‘This is bigger than me’: Remy Martin reps his Filipino roots after star performance in NCAA title win

April 6, 2022

University of Kansas Jayhawks guard Remy Martin celebrated his new U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) title by honoring his Filipino roots.

The 23-year-old Filipino American basketball player became the star of the night on Monday after scoring 11 of his 14 points in the second half of the team’s game against the North Carolina Tar Heels, earning them the NCAA title with a 72-69 comeback win.

Martin cleared a 16-point deficit in the last 10.5 minutes of the game, delivering the Kansas Jayhawks’ largest comeback win and their fourth national title in the program.

Following his win at the national championship, he took to his official Instagram to honor his Filipino heritage, posing with the NCAA trophy and a Filipino flag draped over his back.

“This Is Bigger Than Me 🇵🇭🏆,” he captioned his post.

In his Instagram story, he also wrote, “Know my story you will understand me better! I represent my culture 🇵🇭 And love who love me!”

Martin previously played for Arizona State University for four years before transferring to Kansas for his fifth NCAA season. He has expressed his desire to play for the Philippines in the Gilas Pilipinas national team, but he has yet to be naturalized since he was not able to acquire a Philippine passport before he turned 16.

“I just want to show people that the Filipino heritage is here, that they can play at the highest level,” Martin told The Kansas City Star last year. “I’m not the tallest guy. I’m not the most athletic guy, but I love the game, and I’m here now.”

“In some people’s minds, I made it,” he added. “In the Filipinos’ minds, because there’s not too many people that can play at this level that are Filipino, I just give them hope.”

Martin is the third Filipino American player to win the NCAA championship following former UCLA Bruins’ Ray Towsend in 1975 and Virginia Cavaliers’ Kihei Clark in 2019.

The Kansas Jayhawks’ victory was the most-viewed men’s national championship game on cable television with a total of 18.1 million viewers tuning in on Monday night. It was also the third most-watched college basketball game in history.

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