MANILA, Philippines — WORLD champions, a mix of grizzled veterans and rising stars and the strong Philippine delegation is ready to rock the Chengdu World Games firing off Thursday in the Chinbese megacity bracing for the arrival of thousands of athletes from around the globe.

Hopes are high for the 47 Filipinos vying for glory in the 11-day tournament for non-Olympic sports with the second batch of representatives flying in Tuesday (August 5) from Manila and Hong Kong.

The men’s floorball team arrived in the Chinese city Sunday to get a feel of the Xindu Xiangcheng Sports Centre—the sprawling competition venue shaped like a lotus leaf from above —with its first preliminary game set against Latvia at 9 a.m. on Thursday.

Cable wakeboard sensation Raph Trinidad departs for Tianfu—the main transport hub for international arrivals—early Tuesday along with wushu athletes Agatha Wong and Jones Inso aboard Air China.

The Philippine Olympic Committee, headed by president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, named Trinidad and Wong as the country’s flag bearers in the parade of athletes during the opening ceremony.

“I am deeply grateful for the incredible honor and opportunity to showcase to the world that Filipinos have the talent and spirit to excel in wakeboarding,” said Trinidad, who trained at the Deca Wakepark Clark in Pampanga to prepare for the Chengdu games.

“While I can’t predict the outcome, one thing is certain — I will give my absolute best. This is for my family, for everyone, and for the wakeboarding community,” added the accomplished 23-year-old athlete.

Eric Ordonez of wake surfing leaves from Hong Kong for a short flight to the mainland in the afternoon.

Trinidad and Ordonez will try to qualify for the semifinals on August 8 at the Sancha Lake Taohuadao Arena, while Wong and Inso plunge into action in the taolu event on the same day at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Gymnasium.

The biggest arrival comes on Wednesday with the 12-man dragon boat team, muay thai star Rudzma Abubakar, and the duathlon team led by Kim Mangrobang all entering the Athletes’ Village dubbed the “Chengdu Home” and serviceable for 7,000 participants.

The star-studded batch of billiards world champions Rubilen Amit and Chezka Centeno, 10-ball specialist Jeff de Luna, and Asian Games medalists Annie Ramirez and Kaila Napolis of jiu-jitsu follow on Friday. TMT

Over the summer, Magic Johnson has been very active on social media.

The Los Angeles Lakers legend recently posted a video that went viral.

His post had over 160,000 likes.

Johnson wrote: “It was nice to be back in Barcelona, Spain where I won my gold medal with the Dream Team! I’m back shooting hoops, not in an arena this time, but on a yacht! 😁”

Many NBA players reacted to Johnson’s post.

Jamal Crawford: “The Magic Man!”

Kevin Durant: “🔥🔥🔥🔥 the icon still gets shots up”

Chris Paul: “🔥🔥🔥”

Reggie Miller: “The Ultimate BALLER”

Jay Williams: “I see you Unc”

Johnson last played in the NBA during the 1996 season, so fans having the chance to see him get shots up is exciting.

He still remains active in the sports world, as the part-owner of several franchises.

Via ESPN (on October 31, 2024): “Magic Johnson is a true winner 👏 🏆

10x NBA champion (Lakers) 🏆 2x #WorldSeries champion (Dodgers) 🏆 NCAA champion (Michigan St.) 🏆 WNBA champion (Sparks) 🏆 MLS Cup champion (LAFC)”

Johnson was selected by the Lakers with the first pick in the 1979 NBA Draft.

He played all 13 seasons of his career for the franchise.

The Hall of Fame guard helped lead the Lakers to five NBA Championships.

Via Ballislife.com (on October 12, 2021): “42 YEARS AGO TODAY: Magic Johnson put up 26 PTS, 8 REB, 4 AST, 4 BLK in his NBA debut.

ROOKIE RESUME
18 PTS, 7.7 REB, 7.3 AST, 2.4 STL
18 PTS, 10.5 REB, 9.4 AST, 3 STL (Playoffs)
Triple-Double Leader
All-Star
Finals MVP
Champion”

Fans Accuse NBA Athletes Of “Robbing Franchises Blind” As Surprising Player Career Earnings Go Viral originally appeared on Fadeaway World.

When basketball fans have no sporting action to follow in peak offseason and only business deals and off-court activities to read about, they often indulge in heated debates over past incidents or player comparisons.

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Following Luka Doncic’s $165 million contract extension, HoopsHype’s social media account noted that Luka Doncic has already reached the Top 25 list (at rank 24) in All-Time career earnings guaranteed to a player. They posted a list of players above him on that list, which shocked NBA fans across the world.

The discussion started from a fan pointing out Paul George’s career earnings. The 76ers veteran has earned over half a billion dollars in a career where he never even won a championship. Meanwhile, no retired NBA players even appear on this list; the next one is Kevin Garnett, who would’ve ranked 27 on this list.

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This list did not sit well with fans as they expressed their sheer disbelief on social media. They also started pointing out other baffling names on this list.

“All that money for never making a finals or even being a top 3 player lmao”

“Scammed the living hell out of teams,”

Several reactions resonated the same sentiment about Paul George.

“You’re talking about PG, but Embiid is the ridiculous one.”

“Embiid straight robbing.”

Joel Embiid and George, who are currently teammates on the 76ers, have combined to earn over $1 billion without even making the NBA Finals, let alone winning a championship. But in their primes, they were both dominant players until injuries ruined the trajectories of their careers.

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“Can we talk about Booker being #3 with only 10 years played?” 

Devin Booker has been the franchise player of his team ever since he was drafted. A decade into his career, he is still the main cornerstone for the Suns. Therefore, his loyalty seems to have rewarded him as he has now signed the largest contract in NBA history, in terms of annual average value, earning $72.5 million per year in his latest extension.

“Hey, so Jamal Murray is on this list, and no one’s saying anything.”

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Jamal Murray is another example, alongside Devin Booker, of a player who was valued due to his loyalty in his prime. Murray has only played for the Nuggets his entire career and is entering the ninth season of his career. Just goes to show that loyalty is valued in business, even today.

“SGA is going to come close to a Billi before he’s done playing.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander signed the largest contract in NBA history, in terms of annual average value of the contract, before he was supplanted by Devin Booker’s extension a bit later. The Finals MVP has earned his name on this list after leading the Thunder to their first NBA championship.

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“Bradley Beal too, these n***** just out here robbing franchises blind lmao”

Bradley Beal was the franchise player in the Wizards when he signed arguably the worst contract in NBA history. Not for him, but for the teams he was on. The Wizards managed to get a significant return for him from the Suns, but they eventually took a bigger hit when they bought him out eventually with two seasons left on his contract.

“Jrue Holiday $400M WTF”

Jrue Holiday is a two-time champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. I don’t understand why his inclusion in this list is a surprise to anyone.

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“Super crazy how nobody in the ’90s is on this list.”

Here is where fans seem to have forgotten about inflation and the growth of the league over the years. If old players’ earnings are adjusted as per inflation and standards in the league at the time, this list would look extremely different.

Six NBA players have surpassed $500 million, and 20 have surpassed $400 million. Players are now earning manifold more than what they did earlier. A lot of the credit for this goes to the NBA media deals that have ensured that the league is growing at a solid pace. We cannot blame players for taking advantage of a booming league in front of them.

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Related: 76ers Plan To Run It Back With Joel Embiid, Paul George, And Tyrese Maxey After Failed Trade Attempt

This story was originally reported by Fadeaway World on Aug 4, 2025, where it first appeared.