Too much skill,too much power.
The visiting NBA stars led by Kobe Bryant flattened the Smart Gilas National Team 98-89 to get a 2-0 record in their stint here after they also defeated the PBA selection in the "NBA Ultimate Weekend in front of the awed fans at the Araneta Coliseum.
Fresh from their demolishing of the PBA Selection, the NBA stars got off to a hot start capped by numerous highlight plays by Javale McGee and the steady showing by Kobe Bryant with 7 straight points in the first period to get a 28-16 lead.
The domination of the NBA stars continued in the second quarter but Gilas tried to fight back with Dondon Hontiveros hitting back to back threes and Marcio Lassitier drained his own trifecta to cut the lead to a sizable 38-31 before McGee and the rest of the NBA Squad let off a 7-0 bomb to get away again, getting a 55-37 halftime lead.
The lead went up as much as 22 points in the 3rd quarter as the NBA stars stepped it up a notch, utilizing their very evident height advantage with Bryant and Kevin Durant posting up their smaller defenders at the post.
Gilas mounted a last ditch effort led by JV Casio who scored 11 points in the fourth quarter and the national team got to within 10 points after a put back slam by Marcus Douthit with 4 and a half minutes remaining but their effort was put to waste by the NBA stars as their supremacy in the game showed again as they answered by monster dunks to end the game.
Bryant said he is looking forward to playing here again. "It's been a pleasure to play in front of the Filipino fans."
