Unrivaled to take show on road to Philadelphia for one night

Philadelphia is set for a professional women’s basketball revival Friday.The city, which has not hosted a pro women’s team since 1998 when the Philadelphia Rage and the American Basketball League ceased operations due to bankruptcy, has Unrivaled coming to town — and North Philadelphia native Kahleah Copper is thrilled to help bring pro hoops back.The Miami-based 3-on-3 league, which was founded by Liberty star Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier and is currently in its second season, will make a tour stop at Xfinity Mobile Arena for one night featuring two games, along with community events leading up to the doubleheader.The opening game pits Paige Bueckers’ Breeze against the Phantom, whose roster includes Liberty guard and Philadelphia-area native Natasha Cloud.Copper’s Rose close the show against the Lunar Owls.The barnstorming stop was announced in October, and on Jan.

14 the league announced a 21,000-seat sellout.That was enough for Copper to interrupt The Post’s question during a phone interview about how ready Philadelphia — which is slated for a WNBA expansion franchise in 2030 — is for pro women’s basketball.“It really set the tone, and it really shows everybody that we’re ready and we’ve been ready,” said the Mercury guard, a four-time WNBA All-Star.“For sure, we’re ready.”The city was previously home to the Philadelphia Fox as part of the short-lived Women’s Professional Basketball League (WBL) in the late 1970s.

The Rage — who featured Dawn Staley, now a Philadelphia icon and three-time NCAA national champion coach — played two seasons in the city after relocating from Richmond in the late 1990s.From there, Philadelphia has only lived off of the women’s college game.Philadelphia was home for Staley when she coached at Temple and Cloud when she played at Saint Joseph’s, as well as Maddy Siegrist’s run at Villanova, where she became the Big East’s all-time leading scorer.Copper didn’t have many professio...