Organisers of a visit by NBA stars to the basketball-mad Philippines have apologised and offered refunds after an exhibition game was abruptly cancelled.
Tycoon Manny Pangilinan, whose company sponsored the scheduled match Tuesday night between a visiting NBA contingent and the national team, issued a profuse apology amid growing anger at the cancellation.
“We wish to apologise to our Filipino basketball fans for the sudden and disappointing turn of events ... we ourselves are extremely disappointed by this unexpected development,” he said in a statement.
The NBA team, including the Houston Rockets’ James Harden, the San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trailblazers and DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors, were supposed to play “five on five” games with the national team, Gilas Pilipinas, on Tuesday and Wednesday.
But on Tuesday night, before a large crowd – some of whom had paid as much as 23,300 pesos ($530)– it was abruptly announced that the players would instead just engage in practice drills.
As boos and shouts of “Give us back our money!” echoed through the stadium, organisers told the crowd they would be offering refunds while reminding them that the event, co-sponsored by Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co (PLDT), was for charity.
PLDT, which is chaired by Pangilinan, said in a statement that “it was informed by the organisers a few hours before the event that “the five-on-five game was ... not allowed by the NBA”.
It was not stated why the NBA did not sanction the event, intended as a tune-up for Gilas Pilipinas before this year’s Fiba World Cup.
PLDT later said a “meet-and-greet” event with the NBA players and another scheduled game on Wednesday had been cancelled.
The Philippines’ professional league often brings in American players to spice up the game. NBA veteran Andray Blatche was speedily given citizenship in June to boost the national team’s chances during the World Cup.
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
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Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
THE 12 BREAKAWAY CLUBS
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
Company%20Profile
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Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
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THE%20SPECS
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
OIL PLEDGE
At the start of Russia's invasion, IEA member countries held 1.5 billion barrels in public reserves and about 575 million barrels under obligations with industry, according to the agency's website. The two collective actions of the IEA this year of 62.7 million barrels, which was agreed on March 1, and this week's 120 million barrels amount to 9 per cent of total emergency reserves, it added.
SQUADS
UAE
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice-captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan
Nepal
Paras Khadka (captain), Gyanendra Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Pradeep Airee, Binod Bhandari, Avinash Bohara, Sundeep Jora, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Rohit Paudel, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Basant Regmi, Pawan Sarraf, Bhim Sharki, Aarif Sheikh
MANDOOB
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Imperial%20Island%3A%20A%20History%20of%20Empire%20in%20Modern%20Britain
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Company%20profile
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MATCH DETAILS
Manchester United 3
Greenwood (21), Martial (33), Rashford (49)
Partizan Belgrade 0
Women%E2%80%99s%20Asia%20Cup
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Bawaal%20
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Tales of Yusuf Tadros
Adel Esmat (translated by Mandy McClure)
Hoopoe
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
Company%20Profile
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Our House, Louise Candlish,
Simon & Schuster
Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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Five%20calorie-packed%20Ramadan%20drinks
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