NBA superstar LeBron James put on a high-flying performance during an exhibition game Saturday against members of the Philippine Basketball Association for his "Strive For Greatness" tour in Manila.

The All-Star forward was in the Philippines to play and hold a training session with local pro basketball players. James partnered with Nike to put on a show in front of thousands of fans during an exhibition game against players of the Gilas Pilipinas team at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila.

It was James’ third visit to the country in four years. He frequents Manila during the NBA offseason and visited the country for the first time in 2013, and again in 2015. This would have been James’ fourth trip to the country had his 2016 "Battle the Doubt Night" showcase with Nike succeeded. The sportswear company cited "logistical challenges" and canceled the Mania appearance.

The Cavaliers star displayed his talents for about 10 minutes during the exhibition. He is expected to head for China on Sunday as it is the next stop on his promotional tour, according to Reuters.

James showed off his arsenal of high-flying dunks despite it just being an exhibition game. He awed fans at times by taking off just near the free-throw line and hammering down dunks. James joined local Manila players during the final five minutes of the game and showed off some of his dunking skills.

He later expressed what the tour meant to him and why he continued to visit Manila.

"Strive for greatness basically means that everyone, we all wanna be great, and whatever respective thing that you do, you wanna work hard at it and put in all your time," James told reporters after the game. "At the end of the day, you look all the results. We want to go as high and high and high as possible. Then you know, have fun with the rest.

"There’s no way that I won’t come back to Manila this year and I’m happy that I’m here celebrating with you guys here. You guys are unbelievable and I thank you so much. Thank you for being part of the LeBron James Tour 2017 and I hope you guys will continue to welcome me back."

James may have impressed the attendees but he also garnered attention from Philippine basketball icon Jimmy Alapag. He commended James for returning to the Philippines.

"The fact that he came here to Manila to share some brief moments with everyone here at home. I think he understands how passionate we are about the game of basketball," Alapag told reporters after the game.

"What made it more special was being with my Gilas brothers because you know these guys are family for life."

Alapag played against James on team Gilas during the exhibition game despite having retired from professional basketball last year. His eldest son Maximus also attended the game. After the event, James spoke with Alapag’s son and even gifted him one of his arm sleeves.

"My son will have to grow into it because it’s a little big right now and I’m just glad my kids could be here to experience it with me," Alapag said.

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