US ‘Giants’ plan PBA invasion

A team of seven-footers called the American Giants has been formed by New York City-based Jerry Saperstein to tour Asia and the Far East late this year with the Philippines a destination if a schedule of games could be arranged with the PBA.

Saperstein, whose family owned the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters, said he plans to bring the Giants to Manila “to play intense competition games against all the member teams of the PBA.” He assured that the games will be sanctioned by USA Basketball and FIBA. Saperstein has sent a letter expressing interest to play in Manila.

PBA operations director Rickie Santos, in behalf of commissioner Chito Salud, recently requested information on the Giants from Saperstein and said it may be possible to schedule games between August and September during the offseason. “It will depend on the availability of the PBA teams,” said Santos who asked for the composition of the Giants team, including the players’ names, height, age, school and basketball experience. The information will allow the PBA to gauge the competitiveness of the games.

A hitch is the FIBA World Cup is scheduled on Aug. 30-Sept. 14 and the Asian Games on Sept. 20-Oct. 4. That means if the Giants come anytime from July to September, they will face PBA teams without Gilas players.

Saperstein said he has assembled a “dream team” made up of “some of the finest and tallest college and professional players in the US (with) our point guards (standing) seven feet tall and our forwards even taller.” The height range of the players is nearly seven feet to over 7-6. Saperstein said the Giants are the tallest professional basketball team ever assembled. However, he did not identify a single player in the lineup.

Saperstein said the Giants will not share in the any revenues generated by the games. “Capacity crowds of spectators will fill your arena to see this world-class attraction and the best part is after paying a single appearance fee to the American Giants, all revenues from all local sources are yours,” said Saperstein. “You keep all the money from ticket sales, arena concessions, advertising, local sponsorships and television broadcasting. The American Giants is a continuation of an 80-year basketball tradition and is destined to be one of the greatest teams in professional sports.”

NBA legend and former Boston Celtics center Dave Cowens is the Giants’ executive vice president and general manager. Others involved in the Giants organization are former ABA commissioner and Indiana Pacers founder Mike Storen, former Globetrotters “Clown Prince” Meadowlark Lemon (in charge of selecting players for the Giants), professional wrestling promoter Bob Raskin, ABA founder Dennis Murphy, lawyer Sanford Stein and former Villanova coach Rollie Massimino.

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Heading the Giants media bureau are Charlie Brotman, long-time New York Yankees spokesman Marty Appel and sports agent David Herscher. As for Saperstein, he is well-known in sports circles for his involvement in an executive capacity with several sports teams and leagues. His office is in Madison Square Garden. He recruited highly-qualified sports executives to make sure the Giants are transformed into one of the most successful ventures in professional sports entertainment.

Saperstein said he plans to visit Manila soon to finalize a tour schedule. He was referred to the PBA by Murphy, a Giants senior adviser who participated in the formation of the New York Nets, San Antonio Spurs, Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche. Murphy was a Manila visitor several years ago.

“We are studying the feasibility of the project and we would like to be given more information on the composition of the Giants,” said Salud. “Based on their brochure, the team is composed of players at least seven feet tall. This being the case, there is already a big disparity in height between their team and our local ballclubs. Therefore, we would like to be apprised of the talent level of their players to see if the PBA teams will be competitive for the games to be attractive to the fans. Since the PBA season will end in July, the window for a project like this will be from August to September. However, this will depend on the availability of the teams since they may have already planned their offseason activities at this time.”