Smart Ultimate All-Star Weekend Game 1 Running Diary

Welcome to my running diary on Day 1 of the Smart Ultimate-Once-in-a-Lifetime-I-can't-believe-this-is-happening All-Star Weekend.  

I flipped over every local channel I knew existed at exactly seven pm but I couldn't find any coverage of the game. Maybe it was too surreal of an event to be shown on television. 40 Minutes later I receive a barrage of texts from family and friends to tune in to IBC-13. IBC?? I haven't heard about that channel since I watched Michael Jordan's last game as a Bull in '98. 

7:40 I tune in just in time to see several Philippine beauty queens including Venus Raj ramp towards center court to cover up the Big Dome logo with a piece of cloth. Somewhere out there Vanessa Bryant is getting worried.

Also, IBC-13 still uses the same satellite dish or whatever these networks use for TV reception from 1998. The quality is terrible. Even videos posted on YouTube by people watching taken with their phones are ten times more watchable than this. 

7:42 Mr. Araneta walks onto the center of the court along with MVP and other rich old dudes. He takes out a crumpled piece of paper and starts reading it word by word. Which is funny at first but then gets boring after 30 seconds.

7:45- After minutes of blah blah the whole point of his speech was how impossible this was but it actually happened. This was also the unveiling ceremony of the Smart Araneta Coliseum scraping the Big Dome. Expect many improvements in the infrastructure of Araneta now that it's in the deep pockets of Smart. 

7:49 Kobeeeeeeeeeeeee! 

7:51 - Durant warming up with the backpack on! 

7:52 Chot Reyes gives the jolliest Sideline interview and even addresses the sideline reporter Angelicopter by her ridiculous name. He is genuinely happy and excited. I wished NBA coaches would let themselves go in the sideline interviews. 

7:53 James Yap awkwardly jumps up and down in his Angelicopter interview to show how hard he tries to look excited. He also answers the questions with an awkward forced nervousness. Makes me wonder how the heck did this guy charm his way into marrying Kris Aquino.

7:54 Jimmy Alapag is surprisingly eloquent in the booth. Safe to say he's going to have a broadcasting career after he's done playing.

7:55 Kobe is surprisingly relaxed in his sideline interview. He confirms that he requested for some game tape on the PBA All-Stars but in a "yeah we did a little scouting no biggie" way but the reporter was angling the question for the Mamba to answer it smugly and in the competitive Kobe tone. But to no avail Kobe is here to have fun. 

7:56 The next player the Angelicopter lands on is reigning MVP D-Rose who looks and sounds the least bit excited during and  in which he say the word exciting and excited 7 different times.

8:02  Kobe gets the loudest cheers from a frenzied crowd during the player intros.

PBA All-Star Starters: Mark Caguioa, Arwind Santos, James Yap, Sonny Thoss, Jason Castro
Smart All-stars or should we call them the Smart Monstars? : Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Javal McGee (with CP3 and McGee already looking like a match made in alley-oop heaven).

8:03 The PBA players are star-struck while exchanging high fives before tip off. The height disparity is hilarious.

8:04 And the first attempt of Team USA the Monstars is surprise surprise a CP3-to-McGee alley-oop which misses leading to an Arwind Santos field goal. 

-Santos again scores on a turnaround fadeaway in transition. Every time Santos makes a shot he smiles as if it was the first time he scored two points in his life. The PBA players are just as excited as the fans.

- The crowd ooooing and aaaing every CP3 crossover and Kobe Bryant shot attempt.

8:05 After several awful possessions on the offensive end CP3 turns up the D on Caguioa who gets stripped from behind. I would consider it an honor to have be stripped by Chris Paul

8:06 - Kobe's first basket is a dunk! Insanity ensues.
        - Castro cleanly pickpockets Chris Paul.. Twice! The crowd can't believe it. I can't believe it. The Monkees can't believe it. Chris Paul's momma can't believe it.

8:07 - Kobe posts up the PBA MVP and the "Kobe Bryant of the Philippines" (he's just a glorified chucker to be honest) James Yap on the right block and you can feel everyone in the arena salivating for the patented Kobe fade.
        - Santos makes another shot extending the PBA All-Stars are leading 10-14

8:11- Kobe high fives kids on the sideline after chasing for a loose ball. Lucky kids!
       - Durant with a very familiar transition 3 and Kobe transition dunk (Yes another dunk by Kobe! The Nazi surgery is looking good so far) as Smart takes the lead for good? 17-16

8:14 - Player coach Kobe Bryant subs in Derek Fisher, Derrick Williams, The Beard and Tyreke. The PBA All-Stars sub in Norwood, Seagal... aww who cares who they sub in!

       - Why the heck is Derek Fisher here. Isn't he supposed to be doing union work or is this to showthe owners the players get love everywhere and can play anywhere they want?

8:15 - Durant makes another transition 3 and this prompts the announcers to repeatedly say how unfair it is that a 7-footer has that kind of range and ball handling skills.

8:16 -Durant heat check misses a 40 foot three pointer. I'm actually glad he missed it because the announcers were ready to run up the court and start kissing his feet if he made it.

8:17 - Harden to Derick Williams for a monster oop. The Monstars are averaging 1.5 alleyoops per minute.
        - Fisher to Harden for another alleyoop! Harden is crazy bright yellow shoes but I can't see what kind of shoes it is damn it IBC.

8:20 - Derick Williams showing everything tonight the range, activity on boards, hops, the interior passing. Michael Beasley might want to start packing.



30-26 End of first surprisingly close 

8:23 - Javal with a monster block. The Monstars D forcing lots of jumpers, turnovers leading to dunks and alleys. Just how we like it.

8:30 - CP3 off a steal throws an alley off the back board to a trailing Kobe Bryant with a reverse jam?! Safe to say the Nazi surgery is a success! I don't have to tell you how ballistic the crowd went.

8:32 - Derick Williams showing the range and calmly swishes a three. I'm excited for the C-PF combo of Love and Williams fortheir three point shooting and crazy rebounding.

8:32 - After sizing up his defenders and milking the clock,  Durant settles for long threes makes two long threes. The Philippine announcer digs down his inner Mark Jackson saying "Hand Up, So What?" Hilarious they are just as high as the fans.

8:36 - Even the missed alleyoops are met with ooohs and aahss.

8:37 - Tyreke Evans gets into the party with a SICK crossover step back on who literally goes sliding on his butt a good 6 feet

8:41 - Fisher with an airball. Again, what's he doing here! I hope somebody in the SAC brought a "Lolo Fisher" sign.

8:44 - Fish gets crossed up and gets blown by Mercado a younger, quicker point guard. The story of his life.

66-50 at the Half. Inked up KD with 20 and 3.

Instead of some weird circus act for the halftime show we have a 3-point shootout! Larry Fonacier and LA Tenorio go up against James Harden and Chris Paul. The game was hosted by a really loud chick and DJ Mo Twister. Their comments on the mic were heard all over the arena so you can imagine the pressure of shooting threes with a woman making snarky comments at every miss. And there were a lot of misses. The Monstars won by only a point on a last second Chris Paul shot that looked like it shouldn't have counted. 

9:10 - The camera goes spotting for celebrities and former President Erap gets cheered as loud as Kobe.

9:11 - Kobe with another alley oop! The fountain of youth is in the Philippines that's why he keeps coming back.

9:13 - Durant iso at the top dribble dribble and settles for a three. Camera cuts to James Harden shaking his head.
        - Kobe slams in another alleyoop! He's had as many alleyoops in this game than he did last season. And these aren't just tip-in oops they were thunderous slams.

9:17 - An amazing sequence: Durant blocks the bejesus out of a lay-up attempt then passes to Kobe who leads the break with a series of fakes and crossovers tosses a perfect alleyoop scoop pass to Rose who comes out of nowhere from the right baseline and throws down one of the biggest slams of the night. This will forever be known as the MVP-to-MVP alleyoop. 

9:18 - Kobe finally gets prime post position on the right block. Kobe holds the ball and milks in the cheers of the crowd who go insane. Take note Kobe hasn't even taken a single dribble. 

        - Kobe backs down backs down shoulder fake right turnaround fadeaway - money. This would be the moment where I would have already fainted if I was in SAC.

9:23 - Durant throws up a perfect backboard alleyoop pass to harden who tomahawks it with authority. He slams it so hard that he stumbles to the floor.

9:26 - McGee has been attempting to block every jump shot his man is taking which has been the single most intimidating move of this game. It's ridiculous how high he can jump. His interior presence has been scaring the bejesus out of the PBA Selection all night.

9:36 - McGee makes his 200th dunk and follows it up with a monster block on the other end. He then slides to the ground to pose for a plank. Amazing. This is the greatest moment of Javale McGee's career.

9:40 - Chris Paul with an old school AND1 move: bounces the ball in between his defenders legs to blow by him for a layup.

          - Crowd has been begging for Kobe to insert himself back into the line up.Maybe he'll comeback in the last four minutes and go strictly pick and roll at the top with Durant. (Ala the Lakers crunch time O with Gasol)

9:45 - Kobe doesn't check back in. Probably resting himself up for game 2. Smart coaching by Kobe!

131-105 Final

Player of the game was definitely Javale McGee who made this game his own personal dunk contest. Won't be surprised if he decides to stay and never leave Philippines with all the love he's getting here. 

If there was anything good about about the lockout it's this. It's hard to put into perspective how huge of a deal this is for the hoop heads in the Philippines. Imagine 97'-'98 Michael Jordan bringing Shaq, Gary Payton, Karl Malone, young Kobe Bryant and Penny Hardaway here to the Philippines to play against Marlou Aquino and Johhny Abbarientos. You can't! (Although Shaq did come here in the late 90s and played an exhibition game with PBA cagers)


Hopefully the CBA will be in one year deals from now on.

Game 2 is tomorrow against the Philippine National team Smart Gilas.