PBA great Caidic earns fancy of NBA legends

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of few players in the National Basketball Association (NBA) that is hard to impress. But for one quarter Friday night at the jampacked Araneta Coliseum, a Filipino player has caught the fancy of the man who possessed the most lethal weapon in the game of basketball for many years – the Sky Hook.

“No doubt about it, Caidic was the most impressive among the local players," said Abdul-Jabbar, assistant coach of the NBA Generations, during a post-game press conference after his team scored a 109-86 rout of the PBA All-Stars. The player known in the local basketball scene as “The Triggerman", was right on target. He made five triples in the first period to lead all scorers from the PBA All-Stars. Although he went scoreless after that, Caidic has earned Abdul-Jabar’s fancy as the 7-foot-2 former center of the Los Angeles Lakers was amazed by his excellent marksmanship. Abdul-Jabbar played in the NBA for three generations and probably the only player who had the distinction of going up against the likes of such great players like Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Julius Erving, Larry Bird and all the way to the time of Michael Jordan. But at least for one night, Abdul-Jabbar, who became the ultimate prize of a toss coin between the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1969 NBA Draft, could recall Caidic as one of those who at least impressed him. He wasn’t the only player whose attention has been caught by a happy-shooting-man who wore jersey No. 8. Fellow NBA great Dominique Wilkins, a two-time slam dunk champion, also has nice words on Caidic, who retired in the PBA holding a single-game scoring record of 79 points and most three-point shots made in a game with 17. “For one quarter, I thought he could win the game all by himself," said Wilkins. “You can see that he certainly has the talent and his shooting is remarkable. He simply didn’t have enough gas in he second half," said the former Atlanta Hawk, who was even designated to guard the former PBA most valuable player in the second half. – GMANews.TV