Lakers get back at Celtics homecourt

" Imagine, we might not go back to this venue once again" Those were the words at the back of the minds of the Los Angeles Lakers as they came to the TD Banknorth in Boston with fire in their eyes and vengeance in their hearts. This fire helped them relive the LA Lakers of the 80s as they beat the Boston Celtics in their own homecourt 91 - 84 that assured LA Fans that the series will indeed go back to Los Angeles.

Kobe dropped 29 points this time

Ray Allen shot a record 8 three pointer in game 2 of the NBA Finals and was rarin to duplicate the feat in their homecourt but unfortunately it was a total reversal as Allen would miss ALL 8 of his three pointers and all his field goals which got him to score only 2 points. At the end of the first quarter the Lakers have already built a lead which was predicated on good defense as both teams did not turn the ball over much. The Lakers led 26 -17 after one quarter and 52 - 40 at the half as Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom led the Lakers with Kevin Garnett as the only bright spot for the Celtics.

Effort propelled the Lakers to victory

In a finals game, a Celtic believer will have to pray for another Boston comeback and the Celtics really came back. Glen Davis and Tony Allen helped resurrect Boston' sagging fortunes as Ray Allen was having an off night while Paul Pierce was in foul trouble, Rajon Rondo on the other hand was silenced and the only bright spot was Kevin Garnett. The Celtics would come to as close as 69- 70with still 9 minutes to play as Big Daddy Glen Davis and Tony Allen joined hands to rally the Celtics - Davis scored 12 points off the bench while Allen got 7 points. The Celtics last stand came with 2:03 left as they threatened LA 78 - 80 with 2 minutes left. After that , LA superstar Kobe Bryant scored on a jumper as the Lakers closed the Celtics out with a another 7 - 4 run to finally get back the home court advantage that they have enjoyed.

Derek Fisher lifted the Lakers to this victory

Much can be said about Kobe Bryant, Bryant scored 29 points but then again he shot 10 of 29 and missed 5 shots in the fourth quarter. Most of Bryant's shots were in the third quarter so when the fourth quarter started the Lakers were running out of steam at the height of the Boston rally. Time is winding odonw and with the odds not favoring the Lakers, they turn to their old hand to deliver the killing blows - Derek Fisher. Fishers scored 11 fourth quarter points as he single handedly carried the offensive burden of the Team as he showed why he is the team's veteran playmaker.

Rajon was shut down again

The play of the game came with 1:00 left in the game with the Lakers holding an 84 - 80 lead. Ray Allen got free and Rajon Rondo managed to get the ball to him, but just like what I mentioned it was not Allen's night as he missed the basket which was rebounded by Derek Fisher. After getting the rebound Fisher held on to the ball for another 2 seconds, dribble it, ran the whole length of the floor as the slow moving Celtics realized that a fastbreak was about to happen which made them smother Fisher who made the shot and got the foul - game, set , match for the Lakers.

Celtics win at Staples

Playing like the messiah, Boston Celtic's Ray Allen led is team to then promised land as he reprised his role in the 1998 movie "He got game!" Allen played the role of Jesus Shuttlesworth in that movie, the most sought after High School player. This time in the 2010 NBA finals, he is the most hated person in Los Angeles as he led the Celtics to a 103 - 94 win over the defending champion Lakers. This was the first time the Lakers lost at the Staples Center and is in danger of not going back at the famed gymnasium.

Ray Allen sank 8 three pointers - an NBA Finals record

After looking at how the Celtics won, it was an effort all together by the whole team as Ray Allen took the lead in the first half, Paul Pierce pitched in his share of ten points while Kendrick Perkins added 12 points inside. The reserves did a nice role as Glen Davis added 8 points while Rasheed Wallace and Nate Robinson each had 7 points each. This bench production more than made up for the off night of Kevin Garnett who was in foul trouble most of the night as he took only 5 shots for 6 points but also chipped in 6 assists. The big story for Boston besides Ray Allen was the rejuvenated Rajon Rondo who woke up from his nightmarish Game 1 experience to bounce back with a triple double! Now that is a great statement to his detractors.

Pau Gasol had another monster game

Pau Gasol was again an immovable force inside as he torched the Celtics with 25 huge points as the Lakers relied on the big guys with Andrew Bynum chipping in 21 points to compliment his game 1 good game. It clearly showed that the LA big men were outclassing their Eastern counterparts as Gasol and Bynum outscored Garnett, Perkins, Pierce and Wallace combined. It just shows that there is a gaping hole in the middle of the Celtics defense. On the other hand, the Celtics were lucky that Kobe Bryant had a miserable shooting night as he scored 21 points on 8 of 20 shooting. It was bound to happen and unluckily it happened at the Staples Center.

Kobe Bryant was human after all

The defense by the Celtics forced the other Lakers to ease out of their comfort zones. In game 1, Lamar Odom, Derek Fisher, Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmar and Ron Artest combined for 39 Laker points and all them faltered as they could only contribute 24 points, a far cry from their game 1 confidence building win. In the first half it was all about Ray Allen as he sank a record tying 7 three pointers ad he went 7 for 7 before missing his first three pointer. That clutch shooting gave the Celtics a 14 point lead as they were unable to find an answer to the impeccable shooting display of Allen who has torched the Lakers since the 2008 series. Ray needed just a little ray of light for him to set his jumper as he nailed his 8th triple in the second half that gave him the record of the most three points made in an NBA finals, he finished the game with 32 points.

A rejuvenated Rajon

During the third quarter, the Lakers were able to gain ground and equalize as their vaunted inside game came to play. At the start of the fourth quarter the Celtics needed another spark as Allen began to tire and Rondo was sent to the bench to rest. In came Nate Robinson who was 2 for 2 on the field and 2 for 2 on the line as he scored 7 points in six minutes. That lift helped the Celtics stem the tide enroute to the endgame heroics of Rondo who got four offensive rebounds and scored 8 of the team's final 10 points. Rondo finished the game with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists - his second triple double in the post season. As they say, an NBA series gets all the more exciting when a team wins on the road, lets see what happens when the series shifts to the East. See you in Game 3!

Bellydance 2010

The fourth time seemed to be better than the previous three. Rather than tire out the audience with countless recitals and countless solos, the organizers of the Bellyfest finally made headway by thinking of other ways to present the dances without boring the crowd. Besides the show, various activities were added to add spice to the show. All in all it was a successful run for Bellyfest 2010 since a lot of new faces were seen aside from the usual Bellyfest faithfuls. Various blogs about the event were written and all them gave a thumbs up review of the event. Congrats Jill Ngo and to my bestfriend Louise Sarte, thanks for the invite.

Lakers draw first blood

Fact 1: The Los Angeles Lakers have been known as a team with a very potent offensive weapon with a system that creates more scoring opportunities

Fact 2: That system includes a good and sound defensive system that frustrates opponents, forces them to turnovers which eventually leads to instant offense.

Fact 3: The Lakers would have not made it to the finals if its only strength is its offense, its usually a mix but their defense is underrated.

Fact 4: The Los Angeles Lakers used their superb defense and impeccable offense to beat the Boston Celtics 102 - 89 in game 1 of the Best of 7 2010 NBA Finals.

Kobe Bryant played his usual unstoppable role

Now it can be said, that the Lakers are for real, that their defense is much more underrated than their offense and for any team to beat them, they would have to go mano a mano against the man using the name Kobe Bryant. It was another all around performance for the best player on the planet as he scattered 30 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 1 block to lead his team to victory. As I have mentioned in my previous blog entry, for the Lakers to be unbeatable, Pau Gasol should churn out monster numbers which he did - 23 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks and 1 steal. It looks like Kevin Garnett will be outplayed again for the second series in a row. Pau was just cruisin by in the 2008 season as he was just traded to the Lakers back then and was just fitting in. Two seasons from that performance he is close to being called unstoppable.

Rondo was hounded by KB

Paul Pierce once again led the Celtics assault but unfortunately the supporting cast was far from how they played in the Magic and Cavaliers series. The Celtic offense was on its standard mode but it was what they did best that had an off night - their defense. It was only the fourth time that the Celtics allowed a team to score more than a hundred points on them and in all those occasions they lost. Ray Allen was in foul trouble and never really got going as he scored 12 quiet points and had no rebounds nor assists, Kevin Garnett scored 16 points but shot 7 of 16 (36.35%) which is not good as far as the finals is concerned. Lastly, Rajon Rondo was shut down! Kobe Bryant took on Rondo and he had a hard time penetrating as he was even rejected by Odom and Gasol. At the same time the transition defense specially on Rondo was great as his fastbreak points were limited. In the previous series Rondo usually gets points on the break at least 6 times but now it was checked by the Lakers. Lastly, the Lakers had 16 second chance points to none for the Celts and the Lakers had more rebounds 42 -31 which just shows the kind of effort the Celts put up.

Gasol outplayed Garnett big time

Now that the feeling stage is over both teams would definitely make adjustments to gear up to the second game of the series. There is no secret to the game of the Lakers its just that they move great and execute well and fast - before you know it they have scored on you. The Celtics on the other hand need to find the fire that gave them emotional victories against the Cavs and Magic. They are usually tops when it comes to effort and that attitude motivates them to play well. It looks like game 2 will be a better fought game - so Monday (Sunday in the US) is the day.

Coach Phil explaining the play

Renewed Rivalry - Revenge or Redemption!

As the curtain raises for another epic battle of the two most succesful franchises in NBA history, the world awaits how this battle will be fought. This time around the tables have been turned and the favored team now is the team that rose from the West - the Los Angeles Lakers. The other team, the Boston Celtics is definitely on a roll and are no pushovers. That is why this 2010 NBA Finals will determine who is the best since it is the battle of the 2008 Champion vs. the 2009 Champion.

The Lakers and their 2009 Trophy

Two years ago, the Boston Celtics rose to the occasion by beating the Lakers in 6 games which is still at the back of the minds of the Lakers since the final game was over with two quarters left as the Celtics won by 39 points. This time around the Lakers hold the home court advantage and have yet to lose at the Staples Center where their fans are guaranteed to help the team in purple get back at their 2008 tormentors - REVENGE!

The 2008 Champions celebrate

Last year the LA Lakers captured their 15th league title and Kobe Bryant's 4th with LA and 1st finals MVP. The Celtics on the other hand were without all-star center Kevin Garnett at the start of the play -offs but still managed to eke out a morale boosting series win against the Chicago Bulls but fell to another beast from the east - the Orlando Magic. This year, they fell off target when some of the key players got injured but got a big boost when the team became complete. Just like what they did in 2008 the Celtics are out to redeem themselves from their dismal 2009 season - REDEMPTION.

2009 Champion and finals MVP Kobe Bryant

The Lakers have the best offensive weapon in the league under the name Kobe Bryant. That weapon averaged 24 points in the first round, 32 in the second and 34 by the conference finals. There is nothing on earth that can stop this guy from scoring. The difference of Kobe and Lebron James is that Kobe is a better shooter and has a better supporting cast. One key contributor is Pau Gasol whose inside presence has improved tremendously since he is now being described as unstoppable. For the Lakers to win he has to be in the 20 points 12 rebounds mode and not the 13 points 4 rebounds player as seen in their game 4 loss against the Thunder. Ron Artest is the defensive guru who can put the cuffs on Paul Pierce. He is out to seek the truth and put an end to his scoring onslaught and as we know where the truth goes, Boston follows. Lamar Odom, the man everyone calls as lucky will play a big role because when he plays good it takes the load off Bryant. Another factor is Andrew Bynum, after being a force against the Thunder by coming out with 21 pts and 11 rebounds in their game 5 win, he scored 2 points and pulled down 2 rebounds in their Game 3 loss to the suns. Another thing to wait for is for Derek Fisher to sink another game winning three pointer! The supporting cast should step up to get those important wins. For the Lakers to win the series they have to be the same offensive team in the Suns series and run the ball against the aging Celtics. The Lakers has not lost a game at Staples Center and by just defending their court, it will give them the back to back.

The Celtics: Team Redeem

Rajon Rondo is definitely the fourth weapon and the most important Celtic in the roster. He has put all the intangibles on the floor and now the veterans are following his lead. In 17 games in the first three rounds he has averaged close to 17 points per game, dished out an average of 10 assists per game, stole the ball at 2.1 times and had a rebounds average of 5.6 per game. A very rare find this Ragin Rajon Rondo. Kevin Garnett was outplayed by Dwight Howard and is ready to give Gasol some headaches. Paul Pierce should be ready to find ways to score since Artest will most probably get his goat. On the other hand, Ray Allen is the silent worker whose loaded gun seems unstoppable when he is on a roll. The beauty of this CEltics team is that Doc Rivers can count on anyone from the bench to step up any given night may it be Rasheed Wallace, Glen Davis, Tony Allen or Nate Robinson. For the Celtics to win, their signature defense should go to work by shutting down the other Laker scorers and tire out Bryant in the end. Come crunch time, 4 veterans against 1 superstar would be hard to beat.

Ray Allen will play a big role for the Celtics

When all has been said and done, it is usually the things not talked about that determines the winner so do sit back, relax and enjoy this series. This renewed rivalry will determine who is more determined, the team that is out for revenge or the team seeking redemption. Take your pick!

Charice's Hit Video - PYRAMID

As I listened to this song all the while I thought it was sang by an American vocal artist. But when I saw the video and saw it was Charice singing I was just impressed more by the way she sang the song. The video is nearing eight million hits and its nice to note that there is another Filipino brining honor to the country.

Sudan's Tatoo

While watching the STI vs Letran game, San Beda's foreign center sat beside us. I noticed that on his right leg was a tatoo of a prayer. Lo and behold it was an excerpt of what they call The Deer's Cry or prayer which is a prayer for protection.

The DEER's CRY
A prayer for protection

I arise today

I ask that
Through God’s strength to pilot me:
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me
God's haste to save me
in this world
Alone and as an individual.

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

Prince of Persia is a video game franchise created by Jordan Mechner. Through the various titles, the series has been developed and published by many different companies: the first two games in the series,Prince of Persia and Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the flame, were developed by Brøderbund; in recent years Ubisoft has developed the games, starting with Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. Originally it was primarily a side-scrolling platform video game; the franchise has evolved to three - dimensional action-platform games, and has spawned the movie Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time released in May 2010, by Disney.

I liked the movie because of the story and the characters that each actor played was just like a marriage made in heaven. Jake Gyllenhaal takes the lead as he looks great all bulked up. Jake plays Dastaan a street smart kid adopted by the King of Persia, he eventually becomes a Prince. His adventures include having to deal with the nagging Princess Tamina of Alamut which is played by Gemma Atherton. Just watch the movie I guarantee that you will love it

Jobslive Interview

The interview came out four weeks after the event! It seemed so odd that the video came out late but like what they say better late than never!

Olympians beat Letran Knights

Cedric Ablaza towers over the others

Defense is a way of making your opponents create mistakes through the system you design for them to commit these mistakes. This was the scenario at the Father Martin's Cup when the STI College Olympians forced the Letran Knights to numerous errors that paved the way to STI College's 64-49 victory over the multi-titled NCAA squad. This was a very important win for the Olympians whose Head Coach Vic Ycasiano just arrived from a trip from the US with the RP Nokia 18 and under team.

Cedric Ablaza on the drive

The Knights started the game like a house on fire as they raced to a commanding 24-11 lead in the first quarter as they asserted their strength over the former NAASCU Champions. After figuring out what the Knights have been doing, the Olympians countered with a pulverizing run that did not sit well for the Intramuros based squad. The Knights were limited to just two second quarter points as the Olympians led by second year forward Cedric Ablaza equalized 26 – all after the first half.

Abby Chavez on the reverse

Come the third quarter, the knights were in to more trouble as the Olympians not only played good defense, but translated their defensive gems into baskets. NAASCU Mythical five selectee Jerald Bautista was the recipient of most of the fastbreak points as he torched the Knights in every chance that he had. Bautista would end up scoring 14 points as he joined hands with Ablaza as the top scorers.

Henri Betayenga on the drive

By the time the fourth quarter was on its last five minutes the Olympians were on its biggest lead at 54-46 and the only thing the Knights can do was bring down the lead. The Knights leaned on Kevin Alas, Jaypee Belencion and Jam Cortes to bring the lead down to a more respectable margin. It was a total team effort for the Olympians as their swarming defense, pressure defense and man to man coverage proved to be something that the Knights had a hard time handling. New Olympian recruit Henri Betayenga scored 8 points but hits presence was felt more on the defensive end as the Knights who were driving to the hoop found it hard to elude his long limbs that resulted in botched jumpers and lay ups.

Jasper Melano controlling the ball

There are still forty days to go before the opening of the 10^th NAASCU and the Olympians are starting to show the stuff that made them rule the NAASCU. But then again its too early to speculate. This is the fourth win of the Olympians in the Fr. Martin’s Cup and their first win ever against Letran.

Boxscores:

STI COLLEGE (64)

Ablaza 15, Bautista 14, Henri 8, Sabellina 7, Melano 6, Ihalas 5, Chavez 4, Alcantara 3, Gabo 2, Villadoz 0, Morales 0, Labrador 0, Po 0, Daguplo 0,

LETRAN COLLEGE (49)

Cortes 12, K. Alas 10, J. Alas 8, Dysam 7, Belencion 6, Espiritu 4, Belorio 2, Taplah 0, Rodil 0, Almazan 0, Pantin 0, Ang 0, Alejandro 0.

Quarterscores

11-24, 26-26, 44-36, 69-54