NBA legends tour a sure hit
March 24, 2006 | 12:00am
If youre a regular Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) goer, you wouldve spotted Mario Whitmire by now.
He often watches the games beside PBA commissioner Noli Eala.
Marios a hoops addict. And he loves the game so much that hes staking $300,000 (thats dollars, not pesos) to bring in a bunch of National Basketball Association (NBA) legends for a two-game series against PBA stars next month.
Mario, 52, is even taking bets on which team will win, with the loser shaving his head.
It doesnt matter if Marios nucleus is composed of NBA stars in their twilight years7-0 Kevin Willis, 43, 6-7 Dennis Rodman, 44, 6-11 Darryl Dawkins, 49,
6-4 Otis Birdsong, 50, 6-7 Alex English, 52 and 5-9 Calvin Murphy, 57.
Marios sure the visitors wont be embarrassed. Birdsong, for instance, is guaranteeing 30 points a game. English and Murphy will be good for at least 20 apiece. Rodman says hell play at least 20 minutes, which means hes not coming for a vacation. Willis just retired from the NBA last season so hes still fresh from the battlegrounds. And Dawkins is determined not to shame his patron, Filipino Sam Unera.
Aside from the five NBA legends, Mario is bringing in Sidney Moncrief as coach. Moncrief is reportedly in China on a one-month coaching contract and knows the international game like the palm of his hand. Mario and Moncrief are good friends and theyre both excited to make a big splash in their first overseas mission.
Mario, a Dallas native, met and married his Filipina wife, Terry Magistrado of Iriga City, in San Francisco in 1972. The couple is blessed with three childrenApril, 30, Eric, 27 (who went to school at Texas Christian University with Red Bull import James Penny), and Shaena, 26.
Although hes been married to a Filipina for 33 years, Mario first visited the Philippines only in 1988. Since then, the Whitmires have become frequent balikbayans. Last year, for instance, they took five trips to the country.
Whitmire, who served in the US Navy for eight years, is involved in packaging tours surrounding big sporting events like the Final Four, the Super Bowl and the Masters. He is also engaged in promoting Filipino multi-media artist Marissa Andals works in the US. Andal survived three delicate brain surgeries and is being supported by Whitmire in producing high quality art pieces. Whitmires wife is a retired nurse.
Whitmire said he initially thought of an NBA legends tour in Manila last year and was convinced it would be a success because of the Filipinos passion for the game.
"From what Ive observed, there are three things in life that are most important to a FilipinoGod or the Church, family and basketball," said Whitmire. "So I talked to my friends about getting a group together for a tour. Ive known Sidney for over 10 years. One by one, we began to put the pieces together. This wouldnt have been possible without my friend Michael Halbrooks and my son Eric whore contributing a lot to make this project happen."
Whitmire said 1986 NBA slam-dunk champion Spud Webb and former Los Angeles Lakers guard Norm Nixon were in the early lineup.
"Spuds been a close friend for about 20 years but when it got difficult dealing with him, we moved on," said Whitmire. "Norm wouldve liked to join but couldnt back out of a previous commitment. Darryl promised to work back into shape."
Of the recruits, Rodman was the prize catch. Whitmire said he finalized a deal with Rodmans agent Darren Prince a few months ago.
Although Whitmire declined to disclose details, he hinted that Rodmans fee is the equivalent of about a third of the $300,000 budget to bring in the NBA legends.
Rodman led the NBA in rebounding in seven seasons and played on five championship teams, two with Detroit and three with Chicago. Willis played for seven teams in 21 NBA seasons and was on San Antonios 2003 title team. Murphy averaged 17.9 points in 13 seasons and holds the leagues single-season record for highest free throw percentage at .958 in 1981. English led the NBA in scoring with a 28.4 clip in 1982-83 and played for four teams in 15 seasons.
Birdsong averaged 18 points in 12 seasons and played in four All-Star Games. Dawkins played for four teams in 14 seasons and was known as "Chocolate Thunder" for his rim-rattling dunks.
Reinforcing the legends will be four to six pro prospects from the NBA Developmental League to be chosen by Birdsong. Whitmire said the prospects, whom he described as the "horses" in the team and players on the brink of breaking into the majors, will be open to talk to PBA coaches about the possibility of playing as imports in the next Fiesta Conference.
Whitmire added to deepen the bench. Moncrief might pick up two to four players from the Philippine Basketball League team Harbour Centre, a prospective sponsor of the tour.
Aside from playing two games, the legends will conduct four training camps for kids. Rodman has committed to participate in at least one of the camps.
The first game is scheduled on April 27 in either Cagayan de Oro or Iloilo, wherever the PBA will hold its All-Star extravaganza. The second is set on May 1 at the Araneta Coliseum.
Several options are being studied as to which team to oppose the legends. A possibility is to pit the Philippine team, coached by Chot Reyes, against the visitors. Another possibility is for the PBA North All-Stars and the South All-Stars to take turns playing the team. Still another possibility is to suit up the San Miguel All-Stars, composed of Hector Calma, Samboy Lim and Allan Caidic, for a game.
"Well be ready to play whatever team," said Whitmire. "Were determined to push through with this project. The legends want to play and the fans want to see them play. This is going to be a heckuva series that will long be talked about."
He often watches the games beside PBA commissioner Noli Eala.
Marios a hoops addict. And he loves the game so much that hes staking $300,000 (thats dollars, not pesos) to bring in a bunch of National Basketball Association (NBA) legends for a two-game series against PBA stars next month.
Mario, 52, is even taking bets on which team will win, with the loser shaving his head.
It doesnt matter if Marios nucleus is composed of NBA stars in their twilight years7-0 Kevin Willis, 43, 6-7 Dennis Rodman, 44, 6-11 Darryl Dawkins, 49,
6-4 Otis Birdsong, 50, 6-7 Alex English, 52 and 5-9 Calvin Murphy, 57.
Marios sure the visitors wont be embarrassed. Birdsong, for instance, is guaranteeing 30 points a game. English and Murphy will be good for at least 20 apiece. Rodman says hell play at least 20 minutes, which means hes not coming for a vacation. Willis just retired from the NBA last season so hes still fresh from the battlegrounds. And Dawkins is determined not to shame his patron, Filipino Sam Unera.
Aside from the five NBA legends, Mario is bringing in Sidney Moncrief as coach. Moncrief is reportedly in China on a one-month coaching contract and knows the international game like the palm of his hand. Mario and Moncrief are good friends and theyre both excited to make a big splash in their first overseas mission.
Mario, a Dallas native, met and married his Filipina wife, Terry Magistrado of Iriga City, in San Francisco in 1972. The couple is blessed with three childrenApril, 30, Eric, 27 (who went to school at Texas Christian University with Red Bull import James Penny), and Shaena, 26.
Although hes been married to a Filipina for 33 years, Mario first visited the Philippines only in 1988. Since then, the Whitmires have become frequent balikbayans. Last year, for instance, they took five trips to the country.
Whitmire, who served in the US Navy for eight years, is involved in packaging tours surrounding big sporting events like the Final Four, the Super Bowl and the Masters. He is also engaged in promoting Filipino multi-media artist Marissa Andals works in the US. Andal survived three delicate brain surgeries and is being supported by Whitmire in producing high quality art pieces. Whitmires wife is a retired nurse.
Whitmire said he initially thought of an NBA legends tour in Manila last year and was convinced it would be a success because of the Filipinos passion for the game.
"From what Ive observed, there are three things in life that are most important to a FilipinoGod or the Church, family and basketball," said Whitmire. "So I talked to my friends about getting a group together for a tour. Ive known Sidney for over 10 years. One by one, we began to put the pieces together. This wouldnt have been possible without my friend Michael Halbrooks and my son Eric whore contributing a lot to make this project happen."
Whitmire said 1986 NBA slam-dunk champion Spud Webb and former Los Angeles Lakers guard Norm Nixon were in the early lineup.
"Spuds been a close friend for about 20 years but when it got difficult dealing with him, we moved on," said Whitmire. "Norm wouldve liked to join but couldnt back out of a previous commitment. Darryl promised to work back into shape."
Of the recruits, Rodman was the prize catch. Whitmire said he finalized a deal with Rodmans agent Darren Prince a few months ago.
Although Whitmire declined to disclose details, he hinted that Rodmans fee is the equivalent of about a third of the $300,000 budget to bring in the NBA legends.
Rodman led the NBA in rebounding in seven seasons and played on five championship teams, two with Detroit and three with Chicago. Willis played for seven teams in 21 NBA seasons and was on San Antonios 2003 title team. Murphy averaged 17.9 points in 13 seasons and holds the leagues single-season record for highest free throw percentage at .958 in 1981. English led the NBA in scoring with a 28.4 clip in 1982-83 and played for four teams in 15 seasons.
Birdsong averaged 18 points in 12 seasons and played in four All-Star Games. Dawkins played for four teams in 14 seasons and was known as "Chocolate Thunder" for his rim-rattling dunks.
Reinforcing the legends will be four to six pro prospects from the NBA Developmental League to be chosen by Birdsong. Whitmire said the prospects, whom he described as the "horses" in the team and players on the brink of breaking into the majors, will be open to talk to PBA coaches about the possibility of playing as imports in the next Fiesta Conference.
Whitmire added to deepen the bench. Moncrief might pick up two to four players from the Philippine Basketball League team Harbour Centre, a prospective sponsor of the tour.
Aside from playing two games, the legends will conduct four training camps for kids. Rodman has committed to participate in at least one of the camps.
The first game is scheduled on April 27 in either Cagayan de Oro or Iloilo, wherever the PBA will hold its All-Star extravaganza. The second is set on May 1 at the Araneta Coliseum.
Several options are being studied as to which team to oppose the legends. A possibility is to pit the Philippine team, coached by Chot Reyes, against the visitors. Another possibility is for the PBA North All-Stars and the South All-Stars to take turns playing the team. Still another possibility is to suit up the San Miguel All-Stars, composed of Hector Calma, Samboy Lim and Allan Caidic, for a game.
"Well be ready to play whatever team," said Whitmire. "Were determined to push through with this project. The legends want to play and the fans want to see them play. This is going to be a heckuva series that will long be talked about."
BrandSpace Articles
<
>
- Latest
- Trending
Trending
Latest
Trending
Latest
Recommended