Pippen, Rodman head NBA greats set to play at MOA Arena
By Mark GiongcoINQUIRER.net
nba.com photo
MANILA, Philippines—Three hall-of-fame players along with other former NBA stars are set to take center stage at the state-of-the-art SM Mall of Asia Arena on July 18.
Six-time NBA champion Scottie Pippen, fellow hall-of-fame inductees Dennis Rodman and Oscar Robertson will headline the event dubbed as the All-Star Basketball Challenge.
The six-foot-seven Pippen, well-known for his all-time defense, won all of his titles with the Chicago Bulls alongside Michael Jordan.
Rodman, the rebounding machine, meanwhile, has five rings across his name. He won his first two crowns as a member of the Detroit Pistons before winning three more as part of the Bulls second dynasty in 1996-98.
Robertson, who will be the team’s coach, is and perhaps will be the only player in the league to average a triple-double. He also won a championship in 1971 when he and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar teamed up to power the Milwaukee Bucks over the Baltimore Bullets.
Other notable players are four-time champion Horace Grant, dead-shot swingman Mitch Richmond, flashy playmaker Jason Williams, Clifford Robinson and Bryon Russell.
Richmond took part in the 2010 NBA Asia Challenge where former NBA greats played against a select group of past and present PBA All-stars held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Completing the stellar cast are Charoy Bentley, Jeff Trepagnier, Chris Campbell and Alexis Foyle.
Robinson, a former Sixth Man of the Year, was a vital part of the Portland Trailblazers that lost to the Bulls in the 1992 NBA Finals but will also be known to be at the tailend of a Jordan moment.
So is Russell, who helped the Utah Jazz to two straight finals appearances, will also be remembered for that iconic Jordan title-clinching fadeaway in the 1998 Finals.
Last July, NBA superstars headed by Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose and Chris Paul also took their talents to the Araneta Coliseum and went against the PBA stars and National team members in a once in a lifetime spectacle.
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Tags: All-Star Basketball Challenge , Basketball , Dennis Rodman , NBA , Oscar Robertson , Scottie Pippen
