WBL All-Star Game

The WBL All-Star Game was an annual basketball event in the United States, organised by the World Basketball League. It was launched in 1988 and lasted until 1991. The event was held annually and consisted of an all-star game, a three-point shoot contest and slam-dunk exhibition.
Many former NBA players including Mario Elie, Vincent Askew, Fred Cofield, and Craig Neal played in the All-Star Game. The event was televised by the SportsChannel.

History

The first edition took place at the Olympic Saddledome of Calgary in Canada on July 7, 1988, in front of 7,000 spectators. The second edition was held in Las Vegas in front of 10.550 fans on July 12, 1989. The event was held in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1991 for its fourth and final edition.

List of games

Bold: Team that won the game.

Year

Date

Location

Team 1

Score

Team 2

MVP

Club

1988

July 7

Calgary

West

131-120

East

Three-Point Shoot Contest

Slam-Dunk champions

Topscorers

Notable participants

Tim Legler
Mario Elie
Chip Engelland
Fred Cofield
Vincent Askew
WBL All-Stars

The league also had an team of All-Stars. At Christmas of 1989 the All-Stars represented the league in an international tournament hosted by Sunair Oostende in Belgium. In July 1990 the All-Stars toured Italy and recorded 5 wins out of 6 games against professional clubs from six Italian cities. Overall in 1990, the All-Star team won tournaments in Holland, the Soviet Union, Finland, France while they were finalists in events in Yugoslavia, Italy and in a European championship. By November 1991, the WBL teams had won around 90 percent of their international matches.
In November 1991, the All-Stars participated in the sixth Merlion Cup in Singapore in a weeklong tournament reaching the semifinals.