Pacers' George, slam dunk champ Ross join NBA selection vs. Gilas

Add Paul George  and Terrence Ross to the list of National Basketball Association stars who will be headed for Manila next week to play against Gilas Pilipinas.

Businessman Manny V. Pangilinan, who is bankrolling the event entitled “PLDTHome: The Last Home Stand All-Star Charity Event”, made the announcement of Paul’s arrival Monday morning via Twitter.

George, the star forward of the Indiana Pacers, also took to Twitter to greet Pangilinan and “warn” Gilas to be ready for his arrival.

The Toronto Raptors’ Ross, who won the NBA Slam Dunk contest in 2013 and teamed with George and the Washington Wizards' John Wall to lead the East to the slam dunk crown early this year, also tweeted he was coming to town while complimenting Pangilinan for organizing this big event.

George and Ross will join an all-star cast of NBA players who will play two exhibition games against the national side on July 22 and 23 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. The games will serve as Gilas’ final appearances on local soil before leaving for the United States for the homestretch of their preparations for the FIBA World Cup in Spain in late August.

Others who previously confirmed their participation include the LA Clippers’ Blake Griffin, brand-new Washington Wizard Paul Pierce, the Portland Trailblazers’ Damian Lillard, the Toronto Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, 2014 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs, and the Houston Rockets’ second-round draft pick Nick Johnson. Also set to arrive with the group is former NBA coach John Lucas, who will run a skills camp.

Among the side events include a dunk contest featuring Griffin and DeRozan going up against Japeth Aguilar and a three-point shootout pitting Lowry and Lillard against Jimmy Alapag.

George was in Manila last October with the rest of the Pacers and the Houston Rockets for the 2013 NBA Global Games.