Celebs have a blast at benefit ball game

TEAM Swatch with captain ball Asi Taulava (extreme left)

Six hundred thousand pesos and counting.” This was the reply of basketball star Asi Taulava’s wife, Anna May Corveau, when asked how much money was raised at Sunday night’s “Built Upon the Rock” charity basketball game that the couple organized.

“We were all tired and rested the next day, so we have yet to count the money collected from the jerseys auctioned and from people’s pledges,” Anna May told the Inquirer on Tuesday.

One leather ball, autographed by all the game participants, fetched a whopping P50,000. All proceeds will be donated to victims of the recent metro floods, specifically in Pasig City and all affected towns of Rizal and Anna May’s home province, Bulacan.

The benefit game, held at the Ynares Arena in Pasig City, attracted a capacity crowd of 2,400. Players included stars of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), plus show biz celebs Derek Ramsay, Billy Crawford, Luis Alandy, Marco Alcaraz, Carlos Agassi, John Hall and Matteo Guidicelli.

Overall, the event lasted over three hours, including the opening ceremonies and special numbers.

Dance showdown

Geneva Cruz led the the singing of the National Anthem; Taulava’s daughter Pauline and her classmate Victoria Gatan rendered a moving version of “The Prayer.”

Crawford headed a dance showdown between his team, Swatch, and opponent, Team Blackwater, at start of the program.

Actresses Assunta de Rossi and Valerie Concepcion performed a dance number.

The Central Colleges of the Philippines Bobcats pep squad, four-time national cheerleading champion, wowed the crowd with death-defying acrobatics.

Rizal Gov. Jun-Jun Ynares led the ceremonial tossing of the ball.

Fun half-time

At half-time, PBA cager Alex Crisano did a rap number.

During the game, Crawford had the audience in stitches especially at one point, when he borrowed one referee’s whistle and took over the latter’s job.

He even tried to pull down the shorts of Blackwater’s Dondon Hontiveros who was shooting the ball. Hontiveros just laughed, proving to be a good sport.

Serious fourth

Things got serious in the fourth quarter, when the teams began fielding professional ballers.

The game ended with Blackwater winning over Swatch by one point, 125-124.

“When you realize how fortunate you are, you just want to give back in some way,” said cager and TV host Chris Tiu, a member of Team Swatch. But Tiu couldn’t play that night due to a hamstring injury.

He added: “Through this charity game, we’ll be able to put smiles on the faces of the victims, let them know that there are people watching out for them. This is also to encourage Filipinos, those spared from the floods, to give back.”

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