MANILA, Philippines — Marc Pingris is taking his monicker "Pinoy Sakuragi" seriously.
The Gilas Pilipinas and Star Hotshots veteran big man dyed his hair red on Monday, March 7 before showing up for national team practice at the Moro Lorenzo Sports Center inside Ateneo de Manila University.
Pingris, 34, is on a mission to complete the look of Japanese anime character Hanamichi Sakuragi, the main protagonist of the well-loved "Slam Dunk" series.
Pingris rocked a Shohoku jersey after Gilas practice on Monday to match his already red hair. He's on to shaving his facial hair next, and even joked he would dye his eyebrow and armpit hair red.
{source}<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Pingris jokes he's thinking of dyeing his armpit hair red, like his red head, for the Pinoy Hanamichi Sakuragi look <a href="https://t.co/ic0PpWnHrh">pic.twitter.com/ic0PpWnHrh</a></p>— Jane Bracher (@janebracher) <a href="https://twitter.com/janebracher/status/706862920940978177">March 7, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Fans have long requested Pingris to adopt Sakuragi's look and he finally gave in.
Asked what his wife Danica Sotto thought of his new look, Pingris shared her reaction: "Ang gwapo mo!" (You're handsome!) — Rappler.com