DAMIAN Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers (left) gives a young trainee pointers on dribbling techniques in yesterday’s clinic at Smart Araneta Coliseum. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
MANILA, Philippines — Blake Griffin, the slam-dunking star of the Los Angeles Clippers, and Indiana Pacers main man Paul George begged off from the two-day Last Home Stand All-Star Charity event at Smart Araneta Coliseum, organizers said in a statement Tuesday.
Both stars were supposed to form part of the Fibr All-Star squad that was to face the Gilas Pilipinas team Tuesday night at Araneta Coliseum.
The Nationals are using the pair of exhibition games as part of their final preparation for the Fiba World Cup and the Asian Games.
In a video posted online Tuesday, Griffin said urgent personal matters prevented him from leaving for Manila. Aside from apologizing, Griffin said he will make it up to Filipino fans, promising “we will see each other soon.”
George, the statement said, has been “constrained from leaving the United States on account of an urgent personal matter” as well.
“I will come over and spend one-on-one time with you and do all things I’ll miss today with the charity, the kids and of course, all of you who are looking forward to spending time with us from Team Fibr,” Griffin said in the video post.
“Keep your tickets,” he added, “because we will definitely see each other soon.”
The withdrawal of Griffin and George brought to three the number of stars that skipped the year’s biggest hoop exhibition.
Earlier, former Boston and Brooklyn veteran star Paul Pierce, who will see action with the Washington Wizards next season, also opted out.
That left rising stars such as Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard, Houston Rockets’ James Harden and San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard, the Finals MVP of the recent championship series, to carry the visiting American stars.
The NBA millionaires were greeted with applause from the crowd as they trooped to the hardcourt, wowing fans with halfcourt shots before the game got under way.
The coliseum wasn’t as packed as the first time a selection of stars came to the country to play against local pros and the national team.
The first batch of NBA players to hit the country and play included the likes of Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose.
The two-game series will mark the last time that Gilas will play on Philippine soil as the team departs later in the week for Miami for a two-week training and then head to Europe to play pocket tournaments in Italy and Spain.
The Philippines made it back to the World Cup for the first time in almost four decades after finishing second to Iran in the qualifying tournament held in Manila last August.
Bracketed in Group B together with Argentina, Croatia, Puerto Rico, Senegal and Greece, the Philippines needs to win at least two games to make it to the next phase, where a clash with the USA A-Team led by Durant can happen.
Andray Blatche, an eight-year 6-11 NBA veteran center from the Brooklyn Nets, is the Philippines’ new naturalized player in the World Cup. With a report from Musong R. Castillo