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

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