Kobe, Durant, D-Rose to play against SMART-Gilas, PBA Selection
News feed courtesy of InterAksyon.com
Kobe Bryant leads an all-star selection against the Philippines' best.
Five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant, reigning Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose, and two-time scoring champion Kevin Durant are taking their talents to Manila.
The three stars will be part of a selection that will play a pair of charity exhibition games against SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team and an all-star squad from the Philippine Basketball Association.
Proceeds of the games will go to the MVP Sports Foundation, whose goal is to uplift Philippine sports and to develop Filipino athletes.
The exhibition games come in the middle of a lockout imposed by the NBA after the expiration of the league’s collective bargaining agreement earlier this month. With uncertainty over the length of the work stoppage, there have been numerous speculations about how players will spend their time. Previous reports have indicated that Bryant was considering putting together a barnstorming tour of China.
But with the scheduled games against Philippine teams, it looks like the Filipino crowd would get first crack to watch Bryant alongside Rose, Durant, and other stars.
The series of games would also be Bryant’s first step back into the spotlight after spending the past month recovering from an innovative surgical procedure performed in Germany in June, after his Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated in the Western Conference Semifinals by the eventual champions Dallas Mavericks last May.
The Manila games would mark the first exhibition game featuring active NBA players since 1997, when Shaquille O’Neal played with a touring team against a crack PBA selection. The game was a one-sided affair for Shaq and the rest of the NBAers, and was highlighted by the former Lakers big man lifting up Filipino point guard Johnny Abarrientos for a dunk.
Thank you NBA for your Lock-out season! Lol.
Kobe Bryant leads an all-star selection against the Philippines' best.
Five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant, reigning Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose, and two-time scoring champion Kevin Durant are taking their talents to Manila.
The three stars will be part of a selection that will play a pair of charity exhibition games against SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team and an all-star squad from the Philippine Basketball Association.
Proceeds of the games will go to the MVP Sports Foundation, whose goal is to uplift Philippine sports and to develop Filipino athletes.
The exhibition games come in the middle of a lockout imposed by the NBA after the expiration of the league’s collective bargaining agreement earlier this month. With uncertainty over the length of the work stoppage, there have been numerous speculations about how players will spend their time. Previous reports have indicated that Bryant was considering putting together a barnstorming tour of China.
But with the scheduled games against Philippine teams, it looks like the Filipino crowd would get first crack to watch Bryant alongside Rose, Durant, and other stars.
The series of games would also be Bryant’s first step back into the spotlight after spending the past month recovering from an innovative surgical procedure performed in Germany in June, after his Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated in the Western Conference Semifinals by the eventual champions Dallas Mavericks last May.
The Manila games would mark the first exhibition game featuring active NBA players since 1997, when Shaquille O’Neal played with a touring team against a crack PBA selection. The game was a one-sided affair for Shaq and the rest of the NBAers, and was highlighted by the former Lakers big man lifting up Filipino point guard Johnny Abarrientos for a dunk.
Thank you NBA for your Lock-out season! Lol.
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