#NBA3X Philippines 2015

THREE-PEATS MARK NBA 3X PHILIPPINES 2015

Team EGS Elite completes Grand Slam in Men’s Open Division Champion, Team Alcaraz three-peats in Celebrity Division, Slam Dunk and Three-Point Shoot Out kings also win three-straight

Manila, Philippines, 30 August 2015 – Personal and team Grand Slams marked the fifth consecutive NBA 3X Philippines 2015 at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall as EGS Team  won the championship three years-in-a row in the Men’s Open Division and Team Alcaraz again dominated the Celebrity Division for the third consecutive year.

Celebrity Division champs, Team Alcaraz made up of (from left)  Rambo Nunez, Marco Alcaraz, Jose Sarasola and Derick Hubalde, flash the "3" sign after their Grand Slam feat in this division.

EGS – with Ian Garrido, Rocky Acidre, Rutger Acidre and Mark Anthony Doligan -- beat Double Play, 21 to 15, via strong defensive play and awesome rebounding, while Team Alcaraz, made up of TV personality Marco Alcaraz, Rambo Nuñez, Derick Hubalde and Jose Sarasola, defeated the Derek Ramsay-led Team Ramsay with smart play and a flurry of outside shots.

In the individual category JC Baltazar of the Ateneo de Manila was three-time KFC Bucket 3-Point Shootout King and David Carlos again reigned as NBA 3X Philippines Tattoo Slam Dunk champion for the third time.

More teams established credentials in other categories. Animo Greenhills beat Ball is Life in the Boys Under 18 division, earning back-to-back NBA 3X crowns even as they moved up two age divisions to keep team members intact. Jr. WNBA All-Star 2015 alumni Panki David, Mika Pentecostes and Kyla Flores won the Girls Under 16 title with classmate Sam Solosa, beating the Lady Conquerors in a fast-paced game.

Team adidas, made up of varsity players of the College of St. Benilde – Kat Merilo, Tiffany Ngo, JP Gula and Nel Sinsioco – defeated the Wildcats in the Women’s Open in a tough and physical game. The Open Champions—Men and Women – were rewarded with the chance to take part in the adidas Grab for Charity where they could grab all the adidas merchandise they wanted at the SM Mall of Asia adidas store within a 30 second period. The NBA donated the equivalent amount of the winnings in the adidas store – PhP 150,000 -- to World Vision. This is the second consecutive year that the NBA is donating an equivalent amount to charity.

In the Boys Under 13, Kabaka defeated Ink for Less 13-11 while the Bagoong Republic beat the Teammates, 13-9 in the Boys Under 16 division.

David Carlos, two-time Slam Dunk champion, defeated Jr. NBA All-Star and varsity Slam Dunk king, Ricci Rivero, getting 10’s from judges Danny Green, Kenneth Faried, Patrisha of the Warriors Dance Team, Carlo Singson, NBA Asia Country Manager, Philippines and Jinno Rufino of Basketball TV.

Denver Nugget Kenneth Faried is wowed by a young baller.

Danny Green guides a young World Vision kid in the ways of basketball in the NBA Cares activity of NBA 3X Philippines 2015.

A team of young players had the once-in-a-lifetime experience of playing 3-on-3 with Kenneth Faried, Danny Green and Lester Doone of the NBA at center court. The young team held their own against the power team of NBA personalities.

The three-day NBA event was experienced by a huge mall crowd that gathered from Friday to Sunday at the Music Hall, as the the Golden State Warriors Dance Team thrilled them with high-energy half-time numbers and Franklin the Dog made them laugh with his funny antics. Faried and Green also interacted with the crowd and Green conducted an NBA Cares activity with the children of World Vision.

The official partners of NBA 3X Philippines 2015 were adidas, Globe and Tattoo powered by Globe, KFC and Phoenix Petroleum with SM Mall of Asia, Spalding and Mang Tomas. Official NBA broadcasters were ABS-CBN Sports and Action, BTV and NBA Premium TV.

The Golden State Warriors Dance Team work their magic on the SM Mall of Asia crowd.

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The NBA: Basketball Perfection: 2014 San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs blitzed the Miami Heat in 5 games.
They won by an average of 18 points while losing one by 2 points.
(Image from: USA Today Sports) 

As I watched the San Antonio Spurs dismantle, obliterate and bamboozle the back-to-back champions Miami Heat, I couldn't help but admire and appreciate the Spurs' current style of basketball. The Spurs truly played an excellent brand of hoops and it was scintillating to watch even if it involved my Miami Heat getting destroyed in the Finals. The SAS displayed basketball perfection and I'm not sure if there is any team out there capable of beating them in the Finals and maybe even next season especially since there's a good chance that everyone important will be back.

The NBA Roundup: December 27, 2013

Two days after Christmas (in Manila, at least), hoop nuts everywhere were treated to an entertaining set of games in the NBA. And, thank God, those insane sleeved jerseys weren’t anywhere on the hardwood. Let’s keep it that way, shall we?

Today, Jeff Teague outdueled Kyrie Irving in Cleveland, LaMarcus Aldridge and the Blazers continued to roll, Danny Green hit all five of his threes as SAS beat Dallas, and James Harden booked a place in the history books after scoring 27 points on the strength of… 2 field goals.

Jeff Teague stepped up big time as ATL escaped Cleveland.
(image by Tony Dejak/AP)

The 2013 NBA Finals: Spurs Push Heat to the Edge

Manu Ginobili came alive in Game 5 with a vintage performance.
The Spurs are 1 win away from the trophy
(Image from: Getty Images)

#Ginobili #vintage
The Spurs led from start to finish. The Heat came close a couple of times but the Spurs controlled this game with their tempo, pace and extremely hot shooting. It did not matter that they had 18 turnovers since they had more rebounds and points in the paint than Miami. Plus, the Spurs shot an outstanding 60% from the field for the whole game! Miami in comparison struggled making shots (43%) and failed miserably in finishing in the paint. Major credit goes to Coach Pop for making adjustments especially inserting Manu Ginobili into the starting lineup. Manu has not started a game all year before Game 5 of the Finals and he responded with 24 points and 10 assists to go with a handful of tough shots. That was a vintage performance from him after only scoring a total of 17 points in the previous three games. Does Manu have another good game after this? Boris Diaw also played well defensively against LeBron James especially in the post. No Kidding. Diaw managed to hold his ground versus James. LBJ struggled in the 2nd half with only 5 points. Overall, the Spurs played an excellent team game with balanced scoring as the starters scored 107 points. Tony Parker's hamstring didnt bother him at all as he finished with 26 points while attacking Cole and Chalmers all game long.

#FinalsMVP #DG
The Spurs are 1 win away from the title and they will have 2 tries in Miami to accomplish that. They already won on the road in Game 1 so they know that winning in Florida is very doable. Tony Parker and Tim Duncan both have been solid while Kawhi Leonard and Gary Neal have displayed instances of inspired production. But the best player and most consistent guy has been Danny Green. He leads them in scoring (18 ppg) and is shooting an amazing 66% from threes. Green already has the Finals record for most threes made in a series with still 1 game, possibly 2 more left. He beat Ray Allen who owned the previous record. Green is 25 of 38 from deep and if the Spurs win the title, he could realistically win the Finals MVP. Green has also played stellar defense on Wade and James on numerous instances. His transition defense is much improved and on a couple of times in Game 5, Green bothered Wade and James enough on fast breaks to make them miss shots they normally make with ease. Credit goes to Green for playing with energy and motivation but Miami also needs to focus defensively to prevent him from being this hot.

#NoDefense #Rayray
Dwyane Wade had another good game offensively with 25 points and 10 assists but his defensive pressure and attention to rotations were terrible. Wade only had 1 steal after having 6 in their last game. He failed to finish multiple shots around the rim and often whined, bitched and complained after missed shots. His slow transition defense gave the Spurs all the space they need for easy baskets. D-Wade's lackluster defense led to numerous open shots for the Spurs, especially his defensive assignment, Danny Green. It has been 5 games already yet Green is still taking open shots and naturally making them. Miami needs to shut him down if they want to win both games in South Beach. Meanwhile, Ray Allen played his best game of the finals in their loss. Rayray had two 4-point plays and he scored 15 points in the 4th quarter to keep Miami around but it was not enough. Miami needs to stay away from Chalmers-Cole in the next game and give Allen more time on the court. LeBron James had an average game and he shot poorly again. It was baffling to see Boris Diaw bother him too much on defense. The Heat 3 need to show up and dominate again if they want to see at least Game 7.

#Game6Preview #Check #WinOrGoHome
The Heat was outplayed and out-coached. This was a total team loss from the players and coaching staff. Miami did not match the effort, desperation and intensity of the Spurs. They came to San Antonio content on winning just 1 game and now the pressure is on Miami to win 2 straight at home after not winning consecutive games in over a month. Erik Spoelstra did not alter his lineup to counter what the Spurs were doing correctly. The Spurs went to their small ball lineup with Ginobili starting and he responded with his best game of the playoffs. Mike Miller has started the last 2 games and has not scored. He took 1 shot in 25 minutes in Game 5. There's no point in playing Miller that much when he isnt shooting and scoring. Shane Battier would have been a better choice even if his shot aint falling because he plays better defense and will take shots. Udonis Haslem had no points and was -20 while Birdman was glued to the bench again. Spo should give the minutes to Birdman next time because he is a better rim protector and finisher. His energy should also boost the Heat. Lastly, the PGs have struggled so Ray Allen should play more. Norris Cole has disappeared in the last couple of games.  

#Player of the Night
Manu Ginobili (Spurs) - 24 points, 2 rebounds, 10 assists and +19

#Highlight of the Night
Danny Green for THREEs

#Tweets of the Nights

Michael Wallace ‏@WallaceNBA_ESPN

Tony Parker, when asked how could Heat continue to leave Danny Green open for 3s: "You can't stop everything."

Zach Lowe ‏@ZachLowe_NBA

Wade's whining before getting back on defense costs Miami three more points.

The 2013 NBA Finals: Spurs Extinguish the Heat

Danny Green and Gary Neal played the best games of their careers in Game 3.
The back court duo combined for 51 points and made 13 threes together.
(Image from: Eric Gay/AP)

#blowout #payback #embarrass #annihilate 
The game was close in the 1st half but the Spurs were in control. Miami tied it at 44 all and that was the closest they ever got. The Heat never led in this game and they were lucky to be down just 6 at the break. Gary Neal was the best player in the first half as he led all scorers with 15 points. Then the Spurs had a run in the 3rd quarter that was similar to the Heat's run in Game 2. This run was a lot BETTER though as it carried over to the 4th quarter and finished as a 36-point beat down. The Spurs utterly embarrassed the Heat and dominated all facets of the game. The Spurs rained threes all over the court as they made 16 of them which is a finals record. They were +16 on the boards, +8 in assists and -4 in turnovers. Needless to say, they owned all the winning categories. San Antonio played with more intensity and focus which was headed by their support players while Miami's star players lacked energy and urgency. Miami settled for a bunch of jumpers which they missed and they hardly attacked the paint. The Heat managed just 10 FTs with LBJ getting none. Credit to the Spurs for limiting the Heat but as Danny Green said, Miami (or LBJ) was also stopping themselves more by settling and being passive.

#Spurs3 #Kawhi #Danny #Gary
The biggest stars of Game 3 all came from the Spurs' Big 3. The names though are a lot different: Gary Neal, Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard. Neal and Green played their best games in their careers while Leonard finished with another double-double. This trio had more points and rebounds than the Heat 3 plus they made 15 threes. They have been playing very well in this series which bodes well for the Spurs. The "new" Big 3 actually has more points than Parker, Manu and Duncan in this series while they have matched the total output of Wade, Bosh and James. Wow. It does not even matter that Manu and Parker only combined for 13 points when the role players exploded for 51 points. Green and Leonard have also been impressive defensively against Wade and James. Green made Wade pay often for missed rotations and bad decisions as he connected on 7-9 from deep. Meanwhile, Kawhi was active on the glass again beating James for a few loose balls. If this continues for the Spurs, the Heat wont win another game in this series. It wont even matter if Tony Parker is injured/limited for the rest of the series due to a hamstring problem. The Spurs play as a team and they can compensate for anything. The same cannot be applied to Miami.  

#StepUp #NoExcuses #LetsGoHeat
Mike Miller was the best player for Miami as he finished with 15 points on 5/5 shooting from distance. Super Mario was nowhere in sight as he battled foul trouble. Instead, "Wario" Chalmers showed up with ZERO points and 4 turnovers. Dwyane Wade was great in the first half AGAIN (12 points) but predictably came up missing in the 2nd half. As for Bosh, he settled for jumpers which he mostly missed. LeBron James had less than 20 points AGAIN as he settled for jumpers and remained tentative offensively. The 4-time MVP appears to show signs of fatigue and mental breakdowns similar to what happened in the 2011 Finals. At least during that time, Wade was scoring over 25 points and that aint happening this year. The Spurs are doing a good job defensively but James can certainly overcome their defense. He needs to be aggressive and look for his shot early on instead of always passing. He cannot settle for jumpers as his ZERO FTs indicated.  The worst part of his game (and Wade too), Leonard and Green are doing more than them. That is unacceptable for the so-called superstars. They still have a chance to rectify the situation and it needs to happen in Game 4 because if they lose, it is most probably over.  

#Game4Preview #MustWin #WinOrGoHome
Miami was fortunate that this loss only counted as one because this blowout felt more than that. This loss was the worst in the era of the Heat 3. It was their worst loss of the year and it came at a terrible time. Everything that worked in Game 2 was going against them in Game 3. They now enter a "must win" situation on Thursday because a loss would almost guarantee a parade in San Antonio next week. The Heat has not lost 2 straight in 6 months but what they need is a string of consecutive wins because alternating wins and losses would give the Spurs the trophy. Miami knows what it needs to do: rotate on threes, force more turnovers and battle on the boards. Now, can they actually do all of that in Game 4? The biggest wildcard is LeBron James who continues to struggle shooting. Even his defense has been sub par. It's not all his fault but as the MVP and best player in the NBA, LBJ needs to score more and do more. Last year vs the Thunder, he averaged over 30 a game and Miami won. This year, he has not scored more than 18 points in 3 games and they are down in the series. I know James is passing and getting his teammates involved but if he scores more, wont the Spurs focus and help on him more which leaves his mates open more for better shots? LBJ needs to become unpredictable when it comes to forcing the issue instead of simply passing.

#Players of the Night
Danny Green (Spurs) - 27 points, 4 rebounds and 7 of 9 from downtown
Gary Neal (Spurs) - 24 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 6 of 10 from downtown

#Highlight of the Night
Raining Threes

#Tweets of the Nights

Tom Haberstroh ‏@tomhaberstroh

Heat's Big Three in this series: 130 points. Spurs Big Three of Danny Green, Gary Neal & Kawhi Leonard? Yup, 130 points.

Jemele Hill ‏@jemelehill

Dear Mark Jackson: Are you sure Steph Curry and Clay Thompson are the best shooting backcourt ever? -- Signed Danny Green & Gary Neal

The 2013 NBA Finals: The Heat Dulls the Spurs

Was this LeBron's best block of his career?(Image from: SI.com)

#blowout #skirmish #turnovers
That was quick. This game was close for 33 minutes with both teams trading leads. No team had a lead bigger than 5 points during that stretch. The Spurs actually had a one-point lead at 62-61 with more than 3 minutes left in the 3rd frame. Then, the floodgates opened in favor of Miami via 33-5 explosion that put the Spurs away. The bulk of that lead occurred with both Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the bench. Miami turned up their defensive pressure as the Spurs committed 5-6 turnovers during that skirmish while the Heat started making their shots, a few threes as well courtesy of Ray Allen and Mike Miller. Coach Pop decided to wave the white flag with about 7 minutes to go in the game. LeBron James was not particularly dominating in Game 2 until the 4th quarter started where he had 9 points including a powerful block on Tiago Splitter. The encouraging part about the Heat's run was that their shooters found their touch and the defensive pressure increased. The discouraging part has to be Wade and Bosh still not playing at their best levels.  

#SuperMario #roleplayers
Can you believe that Super Mario Chalmers was the best PG on the floor yesterday? When that happens, you can assume that the Heat won the game. Chalmers was brilliant in picking his spots and being aggressive. He attacked Tony Parker a few times and drew And1 calls. Super Mario ended up having more points and less turnovers than Parker. Chalmers had games like this in the Finals last year and if he keeps this up, Miami has a very good chance of winning in San Antonio. The other role players played stellar roles too with Miller hitting all 3 of his shots for 9 points, Ray Allen with 13 points and Birdman chipping in 9 points and 4 rebounds. During the first half, the Heat 3 combined for only 20 points but the Heat scored 50 and was up by 5 at the break. Miami needs their support players to bring their games to Texas because LeBron James has struggled shooting while Dwyane Wade seems to disappear in the 2nd half after having productive 1st halves.

#Kawhi #DG #roleplayers
Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green were having fantastic games for the Spurs. Both of them kept San Antonio close with their scoring and defense. Leonard had a monster game on the glass with 14 rebounds while Green was amazing from the field with 17 points on 6-6 shooting including 5 threes. Green at one point had more points than LeBron. DG also played terrific defense on LBJ including stopping him on a transition layup plus blocking a post move by LBJ. Heck, Green even dribbled past James for a nifty floater after James crowded him to prevent another three. Credit also goes to Gary Neal who had a good 2nd quarter to keep the Spurs close to the Heat. The support players of the Spurs played good enough to win but their Big 3 did not play well. Tony Parker only had 13 points on 5-14 shooting plus he had 5 turnovers after having ZERO in Game 1 while Tim Duncan and Ginobili combined for 14 points on 5-19 shooting. Manu in particular looked old and was very sloppy with the ball. The Spurs need Manu to be more careful and productive especially when Parker rests on the bench since the PG duties transfer to Manu.

#Game3Preview #Bestof5 #Adjustments
Miami was the more intense and desperate team in Game 2. They needed this win more than the Spurs and it showed during their impressive run. The game was a blowout but it still counts as one loss and all it assured us was that there will be a Game 5. All the pressure is still on Miami since the next 3 games are in Texas where the Spurs are 6-1 during the playoffs. The Spurs dont necessarily need to win all 3 games since they know they can come back to Florida in win there. Miami can also win on the road (best road team in NBA) and they have to win at least one game there if they want to come back to South Beach for Game 6. The winner of Game 3 in a 1-1 series during the Finals has won 11 of the last 12 championships. So far, the keys to the game have been turnovers and points in the paint. The team with less turnovers and edge in points in the paint has won both games. Miami forced the Spurs to 17 turnovers after only 4 from Game 1. The Heat showed us another gear during their run which was mostly evident during their 27-game win streak. Can Miami showcase that in Texas OR can the Spurs match that gear?

#Player of the Night
Mario Chalmers (Heat) - 19 points, 4, rebounds and 2 assists and was +30

#Highlight of the Night
The BLOCK

#Tweets of the Nights

Bill Simmons ‏@BillSimmons

Best block I have ever seen in person. I'm sitting behind basket, it was incredible. Could see it coming too. LeBron is the Smoke Monster.

Metta World Peace ‏@MettaWorldPeace

Miami is bringing the lettuce!!!!!!!! No matter good the spurs burger is, if Miami brings the lettuce , they win!!