JERUSALEM (AP) — NBA Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo, a fearsome 7-foot-2 center in his playing days, says he was moved to tears when he visited Jerusalem's Old City.

Mutombo, who hails from a devout Christian community in Congo, said Tuesday that it was an emotional experience knowing that his parents died before they could see the place they spent their lives reading about in the Bible.

He said: "My parents might be gone, but they instilled in me the dream of coming here, and I've made it."

Mutombo is in town to inaugurate a new sports center. He hosted a clinic for a mixed crowd of excited Jewish, Christian and Muslim children, flashing his signature finger wag and letting out a thunderous laugh as he blocked young players' shots.