They came, they saw, they conquered. The NBA Legends came to the Philippines not knowing what to expect, and left with an image of a basketball-super crazed country with a lots of great talents, and millions of passionate fans. They were treated like rockstars as they will forever be legends!
The NBA Asia Challenge 2010 carried with it a promise of bringing world-class hard-court entertainment to the Philippines with a cast of super NBA stars namely Gary Payton, Chris Webber, Mitch Richmond, and Glenn Rice mixed with local cage luminaries Allan Caidic, Ronnie Magsanoc, Atoy Co, Benjie Paras, Alvin Patrimonio and Vergel Meneses. Young NBA D-league stars and the future legends of the PBA also mixed it up in the sensational hardcourt showdown that did more than just amaze.
After almost a week’s worth of promotional activities from press and media days, to doing an NBA Cares book reading session, mall events, sponsor visits, and just interacting with the Filipino fans, the NBA legends got it on!
Payton boldly said their Red team would win because they had 2 great shooters in Rice and Caidic. Knocking down 5 booming treys in last year’s NBA Asia Challenge gave Caidic such notoriety that since day 1, the visitors have been buzzing about the Triggerman. In fact, during the welcome party for the NBA, when Caidic was introduced to Payton, he got so excited that he got all the other legends who were on the other side of the room to come over and meet the man with the guns.
And come game night, the Triggerman was not at all gun-shy dropping one three pointer after the other! A definite show stopper, Caidic had a shooting clinic with 17 three point bombs and ended up with 52 huge points in the Red Team’s 177-167 victory. There was hardly any defense displayed apart from the giddy locals trying to disrupt their favourite NBA legend, to heighten their once in a lifetime experience.
Also stealing the show was the 59 year old Fortune Cookie Atoy Co who last played at the Big Dome 5 years ago during the storied Crispa-Toyota reunion! He had a hard time getting his groove but getting the NBA legends, even from the other team, set him up enthralled the crowd. He put his hand up victoriously when he made his first basket after some 38 attempts (okay so that’s not accurate but he sure took a whole lot of shots)!
Former NBA Rookie of the Year and one of the best power forwards in the NBA in his time Chris Webber said he had a great time playing his first game in two years, hoping that the fans had as much fun as they did and expressed his high respect for Philippine basketball. “Truthfully I really wasn’t surprised with how good Filipino players were. I’m going back and will tell everybody about my experiences here. Triggerman was incredible. I wasn’t surprised with the talent of these guys… They’re all so good. You got guys out there dunking and jumping, from Spiderman to Trigger man to everybody. Everybody really showcased their talent… Fortune Cookie I tell you, to be able to play the game at his age is a blessing and an honor. To see Fortune Cookie out there shooting and he’s still going.. One time he shot and said ‘check up Chris’ I said, okay (insert laughter here). Fortune Cookie’s the man too.”
An Olympic Gold Medalist, NBA Champ, also a former ROY and one third of the famous Run TMC with Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin, Mitch Richmond also echoes that he had a blast. “It was just fun to get out here. This is an honour to actually play in this building where Ali and Frasier started the ‘Thrilla in Manila’. I never thought I’d actually get to see it let alone play in it. This is a historical moment for us and we can tell our kids now”.
Known for his tenacious defense hence the name “the Glove” Gary Payton was all about entertaining. Because of a torn calf muscles which he’s played through almost his entire career, he saw limited minutes. But of all, he was the one going overtime in terms of interacting with fans with his colourful and vocal presence. Yes there was a bit of trash talking going on, and there was also a part where he took the camera from the sideline cameraman, and stole a shoe from one of the kids playing a game during breaktime and threw in his own shoe in the mix. He was hilarious!
In the press conference, he admitted that he was surprised at how knowledgeable Pinoys are about basketball when someone answered his supposedly difficult trivia question about Glen Rice and his scoring record in an NCAA tourney. Even Rice said he doubted someone would know the answer. “But someone quickly came up and said 184 points in a single tournament, and I was impressed. I think you guys know more about us than our own family does.”
Known for his pinpoint sweet shooting and accuracy, being 8th in NBA history in 3pt field goals made, you know that Glen Rice does not play. He did say that he was in it to win it, and come 2nd half, he found his rhythm but enjoyed feeding the ball to Caidic even more. They had a three point shooting contest where Caidic won 5-7, but that Rice said “from here on now, you’re gonna get a show”. And a show it was.
“All I can say is Trigger, Trigger, Trigger.. He’s the man!” Rice also added that come playoffs, “Trigger, make sure your phone can be reached”.
Source: ph.yfittopostblog.com
Archive for the ‘Sports’ Category
NBA Asia Challenge ‘10
by admin, on Sun, Aug 29 2010 | No CommentsMayweather’s game is in Dubai
by admin, on Thu, Aug 26 2010 | No Comments
After the postponed fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, a new match is arrange for the American boxer.
Undefeated American fighter Floyd Mayweather, Jr. disclosed that he is set to return to the ring but did not name his opponent.
“We’ll announce it all very soon,” Mayweather told Robin Leach of Las Vegas Weekly.
“But this time it won’t be in Vegas. It will be in another desert kingdom: Dubai,” he revealed.
Mayweather said this to Leach at the Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California over the weekend.
The American fighter, who was supposed to face 7-division world champion Manny Pacquiao on November 13, did not say if he will fight again this year or next year.
Mayweather’s last victory was a unanimous decision win over Shane Mosley last May 1.
Negotiations for the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight fell apart for the second time after the American reportedly snubbed the deadline set by the Filipino’s promoter, Bob Arum.
The fight talks collapsed for the first time due to the boxers’ disagreement on the drug testing protocol.
Margarito’s fate
Meanwhile, Pacquiao has found a new foe in Mexican Antonio Margarito. Their November 13 clash, however, still does not have a venue.
Arum, the Top Rank, Inc. CEO who also promotes Margarito, has been eyeing the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
But Margarito has to reapply for a license to fight again in the United States after the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) revoked it last year.
The CSAC found a plaster-like substance in the Mexeican’s hand wraps before his January 2009 fight against Mosley.
Margarito tried to reapply for his license in Nevada and California, to no avail. He has now requested for a license from the Texas Athletic Commission.
“We’re looking forward to and hoping that Texas will issue a license. We fully expect that they willl. And we will then announce the press tour,” Arum told Rick Reeno of BoxingScene.com.
Susan Stanford, public relations specialist for the Texas Athletic Commission, told BoxingScene.com that they are expected to make a decision on Thursday or Friday.
This time, it’s Pacquiao vs. Margarito
by admin, on Mon, Aug 16 2010 | No Comments
After the missed fight of Manny Pacquiao and Flloyd Mayweather, here is the event that all boxing fanatic does not want to miss.
Top Rank, Inc. CEO Bob Arum assured boxing fans that the fight between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito will take place on November 13 even if the bout does not have a venue yet.
“This fight will come off, guaranteed,” Arum told Robert Morales of BoxingScene.com.
The vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) junior middleweight title is up for grabs on November 13 for Filipino 7-division world champion Pacquiao and Margarito of Mexico.
Arum, who serves as the promoter for both boxers, stressed that the fight will happen even if Margarito will not be able to regain his boxing license in California.
The Mexican is reapplying for a boxing license following his suspension by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) last year. He was caught with a plaster-like substance in his hand wraps before his bout against Shane Mosley in January 2009.
Margarito, who needs the license if he wants to fight again in the United States, is scheduled to appear before the CSAC on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila).
Arum, meantime, also gave an update on the selection process for the fight’s venue.
The Top Rank big boss met with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones last week to talk about holding the Pacquiao-Margarito clash at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“We had a very, very good meeting,” Arum commented. “But I don’t want to discuss anything about it until after the Margarito thing in California.”
“I don’t want to disrespect anybody or anything. California is going to decide on Wednesday and then whichever way California decides, various state commissions will decide whichever way they think is best,” he added.
It has been reported that Pacquiao and Margarito could fight in Monterrey, Mexico. The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada as well as Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates were also eyed as possible venues.
After being the congressman and dominate the politics, will Pacquiao’s victory continue its way! We will all see.
The Philippines warms up for the NBA Asia Challenge
by admin, on Thu, Aug 5 2010 | 1 Comment
Last year, I had the privilege of watching the first-ever NBA Asia Challenge, which featured an exhibition game between a team of NBA legends reinforced by National Developmental Basketball League (NBDL) stand outs and a team of PBA legends backstopped by current PBA stars.
It was a thrill watching Dominique Wilkins, Vlade Divac, Robert Horry and Tim Hardaway wow the crowd while going up against past PBA stars like Allan Caidic, Alvin Patrimonio, Ronnie Magsanoc and Benjie Paras. In the end, the game wasn’t very competitive, with the NBA/NBDL team pulling away in the second half, but it was still entertaining. Horry showed us a sampling of the three-point shooting that gave him the moniker Big Shot Rob, while the Human Highlight Film Wilkins, even at an advanced age, still managed a few crowd-pleasing dunks. Meanwhile, Hardaway turned back the clock and executed his patented killer crossover move.
Showing that he still had that shooting touch that earned him the nickname Triggerman, Caidic wowed the visitors in the first half with six three-point shots. Afterwards, in the post-game press conference, I asked Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilkins which Filipino player impressed them the most, and both answered Caidic, or, as Kareem called him, “KAY-DIK.” Paras did his darnedest best to match up against Divac, who to his credit didn’t try to flop this time.
This year, NBA Asia is again bringing over some past NBA stars to play in another exhibition game on August 27, but this time there will be a little twist. To make the game more competitive, the NBA legends and the NBDL veterans will be split into two teams and join forces with PBA legends and current PBA stars. So it will be two teams composed of NBA/NBDL/PBA players battling each other. That should make things more interesting.
What’s more, one of my all-time favorite NBA players, Chris Webber, is coming over. He’s just two years removed from his last NBA season, so he should still be in pretty good shape. I’ve always been a fan of Webber, and I felt if he had just been a little more focused earlier in his career with Washington, he could have avoided the bad rap that followed him for much of his career. When he became the cornerstone of those highly entertaining Sacramento Kings teams of the early 2000s, I thought he would finally make it to the NBA Finals and validate his claim as one of the best players of his generation. Too bad Shaq, Kobe and the Lakers were in their way.
Webber’s made a smooth transition to television as a studio analyst for NBA TV, and so far he’s given a good account of himself. He’s not yet at the level of a Mike Fratello, but he’s not embarrassing himself, either.
The rest of the NBA legends who are coming over aren’t too shabby, either. There’s Gary Payton, Glenn Rice, and Mitch Richmond, all former all-stars and all of whom have won a championship ring. Payton, I’ve always respected as a defensive player and a competitor. A lot of people didn’t like his trash talking during his playing days, but I loved it. For me, it’s all part of the game. Besides, getting Payton to shut up is like asking a fish to stop swimming.
Richmond and Rice are both in their forties already, but I expect them to still be able to light it up. They’ll probably be put on separate teams, and either of them teaming up with Caidic would make for a good shooting pair.
On the local side, aside from Caidic, Paras, Magsanoc and Patrimonio are confirmed to be returning, and will be joined by Vergel Meneses and Atoy Co. Now, I’m not sure if the Fortune Cookie is still in game shape (he is in his mid-fifties after all), but he’s always been an entertainer. Among the active local players, LA Tenorio, Ronald Tubid, Asi Taulava, James Yap, Dondon Hontiveros, Arwind Santos, and Rico Maierhofer will all be seeing action.
That’s a pretty solid cast of PBA stars, but personally, I would have liked to see Jimmy Alapag in there as well. Hopefully, he’ll eventually be inserted in the line-up. Either way, I can’t wait for August 27.
Source: ph.yfittopostblog.com
A Pacquiao and Marquez rematch?
by admin, on Mon, Aug 2 2010 | No CommentsMexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez kept his World Boxing Association lightweight throne on Saturday with a unanimous 12-round decision over Juan Diaz, then called out Filipino star Manny Pacquiao.
Marquez took a rematch of a slugfest from last year by judges’ scores of 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112, improving the 36-year-old fighter’s record to 51-5 with one draw. Diaz fell to 35-4.
Marquez twice lost to Pacquiao and while the Asian superstar has been unable to land a blockbuster fight with unbeaten US veteran Floyd Mayweather, Marquez is hoping he might have a chance at a third swing in the ring with ”Pac-Man”.
”The trilogy is what I want. It’s what the people want,” Marquez said. ”I will be ready for another fight in December, hopefully Pacquiao.”
While Pacquiao looks to fight Mexican Antonio Margarito in November, Marquez said his hunger to face the Filipino legend is greater than his desire to rule as World Boxing Association and World Boxing Organization lightweight king.
”That’s true. That fight is more important for me,” Marquez said.
Marquez dispatched Diaz in the ninth round in February of last year and this time was faced with a more tactical boxer-styled foe. The result, however, was the same.
”That first fight was a war. This was a bit more tactical,” Marquez said. ”He wanted to box a bit more but we came out ahead. He’s a great fighter. He knows some technique. But tonight technique was in our favor.”
The only fight for Marquez since beating Diaz some 17 months ago came last September when he stepped up to welterweight and lost to undefeated US star Floyd Mayweather by unanimous decision.
