Fans remember NBA legends; Rodman reconnects with dad
he lamados and the ings, teams with their seething rivalry dating back to the time of amon ernande and obert aworski, mi it up at p.m. disputing the right to challenge the ain or hine lasto Painters in the best-of-seven finals.
he ings outfought the alk n e t ropang e ters, - , in a tough defensive battle ednesday night, and caught up with the lamados at second place at the close of the carryover semifinal round.
arlier in the night, the lamados were beaten by the lasto Painters, 82-92, in their fight for top spot in the semis and outright entry into the finals.
esults of ednesday s matches lined up the ings and the lamados for a virtual repeat of their semifinal showdown in the recent ommissioner s up.
he lamados topped the ings in that series and have continued their domination of inebra, winning their first two matches in this season-ending tourney.
hat should make -Meg the odds-on pick although inebra is hard to be taken lightly in this kind of game.
his is a good opportunity for us. e re content with what we ve got but we re not content on what we can become, said inebra coach iot an uingcen.
e re thankful for the opportunity, and we ll go hard taking it, an uingcen added.
he ings are determined to survive a second straight do-or-die game for a return stint in the finals after placing second to the alk n e t ropang e ters in last year s ommissioner s up.
-Meg coach im one, however, stressed they will be ready for the battle.
e were unprepared for the amount of physicality the league allowed ednesday night , and that falls s uarely on me. should have known better. e won t be unprepared tomorrow today , said one.
he lamados are out to salvage a shot at back-to-back championships following their ommissioner s up title con uest.
Despite the lopsided loss to the lasto Painters, the lamados remain hopeful, considering the fact that they beat the ings convincingly in their two previous tiffs.
-Meg hacked out a 9 -88 win over inebra in their elims faceoff last May 2 then repeated with an 82- victory in the semis unday.
hat could also be at stake in this playoff match are the M P aspirations of inebra s Mark aguioa and -Meg s ames ap.
he two, together with Powerade s ary David, are the chief contenders for the most coveted individual award to be handed out during the eo wards.
t was good as advertised fun show, with dunks, booming triples, showtime moves that greats from the and P tried their best to e ecute as if ather ime were still on their side.
ut the P D ll tar asketball hallenge at the Mall of sia rena last ednesday was not all cage action. t was capped by an emotional sidelight, a sort of reconnecting between rebounding great Dennis odman and his estranged father, Philander, who s been based in the country for years.
ong wanting to meet Dennis without success, Philander got his wish when the -foot-8 e - hicago ulls got on the mike during a timeout with seconds left and did what was previously unthinkable.
ust want to thank all of you for watching this great show. t has been my pleasure being here and for all of you, basketball fans, want you to know that you have my father here. ve never seen him in over years and he s there right there in that seat, Dennis said, pointing to Philander who was at the ringside section.
can t e plain how feel. t s so great. can t say anything, said a surprised and teary-eyed Philander, who previously tried in vain to meet Dennis when he first visited Manila in 2 .
e said Dennis action was something that virtually came from left field, considering the colorful cager known for colorful hair dyes and e tensive tattoos and body piercing had thrown away his previous attempts.
didn t e pect it. thought it is ust another bad trip. ut it really, really stunned me. was really, really surprised, said Philander, a former serviceman based in Phl.
want him to know never abandoned him. did not abandon my son, my family, period. have
By OLMIN LEYBA