INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines ? The belly protruded and the spring no longer as explosive as when ESPN used to broadcast his highlight films in his prime, Dominique Wilkins still knew how to entertain a crowd ? both on the floor and off it.

?Very sore,? the 49-year-old former two-time Slam Dunk champ told a packed press room after a 109-86 destruction by his NBA Generations team of the PBA All-Stars Friday night in the Asia NBA Challenge at the Araneta Coliseum.

?As you can see, I?m packed with a lot of ice,? the former Atlanta Hawk said. ?But it was a fun time for us out there.?

That was Wilkins? reply ? and he elicited a lot of laughs ? when asked how he felt after a couple of throw downs in the first period, which was the only exciting part of the game, most especially since Filipino legend Allan Caidic hit a string of five triples.

After that, it was time for the New Jersey Nets? Dunking Divas and Sly the Fox mascot to carry the show, as the game turned into a round robin affair with basically no defense played and the offense not at all alien to the Filipino crowd anymore.

Wilkins, the ?Human Highlight Reel,? finished with 28 points in two quarters of action, while Caidic had all of his team-high 15 points in the first quarter, with Willie Miller coming off the bench to scatter 14.

Scantily and tightly-garbed, the sexy yet athletic Divas, meanwhile, nailed a few slams of their own as they took off from a trampoline and landed on a soft cushion, with one of them even landing on a split to the delight of close to 10,000 paying fans.

That was supposed to be Sly?s area of expertise, and the Fox mascot did execute some exciting stuff of his own.

Sly joined the Divas in a dance number during a fourth quarter lull gyrating to the tune of ?Single Ladies.?

It was a lot of fun for most people who paid quite a hefty sum to be able to watch some of the NBA?s stars of yesteryears, as they were oblivious to what had happened behind the scenes with several organizational snafus almost making the PBA back out of the affair at the last minute.

A top PBA official, who asked that he not be identified, confirmed this news late in the game, supposedly after most of the items agreed upon during several organizational meetings were not met by the organizers that made the league feel ?bypassed.?

Members of the league?s board had to make do with transferring from one seat to another because they didn?t have ringside tickets that were due them ? a major part of the deal why the PBA agreed to play in the event.

The league also felt slighted during the press conference launching the event a couple of days ago, where only the members of the NBA delegation were given seats in the stage that made PBA officials practically invisible during the affair.