Mavs win their first NBA Title

An old bible passage once said “that my son was dead and is now alive, he was lost and is now found..” That familiar adage proved to be true to the Jet Jason Terry who has risen from the dead to help out the german Assasin and NBA Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki and the never say die Dallas Mavericks to a convincing 105 – 95 win over the Miami Heat at the American Airlines Arena in Miami. The win not only gave them the all important fourth win but it avenged their 2006 finals meltdown against the same team.

Chandler is "The Man" in the middle

The Mavs served notice when they dispatched the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in four games, even blowing them out int he fourth one. The Mavs showed the best player in the planet Kobe Bryant that its their time to shine. The potent offensive weapons of the Mavericks were no match to the rising stars of the West as they matched every offensive flurry of the NBA’s leading scorer Kevin Durant in which they came back from the dead twice on the road to win the West.TO make matters worse the Mavericks had the answer to the dreaded threesome from Florida as they shut down Lebron James, survived Dwayne Wade and tamed Chris Bosh. The Mavericks found ways to win and deserved every inch of the Larry O’Brien trophy.

Go Dirk

Redemption might also be another subplot in this NBA Finals as another Jason, the Kidd who started his career in the same city will hopefully end it with a ring. Jason Kidd who twice fell short in the 2003 and 2004 finals has been the guidinglight of the Mavericks as he showed the way for his ward JJ Barea who was inserted to the starting line up in game 4 and everything went well for the Mavericks. Coach Rick Carlisle was also an assistant coach of the Indiana team that lost to the Lakers in 2000 and has transformed all that bad experiences into something worth rallying for. From a band of misfits, Shawn Marion, Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic can now ride on the momentum of their win and have something taht a lot of NBA Superstars would trade anytihgn for - that elusive NBA ring.

JJ Barea the surprise package

The Mavericks opened strong and had their first double digit lead 40 – 28 on a three point shot by De Shawn Stevenson with 9:42 left in the second quarter. The Heat sued for time and unleashed another patented 14 -0 run capped by the second three pointer of Eddie House that had them lead by two 42 -40 with 6:25 remaining. Unfortunately for the Heat, the Mavericks offense was in full force as they sank 11 of 26 three point shots taht fueled the Dallas team to another 100 point scoring night. The story of the Dallas Maverick’s resiliency, determination and never say die attitude will be a topic that will long be told in for many years to come. Congratulations to Mark Cuban and the 2011 NBA Champs, the Dallas Mavericks.

The Mavs Celebrate

Happy Independence day

Land of Bondage, Land of the Free

By Raul Manglapus

And yet gentlemen, the tao is constitutionally free. No wonder, then that the tao, being a slave, has acquired the habits of a slave. No wonder that after three centuries in chains, without freedom, without hope, he should lose the erect and fearless posture of the freeman, and become the bent, misshapen, indolent, vicious, pitiful thing that he is! Who dares accuse him, who dares rise up in judgment against this man, reduced to this sub-human level by three centuries of oppression. The tao does not come here tonight to be judged — but to judge! Hear then his accusation and his sentence:

I indict the Spanish encomendero for inventing taxes impossible to bear.

I indict the usurer for saddling me with debts impossible to pay.

I indict the irresponsible radical leaders who undermine, with insidious eloquence, the confidence of my kind in our government.

You accuse me of not supporting my family. Free me from bondage, and I shall prove you false.

You accuse me of ignorance. But I am ignorant because my master finds it profitable to keep me ignorant. Free me from bondage, and I shall prove you false.

You accuse me of indolence. But I am indolent not because I have no will, but because I have no hope. Why should I labor, if all the fruits of my labor go to pay an unpayable debt. Free me from bondage, and I shall prove you false.

Give me land. Land to own. Land unbeholden to any tyrant. Land that will be free. Give me land for I am starving. Give me land that my children may not die. Sell it to me, sell it to me at a fair price, as one freeman sells to another and not as a usurer sells to a slave. I am poor, but I will pay it! I will work, work until I fall from weariness for my privilege, for my inalienable right to be free!

BUT IF YOU WILL NOT GRANT ME THIS … If you will not grant me this last request, this ultimate demand, then build a wall around your home … build it high! … build it strong! Place a sentry on every parapet! … for I who have been silent these three hundred years will come in the night when you are feasting, with my cry and my bolo at your door. And may God have mercy on your soul!

Note: When I was a teen-ager at the Ateneo this was one of the most popular elocution pieces that we delivered during auditions. Until now i recite lines of this essay written by one of the most eloquent Atenistas I know, Senator Raul Manglapus.

2nd Yosi Tanco Cup Opens

THE GORGEOUS MUSES

PARADE OF MUSES

The President of PhilCare, Philplans and

the STI Education Services Group,

Atty Nick Jacob

MR. TANCO SELECTS THE BEST MUSE

FROM SUTHERLAND

SUTHERLAND

STMI Holdings

COATS of MANILA BAY

PHILFIRST INC.

ASIAN TERMINALS INC.

STI EDUCATION SERVICES GROUP

TCAMI

PHILPLANS

DLS-STI MEDICAL CENTER

THE CEREMONIAL TOSS BETWEEN THE GAME

SUTHERLAND and DLS-STI

Mavs level series

The German Asssassin

What would the world be without beers, one of the best things that came out of Germany. Just recently German ingenuity has created a basketball weapon so good that it can withstand broken fingers and more importantly 101 degrees fever. Call it out of sync, exhaustion, exasperation but the German Assassin Dirk Nowitzki still found ways to will his Dallas Mavericks to another come from behind 86 - 83 victory against the Miami Heat to level their series at two games apiece in the 2011 NBA Finals.

The Reason the Mavs are winning

Nowitzki took over once again and showed everyone who the true superstar is as he scored 21 points which is just enough to win the game as Miami Heat forward Lebron James was held to 8 points on 3 of 11 shooting. Now it can be told that the leadership in the Miami Heat team has not changed hands as Dwayne Wade kept the Heat in check with 32 points, six rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 block shots.

Wade scores

The story of the night belongs to the German Assassin who was nursing a 101 degrees fever and was shooting badly early on. Dirk even missed a free throw tonight, his first one in the series after going 39 of 39 prior to that third quarter miss. Nowitzki scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter including the decisive basket that put the game out of hand. He is indeed the most admirable superstar in this series.

Chandler asserts his might

Miami turned the ball over six times and scored only 14 points on 5 for 14 shooting in the fourth quarter. The Heat led 78 -73 on Wade's lay up with 7:24 remaining but didnt socre again until Bosh made two free throws with 1:53 left. Wade also missed a potential tying free throw with 30 seconds left. This fourth quarter meltdown is now becoming a Heat trademark in the Finals.Jason Terry has now awaken from his slumber. He has more than made up for his past disappearances which resulted in the loss of the Mavericks. Same goes to Tyson Chandler who is now asserting his might inside. Shawn Marion has been solid the past few games and for the Mavericks to win, they need the three to ably support Nowitzki. The Mavericks are due for a break out game in their last game at the American Airlines Center for 2011.

The Matrix limited the King to 8 points

Miami holds on to 88 - 86 win

Poked in the eye in the first quarter which resulted in a swollen eyelid, shooting horribly during the finals as he went 4-22 in Miami and 6 for 17 for most of the game and more importantly letting Dirk Nowitzki blow by him for the game 2 game winner, Chris Bosh had all the reasons to be written off in the 2011 NBA finals. But the beauty of basketball is that when the opportunity to turn it all around comes, you should grab it. Bosh sank the most important shot of the evening, a 16 foot baseline jumper with 39.6 seconds that proved to be the game winner and enough cushion to give the Miami Heat an 88 - 86 win over the Dallas Mavericks to take a 2 - 1 series lead in the 2011 NBA Finals.

Dwayne Wade is still the man in Miami

On the other hand, Dirk Nowitzki scored 15 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter including Dallas' last 12 points. Nowitzki scored the game winner with a left handed lay-up in Miami against Bosh and was squared to sink the game tying shot. But with a few adjustments Nowitzki turned from hero to goat as Miami learned its lesson by putting on Udonis Haslem on Nowitzki in the final seconds to give a better stand against Nowitzki as he was forced to take a difficult fade-away shot that missed.

Jason Terry had 15 points

The Heat vowed that they will be in attack mode and made that promise true as they capitalized on 14 Dallas turnovers by scoring 19 points off them and more importantly dominating the paint with a 40 - 22 margin with eight of them coming off dunk shots. Point guard Mario Chalmers was 4 of 6 from downtown and led the bench scoring with 12 points. Dallas played catch up most of the time as they needed an 11 - 2 run in the first half and another 17 - 3 run in the third quarter and another 6 -0 run in the last two minutes of the 4th quarter but eventually lost steam in the final minute as Miami found ways to finish them off in the last quarter.

Lebron on another dunk

Dwayned Wade continued where he left off as he scored 29 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Lebron James had 17 points and 9 assists including the pass to Bosh who nailed the game winner, Bosh had 18 points. Jason Terry had 15 points, Shawn Marion added 10 while Jason Kid had 9 points, 11 assists and 4 turnovers, the same number that Jose Barea had. The Miami defense has obviously stymied the high scoring Dallas offense as they gave them only spurts and limited them to an 88 point average, a far cry from their 105 ppg average against OKC and 102 ppg average against the Lakers.

Veteran battle

Statistics does not favor the Dallas Mavericks since the 11 times that the series was tied 1 - 1 going to game 3 of the finals, the winner of game three won the title 11 times. But then again stats can be proven wrong as the Mavericks are very much in the series with games 4 and 5 still to be played in the American Airlines Center. Braze yourselves for another epic game 4.

Alumni Blue Babble Halftime Show at Fil-Oil

HALFTIME

ATENEO vs. LA SALLE

FIL-OIL FLYING V

PRE-SEASON PREMIER CUP

the video was lifted from this you tube post

Blue Babble Battalion Old School

Yours truly cheering the Fabilioh

If there is one thing that I am very proud of the Ateneo, is its rich tradition in Cheerleading. Even before the time when UST and UP introduced their superb stunts in the annual cheerleading competitions the Ateneo introduced female cheerleaders in the Ateneo vs. DLSU 1986 game in the UAAP. But even before that time there were only male cheerleaders and the Ateneo is the best in leading its school to cheers. That was why when I was asked to cheer for the Blue and White in the Fil-oil tournament I gamely obliged even though I know i dont have the strength to bend up and down. I do lack the strength to bend but I still have the heart to do. Here are some highlights of the pre-game cheering and the Halftime of the Ateneo vs. La Salle Fil-oil basketball tournament.

From the 60's Jun Capistrano

Former King Cheerleader in the 1950's

Jess Paredes still has the moves

Former Ateneo HS Principal

Fr. Bert Ampil

cheers the Blue Eagle Spelling

The Ateneo Spirit willed them to cheer

Archers beat Eagles

LA Revilla is back

Last school year the De La Salle University hosted the UAAP with the theme Heroes which was very fitting for the UAAP indeed came up with lots of heroes last year. This year, that can still be the case as the Green Archers served notice its intentions to win this year’s UAAP title by beating the three time defending UAAP champion Ateneo Blue Eagles 66 – 61 in the Filoil Preseason Tournament with their newest hero on the court, the comebacking LA Revilla.

Kiefer Ravena scores

The Blue Eagles started out flat which the green archers ably took advantage. After leading 5 – 4 with a little over four minutes left in the first quarter the Green Archers caught fire and unleashed a 12 - 6 run to end the first quarter on top 17- 10. In the second quarter the Archers forced the Eagles to numerous misses and buried the Eagles in an avalanche of points to lead by twelve points 34 - 22. Finally the Eagles woke up and countered with their own 9 - 3 run to close the gap to five at the half 36 – 31.

Justin Chua drives to the hoop

After the half the Blue Eagles started to clamp down on the Green Archers as their vaunted half court defense finally made caught up on the Green Archers as Justin Chua put the Katipunan 5 on top with two free throws 50 – 49. It was at this time that Revilla took matters into his own hands as he buried two triples and gave the Green Archers a 57 -50 lead. The Blue Eagles would force the Green Archers to misses once again and equalize at 61 - all but unfortunately did not finish well as Revilla presided over a 5 -0 run in the last minute to seal the win.

Kirk Long scores

It was a fitting revenge for Revilla who last played in the UAAP against the Blue Eagles back in 2008. His return gives more solid point guard play for the Archers who have Simon Atkiins playing in his last year. The Green Archers are solid on all positions and are definitely out to make a starement in the 2011 UAAP season and who knows they might even celebrate their centennial with another UAAP Crown. But for now, the win means the Green Archers qualified for the quarterfinals of the Fil-oil tournament.

Juami Tiongson & Luigi Dela Paz face up

THE SCORES:

DLSU (66)

Revilla 12, Marata 10, de la Paz 9, Atkins 8, Andrada 5, Paredes 5, Torres 4, Mendoza 4, Van Opstal 3, Villanueva 2, Gotladera 2, Vosotros 1, Webb 1, Tampus 0

Ateneo (61)

Salva 18, Ravena 10, Long 7, Monfort 7, Chua 7, Austria 6, Tiongson 4, Slaughter 2, Golla 0, Gonzaga 0, Sumalinog 0, Erram 0

Quarter scoring: 17-10, 36-31, 49-48, 66-61

Dallas steals one in Miami

Wade misses the game winner as Mavs celebrate

Mario Chalmers scrambled under the basket and found a cutting Dwayne Wade who sank a three-pointer to give the Miami Heat a commanding 88 – 73 lead with 7 minutes and 14 second left in the fourth quarter of game 2 of the 2011 NBA Finals. Dallas Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle sued for time and the Miami Heat with Lebron James and Dwayne Wade were fueling the crowd’s cheers as the Heat sense a commanding 2 – 0 lead in the series. But then again the celebration went way too early as the Mavericks uncorked a paralyzing 22 – 5 run that ended with a Dirk Nowitzki lay up to escape with a 95 – 93 win and even the series at one game apiece.

Lebron celebrates

Dejavu, that sums up the 2011 Playoffs for the Dallas Mavericks as their vaunted offense finally came to life in the last six minutes of the game with Jason Terry waking up from his game 1 nightmare to score eight points as he presided over an 8 – 0 run by the Mavs after Carlisle’s time out. The early celebration might have defocused the Heat as their offense suddenly sputtered as Wade, James, Bosh and Chalmers all missed their jumpers in that stretch which allowed the Mavericks to comeback. The Mavericks have been in this situation in the conference finals as they wiped out Oklahoma’s 15 point fourth quarter lead to win in overtime but this one tops it all.

Dwayne Wade was almost unstoppable

While Terry ignited the rally, Nowitzki finished off the Heat with his fourth quarter clutch shooting as he scored seven points in the last minute to give the Heat their first home loss in the play-offs which some say might be their last game in Miami. Nowitzki score off a jumper and a three pointer but none was bigger than his lay up with 3 seconds left to give the Mavs the victory. It was rumored that Nowitzki might have a hard time scoring since he tore the tendon in the top knuckle of this left finger late in game 1. But as they say heroes rise to the occasion as his winning shot was a left handed lay up over Chris Bosh.

Shawn Marion was all business

It was a sorry loss for the Heat moreso for Dwayne Wade who finally exploded as he led all scorers with 36 points with James adding 20, Mike Bibby scoring 14 and Bosh 12 points. Nowitzki’s 24 points were all hard earned and he got great support from Shawn Marion who scored 20 poinyts on 9 of 14 shooting. Jason Terry and Tyson Chandler scored 16 and 13 points respectively. As they say whenever a team wins on the road the series becomes a little more interesting which is what the next three games in Dallas will be.

Nowitzki's game winner

Miami wins Game 1

The Heat's tenacity is embodied in this Lebron dunk

The Dallas Mavericks are out to avenge their 2006 loss to the Miami Heat, unfortunately they started on the wrong foot. Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 points but that was not enough for the Mavericks as the Eastern Conference Champions put a clamp on the rest of the Mavericks to escape an easy 92 -84 win at the America Airlines Arena. Lebron James led the Heat with 24 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, one steal and only one turnover while Dwayne Wade who was the MVP of the 2006 NBA Finals was somewhat content on his supporting role but eventually reminded Nowitzki and Jason Terry what he can do by scoring 7 fourth quarter points. The Mavericks never recovered.

Jason Terry is the only other Mav from the 2006 cast

Prior to the game streaks were on hand and both teams were looking at what streak will end. Dallas has never lost a regular season game to the Heat since the 2006 finals. The Mavericks are on a 5 – 0 road streak while the Heat are the only team still unbeaten at home. As they say the importance of game one lies on the balance since 73% of teams that won the first game go on to win the title. At the same time 77% of teams with homecourt advantage in the finals eventually comes out as champions. The Heat have shown that they can win even wihtout that advantage since they bested the best team in the regular season in the Bulls. This is the first time in the playoffs that the Mavericks doesn’t enjoy the homecourt edge.

Chris Bosh quietly scored 19 points

The Mavericks and Heat battled toe to toe in the first half and when the Mavericks seized the opportunity to break the game open the Miami Big three would put the game beyond recall. Lebron James capped his remarkable four of five three point shooting with a buzzer beater that put the Heat up for good 65 -61 and used taht cushion to get the win. The Heat defense was so good that they limited the playoffs topscorer to just 39 % shooting. At the same time the Heat defense spelled the difference considering that the mavericks averaged close to a hundred a game but the Heat limited them to just 84 points.

Dwayne Wade is reprising his old role against the Mavs

The Mavericks reserves will star in the next magic show in Miami since most of their reserves made a disappearing act in game 1. Jason Terry scored 12 points but was 3 for 10 and his points barely mattered, Peja Stojakovic, Jose Barea and Brendan Haywood comb ined for five points. Nowitzki was adequate while Tyson Chandler had more fouls than rebounds. Miami actually shot poorly but found a way to win through their defense. The big three accounted for 70% of the Heat offense with key reserves Mario Chalmers, Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller combining for 25 points. The Heat outrebounded the Mavs 46 – 35 and as Heat President Pat Riley said then, “No Rebounds, No Rings!” On to game 2.

Dirk kept the Mavs in the game with 27 points

Lady Spikers win Viray Volleyball Cup

3RD VIRAY CUP CHAMPION

STI COLLEGE OLYMPIANS LADY SPIKERS

LEAGUE MVP and MYTHICAL 6 SELECTEE

MA. SHARINA TORRES

Coach Philip Salaysay

gives out instructions

Sha Torres serves

GO STI!!!

MVP vs. MVP action

Tina dela Cena shows em how

The LADY SPIKERS Rejoice

Veteran Libero Joan Beriño

and rookie Sherianne Vidallon

Crowd favorites

Tina Dela Cena & Nica Martinez