Now that’s how you play an exhibition game.
In a game full of youth and energy, the Greats climbed back from an early double-digit deficit to rout the Stalwarts, 158-138, in this year’s edition of the Rookie-Sophomores-Juniors Game at the PBA All-Star Weekend.
Leading the way for the Greats is Magnolia Hotshot Adrian Wong, who scored 29 points—18 in the electric fourth quarter—on his way to take home MVP honors.
“I’m just happy that we all came out here to play hard, to compete, just happy we got the dub,” Wong said after the game.
Wong scored in bunches in huge part because of the four-point arc, a line that’s a couple of feet beyond the usual three-point mark. That is among the new rules the league is implementing this weekend.
The Richard Del Rosario-mentored squad actually had no practice sessions coming into the game. Good thing it didn’t come back biting Wong and the rest of his teammates.
“’Yun nga walang practice, so what we did was they used their plays with their mother teams. ‘Yun na lang ang familiar sila eh,” said Del Rosario, who’s playing the role of Greats coach as he’s the top assistant of All-Star Game coach Tim Cone in Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.
“Sabi ko, ‘You have to enjoy the game, play to your instincts,‘” Del Rosario added.
Those instincts, like Wong already mentioned, is to compete. Both the Greats and the Stalwarts—coached by Rain or Shine assistant Caloy Garcia—did not let up on the gas pedal. The two clubs composed of a mix of rookies, sophomores, and juniors tried to outplay each other on offense, while also working hard on defense.
The defensive successes usually led to highlight plays on the other end. The Stalwarts did just that to try to close the gap in the final frame.
The Greats, however, kept them at bay.
And when the game was decided, the squad in white made the crowd roar even louder with swishes and dunks in the final seconds.
The youngsters who participated in this game just gave the fans in Passi City another reason to be excited for the weekend's main event, the PBA All-Star Game, slated on Sunday.