MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas, fresh from a bronze medal finish in the FIBA Asia Cup, will face an assembly of NBA stars in a two-day charity series for the final stage of the Nationals buildup for the FIBA World Cup.

Called The Last HOME Stand, the event starts at 7:30 tonight at the Smart Araneta Coliseum where the NBA stars, five of them chosen to the US training pool for the world joust, vowed to provide the Nationals the toughest test and let them feel “the pain in Spain.”

But it’s not only for Gilas’ last outing before the home court as the event, sponsored by PLDT HOME, is also held for the benefit of the Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation and Caritas Manila.

The series will also feature a skills camp as part of the package to be conducted by elite development specialist John Lucas.

The Nationals and the NBA stars, led by 2014 NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clipper Blake Griffin and Houston Rocket James Harden, will also meet at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow in this special event with “assist” as the overriding theme.

The PLDT Home Fibr All-Stars, also featuring Tyson Chandler, Ed Davis, Paul George, Brandon Jennings, Terrence Ross, Damian Lillard, DeMar DeRozan, Nick Johnson and Kyle Lowry, have agreed to give Gilas the toughest test that could help them prepare for the coming world meet.

In a press conference at the NBA Café at SM Aura in Taguig almost upon their arrival in the country, Lucas and the players considered it as an honor to be part of a charity event through the sport the Filipinos have shown passion.

They promised to put up a good show and push the Filipinos in their World Cup buildup.

“The challenge is not just about basketball but to really be of help,” said Lucas, a former NBA star who’s now among the world’s leading elite basketball skills development specialist.

Before the games, Lucas is holding short clinic sessions for the two teams right at the Big Dome before the fans.