NBA show MVP’s gift to cage fans

Esteemed businessman-sportsman Manny V. Pangilinan’s passion for basketball, and sports in general, has reached what must surely be considered a Mt. Everest in achievement.
He is bringing in a roster of genuine NBA superstars to play two games at the famed Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
On Saturday the NBA superstars play a PBA All Star Selection and on Sunday they take on the Smart Gilas national team.
What makes this event one of the biggest basketball spectacles in our time is the fact that the players are legends of today and not legends of a bygone era.
Never in the Filipino basketball fan’s wildest dreams did he think he’d see such incredible talents in one team: Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, “Rookie of the Year” Tyreke Evans, Durant’s teammate James Harden, as well as the Lakers’ Derek Fisher, Derrick Williams, this year’s No. 2 draft pick, and Javale McGee, who competed in the Slam Dunk and is the only legitimate center on their lineup.
Ever since the audacious move by MVP was announced, Manila has been agog with NBA fever. Tickets from the most expensive at special ringside all the way up to the bleachers were sold out within hours.
But when you consider the price of tickets and measure it against what it must have cost Mr. Pangilinan and his people to bring the NBA players to Manila, it’s more like a gift to our basketball-crazy country.
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Make no mistake about the seriousness of the NBA superstars. They are determined to practice behind closed doors on Saturday before their game.
They have also asked Chot Reyes, one of those in the forefront of discussing details with the NBA group, for scouting reports, player profiles and even videos of the Filipino teams.
This demonstrates that they are taking this series, especially the game against Smart Gilas, seriously. That’s because the two-day event has become a big thing even in the United States.
To us, this surely must be the biggest sports event since the heavyweight championship fight of all-time—the “Thrilla in Manila” between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier on Oct. 1, 1975, at the same historic venue.
There’s just one man to thank for this NBA extravaganza—Philippine sports’ Most Valuable Person.
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In this era of international air travel and the emergence of budget airlines, it is imperative that the bigger and obviously established international carriers pay close attention to their passengers’ needs.
The recent incident when Gulf Air, supposedly one of the more prominent airlines operating out of the Middle East, cancelled the bookings of some 20 members of the Talk ‘N Text basketball team’s return flight to Manila demands a swift and precise explanation.
The PBA wrote letters to the head of the travel agency in Dubai, Noemi Tolentino of Dana Express Travel, and the commercial manager of Gulf Air in the Philippines following conflicting information from both the travel agency head and Gulf Air as to who was actually responsible for the fiasco.
While Tolentino claims she did not order the cancellation of the confirmed flight schedules of the PBA delegation, Gulf Air reportedly advised the PBA that the cancellation was made by her.
Tolentino, as well as the PBA, have, quite rightly, asked Gulf Air for an incident report which up to now hasn’t been forthcoming.