(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-01-07 09:26

VANTAA, Finland - NBA great Scottie Pippen scored nine points for Finland league leader Torpan Pojat which beat Honka 98-85 on Saturday.

After a slow start, Pippen improved in the second half, smoothly grabbing nine rebounds and giving out several unselfish passes.

"It was great, I did not know what to anticipate without a game for the last three years," the 42-year-old Pippen said. "My conditioning is not at the top level but I played with a great team and had a lot of fun."

After trailing defending champion Honka of Espoo by 16 points with 4:36 left in the second quarter, ToPo rallied to win its 19th straight game in the Finnish league.

Pippen leaves Finland unbeaten on his Nordic Europe mini-tour three years after retiring from the NBA. He scored 12 points in his first game on Friday, when ToPo beat Tarmo of Porvoo 93-81.

Pippen hoped the games could inspire spectators.

"We had a lot of young kids here today, and that's how you make it, you dream young and you work at it," he said.

The six-time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls won Olympic gold medals with the United States in 1992 and 1996.

Pippen will play one game in Sundsvall, northern Sweden, on Friday.