have Asians  in highly visible positions.

A Filipina/American, Jennifer Cabalquinto, is the team's Chief Financial Officer, perhaps the highest ranking woman in the NBA outside of owners. She has over 20 years of finance leadership experience in a variety of start-up, turnaround, and high growth business environments including Telemundo, TV stations and cruise lines.

“Do you know we have more Facebook followers from the Philippines than we do in the United States?” said CFO Cabalquinto. “It’s amazing. Of the top ten cities where our Facebook followers are based, eight of the top ten cities are in the Philippines. It’s just phenomenal.”

RELATED: Filipinos make up a third of the Warriors' Facebook fans

                                                                                                Balitang America TV

Every sports team has a hype guy to get the fans excited. For the past 11 years, for the Warriors, that's Franco Finn, aka "Freestyle Franco."

Being the hype man for this place is really a dream come true,” Franco told a reporter from Balitang America. “It’s just amazing. I’m a Golden State Warriors fan ever since I could remember and now I get to say I pass by this building and say 'Wow, do I really get almost 20,000 fans here hyped up on their feet?' It’s an amazing experience.” Franco starts by introducing the players as they come on the floor then leading the chants on the loudspeaker. "Dee-fense! Dee-fense! Dee-fense," or when star Stephen Currie is on the free-throw line, the chant changes to "MVP, MVP, MVP, ... or the iconic cheer that strikes fear in opponents, " War-riors! War-riors!" That's Franco at work.

As he says in the video, from his observation, every game should be Filipino Heritage Night because Filipinos are such devoted and knowledgeable fans. You can be sure if he sees any of his kababayan (fellow countrymen) in the seats, he'll make an effort to interact with them.

The team strengthened that tie-in with Filipino/Americans when the Warriors raised funds for victims of Typhoon Haiyan that ravaged the Philippines two years ago.

Sabrina Ellison

‘It’s super important that the Warriors are embracing the Filipino culture,” says Warriors Girls Director Sabrina Ellison, a Filipina/American.

When the dance team comes out on the floor.  Freestyle Franco goes into action, exhorting the crowd to cheer for the dancers. Among the dancers are several Asian/American Warriors Girls – Patrisha, Danielle and Clarise. 

And then there is Superfan Burmese/American Paul Wong, one of the Warriors' many loyal Asian season ticket holders. The Warriors' fans are noted through the league but Wong stood out among the fan base.

RELATED: Curry's barber is a Fiiipino/American

Wong etched his way into Warrior lore in 2007 when the team was making it's first playoff appearance in decades, he came up with a two-word slogan that hiked fan frenzy even higher. He printed up hundreds of "We Believe" posters with his own money and handed them out during the opening series against the Dallas Mavericks. Management took notice and the next game, printed up 20,000 yellow t-shirts emblazoned with the rallying cry.

"The team represents what the Bay Area is all about: diversity," Wong told a Mercury News reporter. "That's what makes them so popular."

San Francisco is one of the most popular destinations for tourists from Asia and for Asian investors seeking to invest in the safe and stable U.S. real estate market. Add to that, the fact that immigration from Asia has surpassed Mexico; the future remains bright for the Warriors' investment in the Asian and Asian/American markets.

RELATED: Warriors star Stef Curry leaves his mark on Asia

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.