College basketball stars, TV personalities put on a show for “Sendong” victims

MANILA, Philippines — Smart White, bannered by Kiefer Ravena and Chris Tiu, defeated Meralco Red, led by Gerald Anderson and Nico Salva, 118-107, in the FastBreak basketball charity event Friday.

The final score hardly mattered, though, as the participating players– rivals on court but friends off the court and off the camera– put on a show before a sizeable crowd at the Arena in San Juan with the proceeds going to the victims of Tropical Storm “Sendong.”

“It was fun to play basketball but at the same time we were helping our fellow Filipinos,” said the 18-year-old Ravena, who initiated and put together the “meeting of stars’’ event in just two weeks.

It was just another day in the office for UAAP and NCAA stars like RR Garcia, Baser Amer, Jake Pascual, Justin Chua, Sam Marata, Joshua Webb, Byron Villarias and Kevin Alas, while the TV personalities, just for a game, tried to keep pace with the collegiate basketball talents.

Garcia and Salva led the Red team with 14 points apiece as their squad held the lead early in the game–anchored on Anderson’s 11-point first half performance.

But when Tiu and Ravena started connecting on their shots–with the help of Eat Bulaga’s Jose Manalo, who played around as a referee–the White team started to rally back to win the game.

The game was more of an entertainment show than a competitive contest, though, with players from both squads fooling around the court to the delight of the fans.

Among the many highlights of the game was an alley-oop by Red’s Salva assisted by White’s Ravena, who are teammates in Ateneo, a dunk attempt by Anderson, star in the hit TV show Budoy, and showcasing of handles by rapper Young JV.

All the donations collected will be coursed through Ateneo De Manila University and Xavier University Cagayan, one of the biggest relief centers in Cagayan de Oro.

At halftime, PBA legend Allan Caidic showed up the youngsters like Chris Ellis, James Yap and broadcaster Mark Zambrano by ruling the three-point shootout.  The prize money of P5,000, however, was donated to the relief drive under his name.

The tandem of former Hale vocalist Champ Lui Pio and Survivor Ervic Vijandre– shooting last–reigned over the two-ball challenge, besting Chris Tiu and Kevin Alas among others.