The devastation that struck thousands of Filipinos recently did not escape the attention of Los Angeles Lakers’ superstar Kobe Bryant who urged his storm-hit fans in the country to be strong.

Bryant, who had visited basketball-crazy Philippines three times already, the latest last July 21 for his 2009 Asia Tour: Philippines for Nike, said his thoughts and prayers are with Filipinos who are trying to recover from the ill effects of tropical storm “Ondoy” (Ketsana) and “Pepeng” (Parma).

“Have a lot of strength and a lot of pride,” Bryant said in a video interview with Elie Seckbach of ESNEWS posted on YouTube.

The “Black Mamba,” though, expressed confidence the Filipinos will get over this trial.

“The time I spent over there (the Philippines), I got to know the country a little bit and the people. The perseverance and the strength that they show is remarkable so I have no question that they’ll bounce back from it,” he said.

Bryant had a meaningful time in his latest tour of Manila, meeting and teaching kids the basics of basketball and along with Nike Philippines donating P100,000 to Gawad Kalinga’s “Sagip” program to help the foundation continue its plans for the youth.

Full Story: GMA News/Yahoo PH