One of them has traveled around the world thanks to basketball. One has experienced the glitz, the glamor and the glory of big-time college basketball and the NBA. And one is a high school legend finally earning a paycheck playing basketball for the first time.

	Facts & figures Matchup: Xplosion (18-11) vs. Bellingham (Wash.) Slam (19-14) When: 7 p.m. Saturday Where: Petersen Events Center What's at stake: Second round of ABA playoffs. Tickets: $12.50 and $25. Half-price tickets for groups of 20 or more by calling in advance, 1-877-410-9900.

The three of them -- Armon Gilliam, Coleco Buie and Janerio Spurlock -- have come together to be the catalysts for the playoff-bound Xplosion, the city's entry in the American Basketball Association.

The Xplosion (18-11), which received a bye in the first round based on being ranked sixth among the 24 playoff teams, will play host to the Bellingham Slam (19-14) in the second round at 7 p.m. Saturday at Petersen Events Center.

The top eight teams had first-round byes.

The Explosion must win four playoff games to capture the ABA championship in its inaugural season. The quarterfinals start Wednesday in Rochester, N.Y., followed by the semifinals March 25, and the championship game March 26.

Bellingham (Wash.) defeated the Tacoma Navigators, 134-116, in the first round behind Caleb Gervin's career-high 45 points. Gervin, 25, a 6-foot-1 guard, is the nephew of former NBA and ABA star George Gervin.

Gilliam, 41, the senior citizen of the Xplosion, began his 13-year career in the NBA a couple years after George Gervin retired.

"I don't go back that far," Gilliam said with a laugh. "I'm not that old."

Gilliam, a 6-9 center who grew up in Bethel Park and was a standout at UNLV, was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 1987 NBA draft. Gilliam scored 12,700 points, grabbed 6,401 rebounds and blocked 607 shots for Phoenix, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Milwaukee and Utah. His salaries ranged from $700,000 as a rookie to $4,019,200 in his final season in Utah in 2000. He earned an estimated $24,540,500 in his career.

Life in the ABA is a long way away from the television cameras, packed arenas and media crush that Gilliam embraced at UNLV and in the NBA. His ABA paychecks are also much smaller than those he picked up in the NBA.

The Xplosion crowds have increased in recent weeks, with an average of 1,600 for the past three games. Attendance has fluctuated between 200 and 1,900 for 18 home games, 14 at Mellon Arena and four at the Petersen Events Center.

"This is a different feel, but I can live with that because the league is in the formative stages," Gilliam said. "At this level, 2,000 people is somewhat successful. It's all relative to the situation. This is a brand new team in a new league."

The Xplosion announced last month that it plans to return next season.

Gilliam, who appeared only in home games during the regular season, plans to play in away games during the playoffs if the Xplosion continues to advance. This has been a banner comeback of sorts for Gilliam, who hadn't played competitively since he retired from the NBA. He averaged 23.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game during the season and was MVP of the All-Star game with 29 points and 13 rebounds.

"I had doubts that I could still do it consistently," Gilliam said. "I've probably surprised myself. My body is still strong, no aches, not pains. I think I'm helping bring a lot of attention to our team in Pittsburgh."

Gilliam and teammate Coleco Buie, a 6-5 guard from Southwest Missouri State University who averages 21 points and four assists, are candidates for ABA player of the year. Buie scored a franchise-record 50 points in a 122-113 victory against the Kentucky Colonels in mid-January.

"I like his attitude the best," Gilliam said. " Coleco's a true professional."

Buie, 32, who has played for pay in Argentina, France, Austria, Spain and various ABA cities in the United States over the past decade, is hoping to use the Xplosion as a steppingstone for a career in coaching when his playing days are over.

"I'm almost done, but I'm not ready to face the real world," he said, smiling. "I'm doing it for the love of the game. At the beginning, I wasn't real comfortable, not knowing if this was a good situation. But life ain't that bad."

Buie and some of the other players from out of town share apartments in McKeesport.

"We play in nice arenas, some teams play in high school gyms," he said. "The bus rides aren't so bad because we watch movies. I know guys on other teams who wonder if they're getting paychecks. Our checks for $700 are on time. I'm looking for the bigger picture, to make as many contacts as I can."

Unlike Buie, the 6-6 Spurlock, 28, is in his first season as a professional basketball player.

Spurlock is with the Xplosion because coach Tom Thacker, who grew up in Cincinnati, remembered him from when he was a phenom at Cincinnati's Aiken High School.

"He asked me to try out for the Xplosion," said Spurlock, who spent some time at Kansas State University and played in recreation leagues in Cincinnati the past three years. "I'm doing what I love and making a little money. I can't complain."

He added with a chuckle, "I don't want a 9-to-5 job."

Spurlock, who averages 20 points for the Xplosion, has grown as a player since his high school days.

"I shoot more jumpers now and I can beat you with my brain, not just my raw talent like I did back then," he said.

"I like the life in the ABA. You learn a lot around the older guys. They've been there and done what you're trying to do. I love the city of Pittsburgh. The people are a little more kind than in Cincinnati.