Rising basketball stars face basketball legends in Rise Legacy Night

The past, present, and the future of Philippine basketball met on Saturday night as rising stars and legendary greats played an exhibition game at the House of Rise in Mandaluyong City.

Dubbed as Destiny and Legacy, the two teams battled it out in the Rise Legacy Night as part of a documentary program aiming to discover street basketball talents in the country.

Leading the lineup for the young guns is teen dunking sensation Kobe Paras, who faced his father Benjie. Two other father-son pairs added spice to the event, as Alvin and Jeron Teng, and Bong and Thirdy Ravena found themselves on different ends of the floor.

Both teams enjoyed star-studded rosters, as active players LA Tenorio, Jeff Chan, Greg Slaughter, Mark Barroca, Jared Dillinger, RR Garcia, and Nico Salva suited up for Team Destiny.

James Yap, Willie Miller, Mike Cortez, and Mac Cardona, meanwhile, reinforced Team Legacy along with retired players Alvin Patrimonio, Allan Caidic, Olsen Racela, and Ren-ren Ritualo.

Fresher legs prevailed in the end with Destiny winning 121-109, but the match-ups entertained the crowd. Kobe outperformed his hall of famer father, scoring on dunks and alley-oops on the court, but Benjie responded with a comical dunk in garbage time with the help of Caidic.

Legacy defended their pride in the three-point shootout during halftime, emerging victorious in all three rounds. Caidic, nicknamed as the Triggerman for his prolific outside scoring, edged his heir-apparent Jeff Chan, 18-17, while Yap routed Garcia, 20-13, in the second skirmish.

Kherlie Pino of Cebu, the best shooter from the Nike Rise program, gave Ritualo a run for his money in the final match but fell short of one point to beat the hot-shooting veteran, 18-17. - RAF, GMA News