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    When Kawhi, Harden, Lillard, Lowry went to Manila ... to practice

    Remember the NBA blockbuster of 2014 that never was?
    Aug 12, 2020

    REMEMBER when Blake Griffin and Paul George rocked the rims of Smart Araneta Coliseum? Or when James Harden and Damian Lillard put on a shooting display? Or when Kawhi Leonard locked down our Gilas players on defense?

    Surely, you don't, because none of those happened.

    What was supposed to be a festive two-day basketball blockbuster in 2014 ended in an absolute disaster when the NBA put its foot down and effectively crushed the 'The Last Home Stand' at the Araneta Coliseum.

    The pair of exhibition games, which were supposed to be a sendoff for the Gilas Pilipinas team bound for Spain in the 2014 Fiba World Cup, left fans disappointed, strained basketball relations and left organizers red-faced.

    The plan was grand: a bevy of NBA superstars flying in to play a pair of exhibition games against the Philippine national team - a follow-up to the successful Smart Ultimate All-Star Weekend three years earlier.

    And it was all for charity, too, with proceeds from the ticket sales to be channeled to the country's recovery efforts following Super Typhoon Yolanda (Typhoon Haiyan).

    Those tickets, we should say, didn't come cheap, with the patron seats sold for over P23,000.


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    Two exhibition games were billed, with a skills training camp conducted by John Lucas also slated during the event. It turned out, only one of the three pushed through.

    We should have seen it coming.

    Paul Pierce pulling out a week before may not have sounded the alarm, but headliners like Griffin and George not making their flights and missing the press conference a day before the event already raised eyebrows.

    The two were later scratched from the games a mere hours before the event. The anxiety built up when news of Lillard's pullout came out.

    All hell broke loose from there.

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    The supposed 7 p.m. start got pushed back again and again until the players finally came out at 8:30 p.m. not ready to play.

    A PLDT official emerged from the Big Dome tunnel bearing bad news. Apologetic as he stood on center court, he announced the game was no longer pushing through and promised that refunds for tickets would be given.

    Instead of a game featuring some of the NBA's most exciting players, what fans who bothered to stay on witnessed were players going through their paces in drills conducted by Lucas.

    Both Gilas and NBA players did their best to entertain. But no basketball fan would enjoy watching what amounted to a glorified practice.

    The uneasiness soon turned into frustration, and then, boos.

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    Mercifully, the plug was pulled at 10 p.m., ending what was easily one of the most uncomfortable hour-and-a-half experiences for everyone on the court.

    If it was both agonizing and awkward to watch on television for those at home, can you imagine the feeling of those who showed up in the venue?

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    As boos rained down from the Big Dome stands, Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president and PLDT chairman Manny V. Pangilinan bravely took the fall, cancelling Day Two of the event and once again apologizing on the group's behalf.

    "We ourselves were disappointed with the way things have developed," he said.

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    It turned out the NBA, belatedly it should be pointed out, stepped in and threatened the players with fines and suspensions if they participated in what amounted into an 'unsanctioned event.'

    Unlike in the 2011 event which was held while the NBA was on a lockout, players who showed up for 'The Last Home Stand' needed permission from their mother clubs and the league to take part. They had none.

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      The players were quickly flown out of the country. No time for even a brief tour of the city.

      The talk was that organizers shelled out a fortune for the whole fiasco amounting to $4.6 million (P200 million), with each player taking home $150,000 (P6.52 million). All down the drain.

      Of the 10 players who made the trip in 2014, only Harden and Lillard were able to come back to the country to promote their sneakers. George finally made the trip to Manila in 2015.

      Sadly, no grand exhibition game involving NBA players was ever held in the country since that debacle. Truly, it was their last home stand.

      Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph

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