Perkins hypes up countdown to pre-season NBA game

MANILA, Philippines - The countdown is on for the first NBA game ever to be played in the Philippines.

And organizers had to bring in Sam Perkins, a former NBA star who played 17 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Seattle Supersonics and Indiana Pacers, to push the button.

Yesterday was the start of the 100-day countdown for the Oct. 10 pre-season game between the Pacers and the Houston Rockets at the swanky Mall of Asia Arena.

“I’m excited. I may not look like it but I’m really thrilled to be here,” said the 6-foot-9 Perkins during the well-attended press conference at The Arena.

Perkins, still perky in his fifties, flew in the other night, and must be feeling some jetlag when he faced the Philippine media in the noontime affair.

Joining him at the head table were Carlo Singson, senior director and Philippines country manager of NBA Asia; Arnel Gonzales, business unit head of The Arena; and Nicole Mariz Deato, marketing and sponsorship head of The Arena.

But jet-lagged or not, Perkins, who was drafted No. 4 in 1984, just behind the great Michael Jordan, gladly fielded questions and granted one-on-one interviews later on.

The coming NBA game is part of the NBA Global Games wherein different teams will get to play pre-season matches in China, Brazil and Taipei.

Tickets to the Philippine leg are 71 percent sold. Deato said the cheapest ones, at P550, literally “flew off the shelves” on the first day of sales last June 16. The most expensive ticket is at P32,300.

“All ticket sections are moving pretty much the same,” said Deato, adding that opening-day ticket sales reached P19 million. They expect sales to move on.

“We are 100 days away and we’re all excited,” said Singson. He also said there’s no immediate plans of ever holding a regular-season game in the country, “but who knows.”

“It depends on your support. If David Stern or whoever the officials are see the kind of welcome (they want) then you’ll have more and more of this – if you show the support,” said Perkins.

“I really look forward to this because we did not do this while I was playing. The game has grown so much. Now we have more fans around the world. It’s the global expansion,” he added.

Singson was asked if Dwight Howard, now being lured by the Rockets, would come over or the legendary Larry Bird, back as president of the Indiana Pacers.

“If he’s (Howard) with the Rockets at that time he will be here. Anyone who’s in the roster will be here. Larry Bird? We hope he’ll come. I don’t see (any reason) why not,” said Singson.

The STAR threw questions at Perkins, who in his long NBA career of 1,286 games logged a total of 15,324 points, 7,666 rebounds, 1,975 assists, 1,105 steals and 933 blocks.

He was asked which team he rooted for in the recent NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs. He said he went for the Spurs because Danny Green came from North Carolina. Perkins played for the NC Tar Heels along with Jordan and James Worthy.

“And since Miami also won last year I was hoping the Spurs will pull it out even though people around me like my daughter and friends were cheering for the Heat,” Perkins said.

The former NCAA champion, always hot from the three-point area, described Jordan, Bird and Hakeem Olajuwon as the best players of their time, but did not really say whom he thinks is the best out there today.

The greatest moments of his NBA career?

He said it’s not just the three-pointer that helped the Lakers win one game against the Bulls in the 1991 Finals but the fact that he got to the finals on two other occasions, in 1996 with the Sonics and 2000 with the Pacers.

“The goal was to get to the finals and hopefully win. Those three moments were very special because it’s rarely done.  Of course we came in second in all those times but it was a great experience in my 18 or 17 years.

“I can’t complain about anything. I just had a great time,” said Perkins.

Win or lose, he had his moments in the NBA.