Team World defeated Team Africa 101-97 thanks to a huge fourth quarter comeback on Saturday in Johannesburg, South Africa. It’s the first ever officially sanctioned NBA game in Africa.
Team Africa, coached by Gregg Popovich, led 77-62 headed into the final quarter but the Chris Paul-captained Team World surged back for the win. While it obviously wasn’t NBA basketball at its purest, most competitive form, it was great to see a few of the game’s stars back in action even in a glorified scrimmage and also great to see the NBA reach out to a quickly growing global audience.
The coolest thing might have been seeing Hakeem Olajuwon and Dikembe Mutombo both check in for a few minutes for Team Africa even in their 50’s, they can still ball.