CALAUAG, Quezon—If another overtime happens today (Wednesday), then it could also be written in the stars that Rody Duterte might emerge as a serious presidential contender in 2016?
For, how explain the fact Game Two of the ongoing National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals needed another five-minute extension to decide the outcome on Monday (Philippine time), in the same way that Game One ended?
The odds for that to happen is almost one in a million.
Isn’t Duterte determined not to run for president next year and yet, his stock keeps on rising? That the more he keeps on saying he isn’t running, the faster his ratings rise in surveys?
Indeed, miracles come when they are least expected.
Both the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers swapped victories in their first two encounters: The Warriors took a 108-100 overtime win in Game One, and the Cavs a 95-93 overtime triumph in Game Two.
The Game Two overtime came when it appeared the Cavs’ 87-82 margin had looked secure with 141 seconds remaining in the game.
But Draymond Green completed a three-point play and then MVP (Most Valuable Player) Stephen Curry slashed the paint for an uncontested lay-up, forging an 87-all tie 7:02 ticks left in the game.
Game Two was almost a repeat of Game One.
In Monday’s Game Two, Cleveland missed the winning shot twice—first on a drive by LeBron James that was short, and second on an off-target tip-in by Tristan Thompson at the buzzer.
In Saturday’s Game One, James, 44 points across his name, also muffed Cleveland’s first winning shot before Imam Shumpert, likewise, flubbed his for the Finals’ first overtime after a 98-all ending in regulation.
While both cliffhangers only prove that both teams are hungrier than tigers meal-less for days, the successive overtimes was a first in the 69-year history of the NBA Finals.
It also marked the first time that Cleveland had won an NBA Finals game, after it absorbed a 4-0 rout in the 2007 Championship. That was James’s farewell stint as a Cav before moving to Miami, where he won two NBA rings in his four successive Heat trips to the Finals.
“We gave everything to make this win happen,” said an emotional James, who had another magnificent triple-double of 39 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists in Game Two in his fifth straight NBA Finals.
Kyrie Irving, James’s chief backcourt ally who had a knee operation on Sunday following his disastrous spill in Game One, was ably substituted by Matthew Dellavedova, the Australian recruit, on Monday.
“He was simply awesome,” said James of Dellavedova, who limited Curry to 29 points on five-of-22 tries—Curry’s worst shooting in the entire season.
With today’s scheduled Game Three, the Warriors take their first taste of hostile territory as the Finals shift to Cleveland, where the Cavs are worshipped almost like the infallible pope.
James’s personal resolve to win the NBA crown this season has never gotten so solid a backing from his hometown fans, who had completely forgiven their “lost child” and forgotten the pain of seeing his transfer to Miami some years back.
Today and Friday are Red-letter days for James as they are virtually must-win situations for the Cavs in a fractious format of 2-2-1-1-1, giving a healthier team all the elbow room to wrap it all up when it goes the distance.
In short, with Irving sidelined the rest of the Finals—plus an out-for-the-season Kevin Love—Cleveland clearly wants to pile up wins as early as it can.
A protracted war is what favors Golden State, definitely the healthier of the two, hands-down.
THAT’S IT. And why am I here? A little vacation in the sun, sand and sea only a quaint town by the bay like this place is capable of offering—for free—why, only a fool would say no. Thanks to writer-journalist Sol Juvida, she had arranged this escape to the country to include a gathering at the house of this town’s dearly respected couple Elvie and Joven Florido, the exclusive guest list would only include Ching and Dante Fernandez, Mayor Louie S. Visorde, Sol Juvida, Migel “Kuya Biley” Mendoza and yours truly. Food and drinks galore…. Also, thank you very much to Dr. Tom and Tates Lucido, who so graciously allowed us to be in their cozy sala to watch the NBA’s Game Two on Monday and, hopefully, today’s Game Three, too. Cheers!