NBA All-Stars Hoop It Up for Good Cause

For those interested: 179-157.

With Michael Jordan’s Blue team final listed first, that was the score of the Seagram’s Coolers All-Star Basketball Game loosely played Tuesday night at the San Diego Sports Arena.

And for those who cared: You missed the point.

NBA training camps don’t start for another two months.

You see, this was not a game to win or lose. Few, if any, NBA off-season events are.

For the 12,681 in attendance, this was a showcase--a game merely to see. There was no rooting for the home team. There is no home team.

This was a game to experience and admire in person what San Diegans have been missing since the Clippers and Donald T. Sterling took their annual 41-game home package to the Sports Arena in Los Angeles.

This was a live highlight reel, two hours worth.

It had big names, tremendous dunks and loads of fun.

Jordan. Charles Barkley. Dominique Wilkins. And more.

All the guys most San Diegans see only on CBS, TBS or any one of a 1,000 or so sneaker commercials were there.

The game not only provided a financial boost to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, it was a big hit with the fans.

“I think the fans had a good time,” Wilkins said. “I know I did.”

Golden State Warrior guard Chris Mullin led all scorers with 29 points. Gary Grant of the Clippers had 26. Wilkins (Hawks) and Jordan (Bulls) added 24 apiece.

In all, 17 players scored in double figures.

“We had a great time,” Mullin said, “and the cause is what’s important, not the game.”

Former Morse High standout Cliff Levingston of the NBA champion Chicago Bulls helped organize the game for the fourth year in a row.

Levingston, however, was not the only former local product.

Jud Buechler (Poway High) and Chris Dudley (Torrey Pines High), teammates on the New Jersey Nets, played on the winning side.

“For me, this is a real pleasure,” said Buechler, who helped Poway win three consecutive San Diego Section titles in the Sports Arena in the 1980s. “Even though I’ve been in the league for a year, this is my first all-star charity game, and I really look up to these guys.”

To the delight of the nearly sold-out house, Levingston and Co. spared no expenses in the entertainment aspect of the event.

“This year, we covered every base,” Levingston said. “We had something for everybody.”

In addition to the Phoenix Gorilla, the Charlotte Hornet and three Laker Girls, eight members of the Bulls’ cheerleading squad, the Luvabulls, came from Chicago.

Said Luvabull Mary Jane Lee, “It’s great to be here with the Laker Girls. We didn’t get to cross paths in the (NBA) Finals so we really haven’t had a chance to see what they can do. They help us stay motivated.”

Because of a mix-up, members of the Blue team wore a variety of shorts during the game.

Barkley, because of his size, wore a San Diego State pair that once belonged to former Aztec Gerald Murray.