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Philippines, 04 Feb 2026 |
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SPOELSTRA GUEST AT OPENING OF ARANETA COLISEUM'S NEW GREEN GATE By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Tue, 31 Jul 2012  Miami Heat?s NBA champion coach Eric Spoelstra will be guest at the inauguration of the spanking, new state-of-the art Smart Araneta Coliseum green gate at 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, some 90 minutes before what may be the deciding game in the PBA Finals between Rain or Shine and BMeg Llamados. Steeped in storied history since its inauguration on March 16, 1960 when Gabriel ?Flash? Elorde won the world junior lightweight title with a sensational 7th round knockout of American Harold Gomes, the Araneta Coliseum is the acknowledged ?Mecca? of Philippine sports and entertainment. The host at the inauguration will be ?Nene? Araneta who was a young man when the Araneta Coliseum was inaugurated with the wife of then President Carlos P. Garcia as the special guest among 18,000 fans who packed the venue. The young Araneta later married Miss Universe Stella Marquez of Colombia. To this day people around the world remember the Araneta Coliseum for its historic ?Thrilla in Manila? between Muhammad Ali and ?Smokin Joe? Frazier on October 1, 1975. It was the venue of several major world title fights including ?Fighter of the Decade? Manny Pacquiao?s WBC flyweight title defense against Gabriel Mira of Mexico on April 24, 1999 which ended in a spectacular 4th round TKO in an action-packed battle. Some of the biggest names in the world of entertainment performed at the Araneta Coliseum through the years. It was the vision of the late businessman-sportsman J. Amado Araneta to build a venue where Filipinos could get the best entertainment possible at the most reasonable price. Spoelstra should be at home at the Araneta Coliseum often referred to as the Big Dome since the Philippine Basketball Association, the second longest league in the world next to the NBA, has been playing at the venue since the league?s inauguration in 1975. The Araneta Coliseum also hosted the 1978 World Basketball Championships, a game between the 1978 NBA Champions Washington Bullets and a PBA All Star selection in 1979 and the 1982 Asian Youth Basketball Championships in which the Philippines beat China in the finals. It is also home to the Annual Binibining Pilipinas beauty pageant and has seen some of the biggest names in showbiz perform before packed audiences including Diana Ross and the Supremes, Chubby Checker, Paul Anka, Neil Sedaka, Julio Iglesias, the Osmond Brothers, the Everly Brothers, Patti Page, Johnny Mathis, Connie Francis, Nat King Cole, Pat Boone, Jack Jones. The Lettermen, Matt Monro and a host of some of the biggest names in the world of entertainment. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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