An hour of LeBron-mania: He came, he played, he inspired

MANILA, Philippines - LeBron James did everything inside the court except for one thing: win the game.

For nearly an hour, he gave his Filipino fans a big reason to cheer, then called on all Filipino basketball players to “keep your passion” in the game.

“I will continue to do my part and inspire you,” the greatest basketball in the planet told the crowd that packed the Mall of Asia Arena yesterday.

LeBron, a two-time NBA champion and four-time MVP, is here for a whirlwind visit. He arrived on a private plane the other day and is scheduled to fly out this morning.

He was everywhere during his short visit. He held a press conference at the Shangri-La Hotel at noon yesterday then dropped by the Nike Park at The Fort before heading to The Arena.

Thousands had waited for him hours before the 4 p.m. affair and just as he was introduced by the day’s hosts, the crowd had gone wild, chanting, “M-V-P! M-V-P!”

LeBron came out on stage amid fireworks, dancing to the music. He faced the crowd, turned to his left, then to his right, and said through the microphone, “I hear you.”

LeBron, smiling, urged the crowd to make more noise.

“I’m lost for words. This is unbelievable,” he said before getting off the stage and stepping inside the court where members of the Gilas Philippine Team and the younger collegiate players waited.

In no time, LeBron had changed shirts and he put on his Nike playing shoes. He joined the Pinoy players in their drills and in between he hit three-pointers and had a couple of dunks.

LeBron threw a one-handed shot from near the halfcourt and it went in. To most fans that came to see him, he was perfect.

To get the crowd going some more, he tossed basketballs to the crowd, mostly to young kids. He kicked a few balls way up in the stands, and fans scrambled for the LeBron memorabilia.

“I didn’t expect this. It’s my first time here so I didn’t know what to expect. Hopefully this won’t be my last time here,” he said.

That got the crowd cheering some more.

“I came here to inspire you, and this is what it’s all about. To be in a position to inspire kids and help make their dreams become a reality is great. So, thank you for allowing me to inspire you,” he went on.

During the drills, he watched Japeth Aguilar of Gilas slam the ball, and at one point he lifted one of the younger players in the air for a dunk.  He took a perfect alley-oop pass from Kiefer Ravena for a monstrous two-handed dunk.

The 29-year-old global superstar called the shots for Team LeBron in a 10-minute scrimmage with Gilas. His team was trailing when he fielded himself in, and the crowd went crazy.

The first time he touched the ball, he went for a three-point shot and made it. Then he scored on another triple, and a breakaway dunk that left the backboard shaking for half a minute.

Time was running out and the game was tied at 27 when Gilas took the lead. As everybody hoped for, the ball was in LeBron’s hands as time ticked away.

He drove to the basket with two seconds left, went for a layup and missed. Gilas won the game by two points.

But the crowd didn’t mind if LeBron missed the shot. At the buzzer they got up their feet to cheer him on. It was a game to remember.

Then LeBron gave another short speech and once again talked about inspiring his fellow basketball players, and why he missed his last two shots, including one from way out.

“The reason I missed those last two shots is because my jersey was too small,” he said.

The crowd burst into laughter, and then started chanting “M-V-P!” once more.

LeBron waved to the crowd and The King left the building.

But as promised, he will be back.