NBA legends, PBA stars ready to give fans a treat

Ever imagine five-time NBA All-Star Chris Webber playing side by side at the post with two of the greatest big men in PBA history in Alvin Patrimonio and Benjie Paras? How about former NBA Defensive Player of the Year Gary Payton sharing the backcourt with Alaska point guard L.A. Tenorio? Such once-in-a-lifetime chance gets to happen Friday when the 2010 edition of the NBA Asia Challenge comes off the wraps at the Araneta Coliseum. Delving away from last year’s format of pitting former NBA players against their PBA counterparts, organizers of this year’s biggest NBA event in the country decided to have a mixed team comprised of NBA legends, NBA D-League players and PBA All Stars, both past and present. The format change allowed Webber to team up with Patrimonio and Paras as key players for Team White, which will also have another former NBA All-Star in Mitch Richmond suiting up for the squad. Richie Frahm, the former Talk `N Text import now playing in the NBA D-League, is also with Team White and so are Mark Tyndale, Ronald Tubid, Dondon Hontiveros, 2010 Rookie of the Year Rico Maierhofer and PBA great Ronnie Magsanoc. Glen Rice, the former University of Michigan star who won an NBA title in 2000 as part of the Los Angeles Lakers’ triumvirate along with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, joins Payton at Team Blue together with Tenorio and NBA D-Leaguers Darnell Lazare and Chris McCray. Team Blue also has an interesting roster of explosive outside shooters, that will see Rice, a former NBA-All Star MVP and winner of the Three-Point Shootout, teaming up with legendary gunners Atoy Co and Allan Caidic. Completing the Team Blue lineup are Vergel Meneses, Asi Taulava and Arwind Santos. Payton, Richmond and Rice already arrived in the country Monday, while Webber, the star power forward of Michigan’s famed `Fab Five’, is coming over Tuesday. “We are excited that our passionate Filipino fans will get to see their PBA All-Stars compete against some of the best players to ever play in the NBA and potential future NBA stars from the D-League," said senior vice president and managing director of NBA Asia Scott Levy. Last year, two-time slam dunk champion Dominique Wilkins dropped 28 points against the PBA All-Stars to lead the NBA Legends to a 109-86 win. Wilkins played alongside Robert Horry, Tim Hardaway and Vlade Divac, with six-time NBA champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar calling the shots from the bench. Adding spice to the one-day event is the presence of the Miami Heat Dancers, one of the most popular dance teams in the NBA, and Miami Heat mascot Burnie, who will interact with the crowd and perform high-flying dunks. - RCJ, GMANews.TV