DOHA: Thousands of Filipinos in Qatar are expected to swarm the Al Gharafa Stadium tomorrow to see their favourite basketball idols play once again in the hard court years after retiring from the popular Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Billed as “PBA Legends”, the game between former PBA stars and a young promising all-star selection of Pinoy Basketball of Qatar (PIBAQ) with two imports from the Qatar Basketball Federation (QBF) will surely fill the stadium up to the rafters as has been experienced in similar events in the past.

The much-awaited game will be an added attraction to the championship match of QBF’s Emir Cup 2010 between Al Gharafa Sports Club and Al Rayan Sports Club.

The PBA legends, a 10-man team, arrived in Doha yesterday to prepare and get themselves acquainted with the weather conditions in Qatar and at the same time meet members of the Filipino community, now estimated to number 250,00.

Former PBA stars William “Bogs” Adornado, Kenneth “Captain Barbel” Duremdez, Paul “Mr Excitement” Alvarez, Bong “The Hawk” Hawkins, Noli “The Tank” Locsin, Bal “The Flash” David”, Rodney “The Slasher” Santos , Alvin “Robocop” Teng and Joey Mente will excite the fans of their sporting prowess during their heyday, when PBA was still well-known throughout the country.

“We are happy to play here once again since we believe we were a more exciting league during our time than the present breed of players playing at the PBA,” said Adornado, who will play as playing coach in the exhibition game.

Basketball is still very popular among Filipinos in Qatar and they have been regularly watching the ongoing elimination rounds of PIBAQ hosting the 6th McDonald’s Qatar Basketball Cup.

Friday PIBAQ games at the Gharafa Multi-Purpose Gym have been drawing hundreds of followers of the 10 highly competitive teams slugging it out for the coveted championship crown. The QBF has recognised PIBAQ as a formal basketball league in the country.

THE PENINSULA