Basketball Heats Up the Summer

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Bleacher Talk
April 26, 2015

Basketball Heats Up the Summer

It has been on hot summer for basketball, hasn’t it? It’s gotten so hot that just about everything has taken place. Is it the heat? Is it the sport? What gives?

The heat starts in the U.S. with the NBA playoffs that has been really hot! Did you see those treys of Steph Curry against the Pelicans? Did you see Tim Duncan playing as if he didn’t turn 39 years old today, and how the NBA’s defensive player of the year Kawhi Leonard scored a career-high yesterday? And how about the Cavs duo of Kyrie Irving and Lebron James? And the double OT win of the Bulls over the Bucks? Derrick Rose says he’s more mature as a player, and that means bad news for opponents; then you have Jimmy Butler erupting for Chicago, too. The Hawks have been just that: the typical Hawks that goes deep into its line-up to get the job done. No superstars? No problem. James Harden is pleading his case as MVP up against the tide leaning towards Curry, while Josh Smith is having a ball tossing all those alley-oops to Dwight Howard. John Wall and Bradley Beal have quietly pushed Washington to just one game away from the next round; and who can forget Kuya Paul Pierce? So far, Golden State, Memphis, San Antonio and Houston are leading the pack in the West. Out in the East, Atlanta, Cleveland, Washington and Chicago are leading in their first round series. Looks like most match-ups aren’t reaching five games, or will go six at the most.

Not to be outdone, the ongoing PBA Championship series has done a great job of grabbing a lot of the limelight from the NBA. I guess it always helps when players get into near brawls, both sides get into media-hyped war of words, Coach Yeng Guiao plays his usual psy-war/word war, and now even the wives of players are having their own fights on the sidelines. Paul Lee lost his front teeth (or tooth?) courtesy of an elbow of TnT import Ivan Johnson (who Guiao insinuates has no or lacks breeding). And how can we forget the bad news for Cebuanos: the suspension of JR “Proctoy” Quinahan for throwing the basketball at a player. I love his toughness, but this was uncalled for. I guess it’s all part of the Rain or Shine script penned by Coach Yeng? Hmm. The sad part is that all this other stuff takes us fans away from the real game being played on the floor. Before I forget, Talk N Text leads the series, 3-2, but I think you’ll agree with us when we say there will be a Game 7. PBA na gud na, diba?

If you thought all the heat was in the NBA and the PBA, di sad pa lupig ang Cebu Basketball! We’ve had UV Coach Gary Cortes walk out of an exhibition game against USC in Medellin, earning the ire of Medellin Mayor Ricky Ramirez and his local officials.  Gary also earned a suspension order from his mother ballclub UV. When will he be reinstated as coach? Abangan. But that’s not it. Three Cebu-based teams abandoned the Cebu City Mayor’s Cup Summer League three days after it started. It seems that Joemang’s Surplus, Abrenica Engineering and RMA Logistics weren’t pleased with how the tournament was managed and decided to pull out. I wonder what’s wrong here. Is it the organizer? The teams? Or both? Why can’t Cebu seem to establish a long-running basketball tournament for the college or men’s open divisions outside of the CESAFI? I have to admit that this continues to be an opportunity worth considering despite all the previous miscues and booboos. Take 2. Cebu City is putting up a Mayor’s Cup from May 15-20, featuring the Malaysian national team, UAAP/NCAA teams, UV and USC. My guess is that this one will last and end on a good note, right Doc Rhoel?

For some good news, the CYBL is cooking up the M. Lhuillier Summer League 2015, featuring Cebu’s best teams in the Under 15 and 12 age groups. This kicks off next weekend and ends in mid-May. Somewhere in between is Milo’s summer sports clinic for basketball: the BEST Center basketball clinic from May 11-16. To cap the summer, the CYBL/Magis Eagles VISMIN Goodwill Games will be played May 27-30 at the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu.

Robert Palmer sings, “Some like it hot and some sweat when the heat is on.” Basketball is truly heating up the summer.

oOo


Time-out: The BEST Center basketball clinic sponsored by Milo will be held May 11-16, 2015, at the SHS-Ateneo de Cebu Mango Avenue Campus Gym. For details, check out the page “BEST Center Sports Cebu” in Facebook.

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