Filipino fans gave Damian Lillard the fitting ending to his four-city Take on Summer Tour that began in Beijing last week and concluded in Manila Tuesday night.
“I want thank all you guys for just showing me all this love. So far away from home but you made me feel comfortable being seeing you all wearing my jerseys and shoes,” said the Portland Trail Blazers star, addressing the sizeable Araneta Center crowd.
“I had a great time with my tour and I really enjoyed myself tonight,” he added.
Lillard coached the winning team during a 5-on-5 scrimmage made up of PBA standouts led by Jericho Cruz of Rain or Shine, Justin Melton and Alex Mallari of Star and collegiate stars Jio Jalalon of Arellano University and Kevin Ferrer of University of Santo Tomas.
Lillard, however, left the crowd without seeing his moves that made him a two-time NBA All-Star.
Filipinos chanted “We want Dame” during the scrimmage but Lillard wasn’t game.
Damian Lillard at his showcase at Smart Araneta Coliseum. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
But the Oakland, California native did showcase his other skill that not even reigning back-to-back NBA MVP Steph Curry and arguably the best basketball player in the world LeBron James, who have visited the country before, won’t measure up to.
Lillard closed his own show by performing one of his music that had everyone at the Big Dome bobbing their heads to.
The 2013 NBA Rookie of the Year is also a known hip-hop enthusiast and his rap game speaks for itself.
Lillard took part in a Three-Point shootout against local pro players Josh Urbiztondo and Chris Tiu, who won the side event.