Filipina radio broadcaster and voice teacher Veronica Monro touched at the heart strings of basketball fans as she sang a breathtaking rendition of the Australian national anthem at the Sydney Entertainment Centre to open the Sydney Kings versus Adelaide 36ers last Friday (February 4, 2011).
Ms Monro’s rendition of Advance Australia Fair was so impressive it drew wide acclamation from the near-capacity crowd, some of whom were Filipino-Australians who had come to support the Kings and watch two sets of exhibition games between Hoopdreamz’s local Filipino teams.
She had been invited to sing on the spur of the moment, but Kings’ management was so taken by Ms Monro’s classic style ~ strikingly without the trendy inflections often used today for the Australian anthem ~ that it asked her to be available for future Kings events.
Ms Monro had performed in front of similarly large crowds before, but it was her first time to sing the Australian national anthem. ”It was a wonderful experience for me,” Ms Monro said.
And by happy coincidence, Ms Monro, who now resides in Sydney Kings’ turf with husband Lee Monro and their two children, had originally come from the 36ers’ home of Adelaide.