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‘Ice’ Trae: Young nails last-gasp stunner as Hawks beat Celtics
Trae Young nailed a last-gasp three-pointer as the Atlanta Hawks stunned the Boston Celtics 119-117 to keep their Eastern Conference playoff series alive on Tuesday. Young drained a 29-footer with just 1.8 seconds remaining to silence Boston's TD Garden and ensure a game six back in Atlanta on Thursday. Young, who finished with 38 points, 13 assists and four rebounds, said the Hawks had been determined to extend the series following the suspension of key guard Dejounte Murray. Murray was suspended after a clash with a referee after game four on Sunday. "We were missing a big piece of ours and we want him to play game six, so we want to go back home and have him with us," Young said of Murray. "I didn't feel there was any pressure on me. Obviously we were without (Murray) but we all had to step our game up another level -- not just me, we all did tonight. Total team win." The Celtics, leading the series 3-1, had looked to be cruising to victory after dominating for most of the second half to lead by 13 points midway through the fourth quarter. But with Boston poised to wrap up a 4-1 series victory, Young and the Hawks took over with a startling late rally in the closing minutes that whittled away the Celtics lead. Young nailed back-to-back three-pointers to level the scores at 111-111 with 2:42 remaining and then hit three free throws to help Atlanta take a 114-113 lead. Robert Williams handed Boston a one-point advantage to make it 115-114 to the Celtics with 25.6 seconds left on the clock. But a rash foul by Boston's Marcus Smart presented Young with two more free throws to edge the Hawks into a 116-115 lead. Young then had a nervous moment after conceding a foul on Derrick White, who shot two free throws to put the Celtics 117-116 ahead with 7.3 seconds left on the clock. Young however responded superbly, calmly bringing the ball up court before launching a pullup three-pointer to give Atlanta a 119-117 lead before Boston's final desperate last attack fizzled. Young's 38-point tally included 16 in the fourth quarter, while John Collins provided offensive backup with 22 points. Bogdan Bogdanovic finished with 18 points. Boston's scoring was led by Jaylen Brown with 35 points while Jayson Tatum added 19. Four other Boston players finished in double figures. The post ‘Ice’ Trae: Young nails last-gasp stunner as Hawks beat Celtics appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Warriors down Kings to level series; Knicks and Celtics on brink
Stephen Curry scored 32 points as the Golden State Warriors held off a ferocious fourth-quarter fightback from the Sacramento Kings to secure a series-leveling 126-125 victory in the NBA playoffs on Sunday. Harrison Barnes almost snatched victory for Sacramento on the buzzer, but his long-range effort bounced off the rim to leave the NBA champions celebrating a result that leaves them tied at 2-2 in the best-of-seven series after dropping games one and two. In the East, meanwhile, the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics moved within a victory of advancing, the Knicks beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 102-93 and the Celtics downing Atlanta 129-121 to each take 3-1 series leads. Curry breathed a sigh of relief after two uncharacteristic blunders in a frenetic finale at the Chase Center. The Warriors talisman missed a wide-open three-pointer with his team-leading 126-121 with less than a minute remaining. Curry compounded that rare miss by erroneously calling a time-out when the Warriors had none left, earning a technical foul and allowing Sacramento's Malik Monk to make it a four-point game with a free throw. A superb De’Aaron Fox three-pointer from 28 feet then left Sacramento within one at 126-125, and when Curry missed another floater, the Kings had a chance to win it only to see Barnes's late effort bounce out. "I ain't gonna lie, I thought it was the smartest play in the world," Curry said of his timeout call after a failed challenge had cost the Warriors their last time out. "I looked over at the bench and everybody was shaking their head. "But we did what we needed to do defensively in those last 10 seconds," a relieved Curry said. "We've protected home court, and now we move on." Barnes's late miss was the final act of a thrilling battle between the Western Conference rivals that saw the lead change hands no fewer than 19 times as momentum ebbed and flowed throughout. Golden State looked to have turned the screw decisively in the third quarter, outscoring the Kings 37-23 to start the fourth with a 10-point advantage. Sacramento, however, came surging back with a 7-0 run to start the final quarter and only a handful of points separated the two teams in the waning seconds. Curry led the Warriors' scoring with 32 points while Klay Thompson added 26, including four three-pointers, and Jordan Poole had 22. Andrew Wiggins added 18 points while Draymond Green, returning after suspension, had 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists off the bench. Fox produced a dazzling performance for Sacramento with 38 points while Keegan Murray added 23 and Monk 16. The Kings host game five on Wednesday. In New York, Jalen Brunson drained five three-pointers on the way to 29 points for the Knicks, who again electrified Madison Square Garden. With just one win from three more games the Knicks can advance past the first round for the first time since 2013. New York led by as many as 15 on the way to a nine-point halftime lead. A big third quarter saw the Cavs sneak into a narrow lead before a sustained Knicks rally in the fourth. Brunson was one of four players in double figures with R.J. Barrett providing offensive support with 26 points. Darius Garland led Cleveland 23 points but Donovan Mitchell had a game to forget after finishing with just 11 points -- only two in the second half. The Cavs will try to extend the series when they host game five on Wednesday. The Celtics can wrap up their series at home on Tuesday after bouncing back from a disappointing game-three defeat with a convincing victory in Atlanta. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored 31 points apiece for the Celtics, each delivering a dunk in the final minute as the Celtics thwarted the Hawks' final rally bid. Hawks star Trae Young finished with a game-high 35 points and handed out 14 assists. But Boston stepped up their defensive intensity and had an answer for every Atlanta run, never trailing after the first quarter. The post Warriors down Kings to level series; Knicks and Celtics on brink appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Nuggets take 3-0 lead over Timberwolves, Knicks dominate Cavs
The Denver Nuggets, fueled by a Nikola Jokic triple-double, beat Minnesota 120-111 on Friday to take a 3-0 stranglehold on their NBA Western Conference playoff series as the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks notched big home wins. The Knicks had Madison Square Garden rocking with a dominant 99-79 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers that put New York up 2-1. The Hawks clawed back to 2-1 after dropping the first two games against the Celtics in Boston with a 130-122 triumph. Atlanta crucially avoided falling into a 3-0 hole -- a deficit no NBA team has ever recovered from to win a best-of-seven series. And that's exactly where Western Conference top seeds Denver have the Timberwolves after two-time reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic's seventh career playoff triple-double. Jokic scored 20 points with 11 rebounds and 12 assists, and when he was limited by foul trouble in the third quarter his teammates kept the pressure on. Michael Porter Jr scored 25 points to lead six Nuggets players in double figures and Denver's reserves out-scored the Timberwolves bench 29-10. They kept the Timberwolves at bay despite a sparkling 36 points from Anthony Edwards, whose three-pointer early in the third pulled Minnesota within three points. They were down by five with less than five minutes remaining, but couldn't break through. Jokic, who led the league with 29 triple-doubles in the regular season, said he knows they'll be even more determined on Sunday to prevent a sweep on their home floor. "We know they're going to go even more aggressive in two days," Jokic said. "So we just need to keep our composure and we know what to expect." In New York, Jalen Brunson scored 21 points and RJ Barrett added 19 for the Knicks, who rebounded from a humbling game two defeat in Cleveland. The Knicks' suffocating defense contributed to a dismal night for Cleveland's Darius Garland, who missed 17 of his 21 shot attempts on the way to 10 points. Donovan Mitchell scored 22 to lead the Cavs, who became the first team this season to be held under 80 points in an NBA game. To top it off, Garland -- who scored 32 points in the Cavs' win on Tuesday -- needed treatment on his left ankle in the second half after stepping on a courtside photographer's foot. The game was the first playoff contest at Madison Square Garden in two years and the "chaos" that New York native and Cavs star Mitchell predicted materialized. Both teams made sloppy starts in the raucous atmosphere, but the Knicks steadied to take a 13-point halftime lead that they pushed to as many as 27. "This was great," said Brunson, but he warned that the Cavs would punch back in game four on Sunday. "You want to carry it over, but at the same time we've got to be focused, we've got to be ready to go." In Atlanta, Trae Young scored 32 points and Dejounte Murray added 25 as the hot-shooting Hawks clawed back into their series against the Celtics. Young shook off two sub-par performances with a stellar display, connecting on 12 of 22 shots from the field with six rebounds and nine assists. "Our whole team was making plays all night and it was up to me to go make the right one," Young said. "It's not only to score, sometimes it's to get everybody involved." He also produced a pair of blocks as the Hawks out-hustled the second-seeded Celtics -- who fell to Golden State in the NBA Finals last year. Jayson Tatum scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Boston. Marcus Smart added 24 and Jaylen Brown had 15 for the Celtics, who drained 21 three-pointers but were out-rebounded 48-29. Smart said there was no secret to the Hawks' advantage on the boards, which led to their 23-9 edge in second-chance points. "It's just a matter of will," Smart said, "and they wanted it more tonight." Tatum still had a chance to tie it with 58.1 seconds left but his three-point attempt bounced off the rim and the Hawks pulled away. "I've got to play better," said a dejected Tatum, who said he made too many untimely turnovers and poor decisions. "This one tonight is on me." Atlanta will try to level the series when they host game four on Sunday. The post Nuggets take 3-0 lead over Timberwolves, Knicks dominate Cavs appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Celtics dominate Hawks, Cavs rout Knicks to square series
Jayson Tatum starred as the Boston Celtics took a 2-0 series lead over the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA playoffs on Tuesday, while Darius Garland delivered a 32-point gem in Cleveland's series-leveling rout of the New York Knicks. Tatum finished with 29 points as the second-seeded Celtics overcame a slow start to dominate the seventh-seeded Hawks for a 119-106 victory at Boston's TD Garden. "Playoffs are all about adjustments, trying to move on from game-to-game, seeing what you can do better -- and I think we played better," Tatum said after the win. "We want to be peaking at this time of year. Everybody's healthy, playing the right way, playing really well -- but we've got another level we can go to hopefully." Atlanta jumped out to a 22-11 lead in the first quarter before Boston's offense clicked to give the Celtics a 28-25 lead heading into the second quarter. Once in front, the Celtics never relinquished the advantage, opening up a 61-49 half-time lead and extending that to 20 points midway through the third quarter as Boston's defense shut down Atlanta's scoring. Atlanta rallied to get within eight points of the Celtics in the fourth quarter, but Boston never looked like squandering their lead down the stretch and pulled away convincingly to ensure they will take a 2-0 advantage into game three in Atlanta on Friday. Tatum finished with 29 points including five three-pointers, while Derrick White provided offensive support with 26 points and Jaylen Brown added 18 points. Dejounte Murray led Atlanta's scorers with 29 points while Trae Young finished with 24. "They won, we lost -- we've just got to be better," Atlanta playmaker Young said after the defeat. Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference playoffs on Tuesday, the Cleveland Cavaliers roared back into their best-of-seven series with the Knicks to score a 107-90 win Beaten 101-97 in game one on Saturday, the Cavaliers bounced back in spectacular fashion to score a blowout victory. Cleveland opened up a 25-22 first quarter lead and never looked back, outscoring Cleveland 34-17 in the second quarter to take a decisive grip on the contest. New York failed to get within 15 points of the Cavs throughout the second half, as Cleveland powered on to lead by as many as 29 midway through the fourth quarter. Cleveland point guard Garland produced a sparkling display with 32 points -- 26 of them in a devastating first-half scoring burst. Caris LeVert added 24 off the bench while Donovan Mitchell added 17 points with 13 assists. The Knicks offense meanwhile failed to fire, with the team's 90-point total their second lowest tally of the season. Julius Randle finished with 22 points while Jalen Brunson added 20. Game three of the series takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York on Friday. The post Celtics dominate Hawks, Cavs rout Knicks to square series appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Hawks, Clippers score against-the-odds wins over top-seeded rivals
LOS ANGELES (AFP) – The top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers and Utah Jazz were left on the brink of elimination from the NBA playoffs on Wednesday as the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Clippers notched against-the-odds victories on the road. In Philadelphia, Trae Young scored 39 points as Atlanta overturned a 26-point second-half deficit to lead the […].....»»
Lady Gaga, car horns trumpet Biden’s grand campaign finale
PITTSBURGH (AFP) – Honking horns, huge American flags, and pop superstar Lady Gaga: on the eve of the presidential election, Joe Biden brought an air of spectacle to workers’ stronghold Pittsburgh as he capped a campaign largely curtailed by the Covid-19 pandemic. US singer Lady Gaga performs prior to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaking during a Drive-In Rally at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on November 2, 2020. (Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP) “The power’s in your hands, Pennsylvania!” the Democratic White House nominee thundered late Monday to several hundred supporters gathered for a drive-in rally in what has become the pivotal state in Biden’s battle against President Donald Trump. “It’s time to stand up and take back our democracy,” the 77-year-old added, prompting a crescendo of car horns outside the stadium that is home to the Pittsburgh Steelers American football team. In the biting November cold, Biden took up the clarion call of a campaign that he launched 18 months ago: “This is a battle for the soul of America,” he said. “We have to win this.” Lady Gaga, clad in a white sweatshirt with “Joe” printed on the front, listened and applauded from her stage. Minutes earlier she had peeled off her gloves and sat down at a white piano to give a short but inspired musical warmup to the Biden headliner. “Gloves off because it’s a fight — a fight for what you believe in,” she said before launching into her hit “Shallow.” The 34-year-old Grammy winner called on the audience to vote for Biden because “we needed somebody that was going to bring us all together for this moment, for this very important moment.” “No matter who wins tomorrow, we’re going to have to do this together. Tomorrow’s got to be peaceful,” she added somberly, in an allusion to the tensions that have swelled in the United States ahead of the poll. The singer, who once lived in Pennsylvania, has been in this position before. In 2016, she helped close out the campaign of Democrat Hillary Clinton, who lost in a shocker to Trump. ‘End of Trump era?’ Dancing in the parking lot was Jamie Scafuri, a 26-year-old hairdresser, who came with friends invited by someone who works for the campaign. “We’re hoping that it’s the end of the Trump era,” Scafuri told AFP. “We’re hopeful. That’s why we’re here.” These drive-in rallies have become a staple of the Democrat’s mostly low-key campaign, which has scrupulously adhered to social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines to guard against the coronavirus, which has already killed more than 230,000 Americans. But despite efforts to put on a show at least partly resembling concert-infused mega-rallies that have traditionally marked the end of a campaign, the cars parked at distance, sparse spectators and few journalists allowed to enter makes it clear: the pandemic has upset the face of American politics in 2020. “Stay close to your cars!” urged an announcer as fans rushed forward for the arrival of Lady Gaga, in scenes far removed from the massive Trump rallies that often bring thousands of supporters packed together, very often without wearing masks. But here, Biden’s supporters understand the constraints. “I feel safe being here around our car with masks on, but it’s a great opportunity to celebrate life for sure,” Scafuri said. Biden is “a pro-science, pro-healthcare candidate, so it makes sense that he would want to protect his constituents,” added Scafuri’s friend Katie Soulen, 32, who owns the salon where they work. Trump ‘don’t care’ about us Biden is coming full circle with his campaign. The former vice president launched his White House candidacy — his third, following disastrous bids in 1988 and 2008 — in April 2019 in this blue-collar city. Even then, in the cradle of the American steel industry now remaking itself as a tech hub, Biden predicted that a victory against the Republican president would “happen here,” in Pennsylvania. Biden has a slight lead in the pivotal state, which Trump won by less than a percentage point in 2016. But the polls have tightened in recent days, and after the brash billionaire’s shock victory four years ago, some Democrats are nervous. But Bob Wilson, born and raised “right where we stand” in Pittsburgh, is confident that Trump will be defeated. “No, we’re gonna crush him… We’re gonna beat him in every state,” the 68-year-old retired truck driver, now a union official, said as he waited for Biden in the large parking lot at Heinz Field, named after the giant food processing company founded here in the 19th century. Trump is “not qualified” and “don’t care about nobody but himself,” he added......»»
2020 king of recruiting crown remains on UP’s head
Who was our King of Recruiting in 2018? Find out here. Who was our King of Recruiting in 2019? Find out here. --- From 2007 to 2015, the University of the Philippines only had 13 wins to show in 126 games total. That time is self-deprecatingly called in Diliman as the dark days. Due to that disappointing standing, the Fighting Maroons had the toughest time bringing in recruits. And due to that lack of pieces to the puzzles, they lost even more. Safe to say, State U was stuck in a vicious cycle in the dark days. That’s not to say they didn’t have blue-chip recruits back then as in their time, all of Woody Co, Mark Juruena, Mike Gamboa, Kyles Lao, Jett Manuel, and Mikee Reyes were among the best high school players. Only, a blue-chip recruit or two does not make a team. Fast forward to now and oh, how things have changed. Last year, UP was hailed as ABS-CBN’s King of Recruiting alongside University of the East. “On the strength of the transfers of Kobe Paras and Ricci Rivero, the Fighting Maroons… are worthy of the title,” it said then. And the season before that, the maroon and green was also up there with the best of them in terms of recruitment, having brought in the likes of eventual Season MVP Bright Akhuetie, Will Gozum, and Jaydee Tungcab. Indeed, there was nowhere to go but up. That has only continued this year as UP has left no doubt that it is now a force to reckon with in terms of recruitment. Early on, they already had a solid haul in Joel Cagulangan, once the best point guard in high school, and tireless workhorse Malick Diouf. And then, the shock of shocks. As it turned out, Nazareth School of National University stalwarts Carl Tamayo and Gerry Abadiano were going to be Fighting Maroons. Meaning, for the first time in recent history, the most promising prospect coming out of high school is headed to Diliman. Not only that, State U also answered its biggest question heading into next season – the question at point guard, filling in for Jun Manzo. But as it turned out, they weren’t done just yet - no, our friends, they weren’t done just yet. Tamayo and Abadiano’s departure from National U was shocking, without a doubt, but CJ Cansino’s exit from University of Sto. Tomas was even more so. Cansino, against his will, decided to move on from his alma mater since 2015 due to personal reasons. Fortunately for him, he landed on his feet. Now, the Fighting Maroons have ready-made replacement for Rivero as well as a leader in the shades of Paul Desiderio for UAAP 84. And that, our friends, is why we have no choice but to put the 2020 King of Recruiting crown on UP’s head once more. Tamayo and Abadiano are the bluest of blue-chip recruits this year and Cagulangan, Cansino, and Diouf are among the most talented transferees, but also joining them in the maroon and green will be scoring machine RC Calimag from La Salle Green Hills, burly big Miguel Tan from Xavier High School, Filipino-American playmaker Sam Dowd, Filipino-Australian tower Ethan Kirkness, physical forward Jancork Cabahug from University of Visayas, and versatile wing CJ Catapusan from Adamson University. The former Bullpups are guaranteed ato be contributors even as rookies while Calimag, Tan, and Dowd are going to shore up a bench that had just lost Gomez de Liano brothers Javi and Juan. Of course, Diouf, Kirkness, Cansino, Cabahug, and Cagulangan are still serving residency, but when they will be eligible, they will get a shot at a squad that will look brand new. All of Bright Akhuetie, J-Boy Gob, David Murrell, Noah Webb, and Rivero are graduating players while Paras is only guaranteed to play one more year. That means that after Season 83, the Fighting Maroons may very well have to fill six spots. That means that UP is not only beefing up for UAAP 83, it is also securing its future. If not for the shock of shocks, though, the crown would have been claimed by De La Salle University which sent a statement that it is back and better than ever. Justine Baltazar and Aljun Melecio may be playing their fifth and final years in college, but the green and white’s future has only brightened following this prolonged preseason. First and foremost, Kevin Quiambao, the third leg in that National U tripod of talent out of high school, has the capability and confidence to follow in the footsteps of Baltazar. Hopefully, he will be eligible for Season 83, but if not, what’s certain is he will be playing in UAAP 84. Alongside him as pieces for the future are super scorers CJ Austria and Emman Galman, all-around swingman Joshua Ramirez, and Filipino-Americans Jeromy Hughes, Kameron Vales, and Philips bros. Benjamin and Michael. Among all those, Jonnel Policarpio, likened to a young Arwind Santos, has the highest upside, but the Fil-Ams have much potential as well. And don’t forget that Evan Nelle, the primetime playmaker from San Beda University, is just getting primed and prepped to take the reins when Melecio leaves. Of course, the caveat here is that we are all in uncharted territory due to the continuing COVID-19 crisis. And in that light, the next season of the UAAP remains far away and a lot could still happen until then. While majority of the local blue-chip recruits have already committed, talents from abroad and transferees from other schools could still come and change the game. With that being said, there remains no doubt that UP and La Salle have made the biggest noise in the offseason. However, it’s not actually the Fighting Maroons or the Green Archers who got the lion’s share of the best graduating players in the 2020 NBTC 24. Yes, that honor belongs to Lyceum of the Philippines University which is finally reaping the rewards of its rising Jrs. program with NCAA 95 Jrs. MVP John Barba and Batang Gilas playmaker Mac Guadana being promoted as full-fledged Pirates. Guadana could do it all and looks like the next great guard in the Grand Old League while fearless slasher is Barba is a perfect complement to him. Add another fiery guard in John Bravo and sweet-shooting big man Carlo Abadeza and LPU has restocked its coffers after losing Marcelino twins Jaycee and Jayvee and Cameroonian powerhouse Mike Nzeusseu. In all though, the 2020 NBTC 24 was dominated by UP… and San Beda. Of the annual rankings’ 15 graduating players, four would be Fighting Maroons and another four would be Red Lions. Yes, San Beda’s grassroots program is back on track with its Jrs. championship core all remaining in red and white. Rhayyan Amsali, ranked no. 1 in the 2020 NBTC 24, is the most college-ready high school player while Justine Sanchez is a long-limbed forward who could turn out to be the next Calvin Oftana, you know, the NCAA 95 MVP. Yukien Andrada, meanwhile, is only continuing to develop his two-way game and Tony Ynot is a 3-and-D weapon who had even left an impression on Jalen Green. And hey, as somebody said, don’t sleep on the UAAP’s three-time defending champions. Ateneo may already be missing Isaac Go, Thirdy Ravena, Adrian Wong, and Nieto twins Mike and Matt and they may not be making noise as of late, but they are still welcoming Dave Ildefonso and Dwight Ramos with open arms. Ildefonso will only be good to go come UAAP 84, but Ramos is already being seen by head coach Tab Baldwin as a difference-maker for the Blue Eagles in Season 83. Eli, Dwight’s younger brother, is also in the mix to backstop SJ Belangel and Tyler Tio. Note also that former blue-chip recruit Inand Fornilos may very well finally get his shot while both Jolo Mendoza and Raffy Verano are also back. Ateneo’s foe in the Finals last year also reloaded quite a bit as for the third year in a row, UST will be sending the Tiger Cubs’ best player to the Srs. squad. Following in the footsteps of Cansino and Mark Nonoy, post player Bismarck Lina will be a Growling Tiger next season. Alongside him to fortify the frontcourt are Christian Manaytay, Bryan Samudio, and Bryan Santos while bolstering the backcourt are Joshua Fontanilla and Paul Manalang. Speaking of fortifying the frontcourt, Far Eastern University is the team that got the biggest boost in terms of size. With 6-foot-7 Nigerian Emman Ojoula’s residency over and done with, the go-go guards of the Tamaraws have yet another weapon to burn opponents with. CESAFI MVP Kevin Guibao and transferee Simone Sandagon are no slouches either while Cholo Anonuevo has a roster spot waiting for him if and when he decides to come home after trying his luck in the US. RJ Abarrientos no longer appears here as he was already in FEU’s list last year. These are the new faces to see for the other teams: CSB Blazers LETRAN Knights JRU Heavy Bombers MAPUA Cardinals ADAMSON Soaring Falcons UE Red Warriors --- Follow this writer on Twitter, @riegogogo......»»
Hawks’ Trae Young out due to concussion
Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young sustained a concussion in Saturday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers and his timetable to return to action has not been determined, the team announced Sunday. The two-time All-Star drew a charge and took an inadvertent elbow from the Cavaliers’ Isaac Okoro with 8:43 remaining in the fourth quarter and.....»»
Brownlee formula
The issue surrounding Justin Brownlee is a major blackeye to Philippine basketball. It is yet another heartbreaker for Filipinos, who were hoping and praying to see the national team reassert its dominance in the international arena. For the longest time, the Filipinos had struggled internationally. In the Asian Games, for instance, the Philippines emerged victorious in its first four editions — 1951 in New Delhi, 1954 in Manila, 1958 in Tokyo, and 1962 in Jakarta before suffering a string of frustrating finishes. The closest we got to the gold medal was in 1990 when the Basketball Association of the Philippines tasked the Philippine Basketball Association with assembling a team that would reclaim our Asian glory. It was a tall order at the time as the Philippines was coming off a bitter setback at the hands of Malaysia in the 1989 Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur. The BAP knew that only an Asian crown would soothe the pain of a nation craving revenge. But it didn’t happen. Coached by Robert “Sonny” Jaworski, the team bannered by Allan Caidic, Benjie Paras, Ramon Fernandez, Samboy Lim, and Chito Loyzaga surrendered to powerhouse China featuring Shan Tao and Ma Jian in the gold medal match. Eight years later, Tim Cone was given the marching orders to assemble another star-studded squad to represent the country in the Bangkok Asian Games in 1998. But like Jaworski, his bitter coaching nemesis at the time, Cone was also unsuccessful as his Centennial Team had to settle for bronze behind China and South Korea. In the next edition in Busan in 2002, hopes were high. Despite a sudden coaching change after American mentor Ron Jacobs suffered a stroke in the final stretch of preparations, Jong Uichico was still able to form a solid team that had a mix of Filipino-foreign stars like Asi Taulava, Eric Menk, and Rudy Hatfield, as well as homegrown stars like Olsen Racela, Kenneth Duremdes, and Danny Ildefonso. But fate wrote a cruel script. The Philippines was ahead, 68-66, in the final 23.9 seconds of the semifinal clash against South Korea. A victory would have sent the Filipinos to the gold medal match against China, while a setback would relegate them to a battle for bronze against Kazakhstan. Racela was at the charity stripe for a chance to ice the game and seal the victory. But he missed both free shots. In a shocking — and heartbreaking — turn of events, Korean gunner Lee Sang Min buried a long three-pointer off a broken play at the buzzer that sent the host country to the finals. The players were crushed while a river of tears flowed through the streets of Manila as the entire country couldn’t believe how merciless the basketball gods could be. Since then, Philippine basketball has been reduced to a mere footnote in Asian basketball. We bombed out of the medal podium in Doha in 2006 and Guangzhou in 2010. We even suffered international embarrassment when head coach Chot Reyes instructed naturalized player Marcus Douthit to shoot at our own basket in Incheon in 2014. In 2018, a legitimate National Basketball Association campaigner, Jordan Clarkson, came along and was billed as the hero who would save Philippine basketball. But he was unsuccessful. The Filipinos’ string of misfortunes continued as Gilas Pilipinas settled for fifth place. Then here came Brownlee, tapped to see action as a naturalized player in the Hangzhou Asian Games. The 35-year-old American was tasked to power a team already familiar to him — guys he had been playing with for more than five years. The coach — Cone — had been his mentor since he arrived in Manila in 2016 and led Barangay Ginebra San Miguel to six PBA titles while winning three Best Import honors. There was no honeymoon period to speak of. He hit the ground running. The result was impressive as Brownlee dropped 36 points to lead Gilas Pilipinas to a razor-thin 84-83 win over Iran in the quarterfinals, before dropping back-to-back three-point bombs in their miraculous 77-76 victory over host China in the semifinals. The Filipinos won their first gold medal in 61 years following a 70-60 victory over Jordan in the final, but an asterisk was attached to the victory after Brownlee tested positive for Carboxy-THC, a banned substance linked to the use of cannabis. At this point, it is unknown whether Brownlee will contest the findings or how long his possible suspension will be. What is clear is that Brownlee made a tremendous impact on Philippine basketball as he proved that the best way to win an international title is to field a naturalized player who is very familiar with the Filipinos’ style of play. Brownlee may not be as exciting and flashy as Clarkson or as tall as Douthit and Blatche, but he knows Philippine basketball like the back of his hand. It’s time for the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas to create more Justin Brownlees by recruiting young foreign players who are willing to stay in the country for a longer period — not just to earn and play as imports in the PBA — but to win the hearts and minds of these basketball-crazy Filipinos. Brownlee’s professional career is in great peril, and we may not see him don the Gilas or Ginebra jerseys again. But we should always remember his most significant contribution to Philippine basketball. Nope, it wasn’t the incredible play he delivered against China or how he stood his ground against Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and the powerful Jordanians that led to the country’s first Asian Games title in 61 years. His most important contribution was the idea that to gain international success, the federation must recruit a naturalized player not based on skills, height, or popularity but on his love, respect, and dedication to the country he wishes to represent. The post Brownlee formula appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Creative Industries Month to witness ‘the grandest battle of creativity’
The buzzwords this month and until November are "creativity" and "creative industries." September has been declared the "Creative Industries Month" by the Philippine government, and one reason for such declaration is the activation of the law known as Philippine Creative Industries Development Act, or Republic Act 11904. Pangasinan 4th District Representative Toff de Venecia is the principal author of the law, the chairman of the House Special Committee on Creative Industry and Performing Arts. De Venecia's clan on his mother's side used to be entrenched in film production. He is a son of Gina Vera-Perez De Venecia, daughter of Dr. Jose Vera Perez, the patriarch of pioneering film companies Sampaguita Pictures and Vera Perez Productions. Before he joined Pangasinan politics as son of former senator Jose De Venecia, Toff was active in theater, all the way back to his schooldays at the Ateneo de Manila. Sen. Loren Legarda, aside from being Senate President Pro-Tempore, is chair of the Senate committee on culture and the arts. For years a top broadcast journalist at ABS-CBN, Legarda is the principal author of Republic Act 11961, also known as the Cultural Mapping Law. [caption id="attachment_186378" align="aligncenter" width="511"] ODANG Putik Pottery held workshops on basic pottery. | PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF IG/ ODANGPUTIKPOTTERY[/caption] National competition DTI has announced that it will launch on 24 September a national competition, Young Creatives Challenge (YC2) "through the support of Sen. Imee Marcos." The competition -- described as "the grandest battle of creativity" in the country with a grand prize of P1 million per category -- "aspires to ignite, acknowledge, and spotlight the brilliance of creative minds... in the fields of Songwriting, Screenwriting, Playwriting, Graphic Novel, Animation, Game Development, and Online Content Creation." The semi-finals are set for October 2023, when the Top 30 creators and the Top 10 Grand Finalists will be revealed. At the grand finals on November 2023, cash prizes will be awarded along with millions’ worth of promotions, incentives, registration of intellectual property and possible production or commercialization of creative works. The competition has an Online Content Challenge with distinct mechanics and a separate prize pool. It offers a platform for content creators to showcase their talents and make a significant impact by raising awareness about the vibrant and dynamic Philippine creative industries. The special category will have TikTok as its main channel for entry submission. The DTI invites all natural-born Filipino citizens aged 18-35, regardless of their level of experience, to participate as either individuals or teams. Entrants are required to submit "entirely original creations." The competition theme is deliberately broad, embracing an "open" and "free subject" approach to allow the participants the creative freedom to delve into any topic or subject matter of their choosing. For more information about the competition, visit www.youngcreativeschallenge.com. Capsule workshops On 17 September, the NCCA launched the Creative Industries Month at the Rizal Park Open Air Auditorium in Manila with creative capsule workshops in the afternoon and a grand concert of songs, dances and puppetry in the evening. The festivities had the full support of the National Parks Development Committee and Concert at the Park. The workshops were anchored on various creative industries in the country. For instance, for the audiovisual media domain, the Knowledge Channel Foundation Inc. conducted an introductory workshop on Learning Filipino through Wikaharian. For the digital interactive media domain, Dr. Albert Mulles of METATOKYO tackled “How to Start Your Own Blockchain Game Project” while the Department of Science and Technology presented “Learning Through Minecraft Exhibit.” Under the Design domain, there were workshops on shoemaking, parol and jewelry-making and T-shirt printing Workshop. Under publishing and printed media, Rustico Limosinero offered a basic comics workshop, while the Barasoain Kalinangan Foundation, Inc. discussed book- selling and exhibits. Composer-singer Joey Ayala, meanwhile, held a Songwriting Workshop under the Performing Arts domain and later, at the concert, performed the finale solo vocal numbers. Nanding Josef, artistic director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines' Tanghalang Pilipino, conducted a capsule workshop on Theater Acting. Also within the Performing Arts domain were the dance and puppetry workshops facilitated by the Samahan ng mga Papetir ng Pilipinas. The other domains that presented workshops included the visual arts, traditional cultural expression and cultural sites. Aside from Ayala, the evening concert featured Noel Cabangon, the revived band Color It Red with Cookie Chua still its lead vocalist, Bayang Barrios and her band, the Sindaw Philippines dance troupe, Halili Cruz Dance Company, Teatro ni Juan and a puppetry group. [caption id="attachment_186377" align="aligncenter" width="1440"] HALILI Cruz Dance Company at the evening concert. | PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF FB.COM/ HALILI CRUZ DANCE COMPANY[/caption] In his remarks, De Venecia pointed out that there are more than 7 million people in the Philippines employed in the creative industries, and the industries' contribution to Gross Domestic Product in 2022 was 7.3 percent percent or P1. 6 trillion, representing an increase of 12.1 percent from P1. 43 trillion in 2021. "This is a sector that has managed to survive and even thrive on its own, but with institutionalized support from the state, it will really help the creative industry sector grow and accelerate to the point where we want it to be — which is by 2030, the Philippines will be the number one creative economy in all of Asia,” said De Venecia. May we be really number 1 just seven years from today! The post Creative Industries Month to witness ‘the grandest battle of creativity’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
On WPS conflict, ‘Trillanes cut deals’
Amid the guessing game started by China on who the unnamed President was who promised to remove the BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile has pointed to a former senator as the culprit. “I haven’t heard from previous presidents that they promised to remove the Sierra Madre, but what I know is that the late President Benigno Aquino III did some backchanneling, and his backdoor agent was former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV,” Enrile said. He added: “Trillanes bypassed then Ambassador Sonia Brady in negotiating with China, and his only credential was he rode in a Philippine Navy boat when he was in the military service.” “The subject of the backchanneling was the Scarborough Shoal standoff, but Trillanes was deceived by the Chinese. The Philippine vessels withdrew from the area of the deadlock, but China stayed put,” he recalled. 2012 Senate skirmish Then-senator Enrile and Trillanes had a confrontation in September 2012 over the government’s covert negotiations with China that Aquino had assigned to Trillanes. In a face-off on the Senate floor, Enrile produced the so-called Brady notes, a report on the discussions between the ambassador and Trillanes on the backchanneling mission. During his several engagements with Chinese officials, Enrile quoted the Brady notes as saying that Trillanes indicated that Filipinos needed more interest in the conflicting claims in the region. Enrile said the Brady notes stated that Aquino was not made fully aware of the details of Trillanes’s actions, and there was a point when the President did not know the talks were suspended for two weeks and that Trillanes was acting on his own. “And for whom? Whose interest was he serving?” Enrile asked. While admitting that it was the prerogative of Aquino as Commander-in-Chief to resort to backchannel talks, designating Trillanes was a huge mistake, he said. “Trillanes should have been discreet, and he should have brought along an embassy representative to record the event. Trillanes thought he was James Bond. That should not have been allowed,” Enrile said. “A person entrusted by the President with a mission must first exercise discretion. When you go to a country to deal with a foreign power, you must notify the embassy,” he said. “Trillanes should have notified the embassy to alert them that he was there on a mission, and he should have brought along at least one responsible official,” he added. He continued: “Everybody should have known that international law already provided the way to settle the dispute, which was the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, but which China did not respect.” “China based its claims not on international law but on its might. We should have a counter-balancing force,” according to Enrile. “We should not rely solely on the assistance of other nations; we should keep building up our military assets.” “We should also be prepared, and one way to do that is to require all young Filipinos to undergo training to defend the country.” “Only Filipinos can fight for their country; nobody else can do the fighting for you,” Enrile stressed. False narrative Meanwhile, China was accused of using deception in its sea maneuvers when it tried to block a resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal on 7 September. Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson, Col. Medel Aguilar, at the weekly Saturday News Forum in Quezon City, said the Philippine Navy offered to help a Chinese rubber boat in distress near Ayungin Shoal. “Our troops offered assistance, but the Chinese refused and another boat came to their rescue,” Aguilar said. He said one of the Chinese rigid hull inflatable boats had gotten entangled in a fishing line while it was tailing the Philippine vessels heading to Ayungin to resupply the troops there. Aguilar said that while the Chinese boat’s refusal to accept aid from Philippine forces was expected, what surprised the troops was Beijing’s radio call where they blamed the Filipinos for the incident. “They had the guts to challenge our radio message. ‘Philippine Coast Guard, because of your maneuvers, the Chinese Coast Guard vessel came into problem,’” he quoted the Chinese as saying. Aguilar said this was another narrative the Chinese would tell their people. “After this incident, they will come up with their narrative to tell their people about what happened,” Aguilar said. “We don’t want the truth to be drowned out by what really happened,” he added. Misplaced bullying Aguilar described the China Coast Guard’s behavior as “misplaced bullying” amid its continued aggression in Philippine territorial waters. “The CCG is a misplaced bully in the WPS,” Aguilar said. Meanwhile, Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson, said several CCG ships and maritime militia vessels tried to block the Philippine vessels and stop the resupply mission. “It is very important for the government, for us, to be more transparent about what is happening in the West Philippine Sea,” he said. “We face the media; we give them the true story. The media will play a very important role in curtailing this fake news that spreads every time the Chinese release their narratives.” He said China has been pushing the narrative that the Philippines is acting on behalf of the United States. Ayungin Shoal, which is part of the Kalayaan island group, is an integral part of the Philippines and is well within its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, over which the country has sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction. The BRP Sierra Madre has been grounded on Ayungin Shoal since 1999, where it stands as a symbol of Philippine sovereignty and on which a dozen Filipino Marines and sailors are holding the fort. The post On WPS conflict, ‘Trillanes cut deals’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Mind twist
It was the “Isip Bata” segment on “It’s Showtime” that got the show in trouble recently with the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board. The MTRCB on Monday, 4 September, issued its decision to suspend ABS-CBN’s noontime show for 12 airing days over its 25 July episode. So what happened in that episode that got flagged? It was the icing-licking moment between hosts Vice Ganda and Ion Perez that was the “alleged indecent act.” “Isip bata” in English means having the mind of a child. To people’s eyes, however, the actions of the hosts were neither childish nor childlike, knowing their real-life relationship. The MTRCB explained that what others saw as being “too strict” — viewers who probably did not like the idea of missing the entertainment that It’s Showtime delivers — “multiple viewers had filed complaints regarding the episode’s Isip Bata segment.” This latest showbiz fracas brings to mind a talk delivered by Canadian writer Malcolm Gladwell at the SMX Convention Center Manila on the same day the MTRCB issued its decision. The rare opportunity to listen to the famed author in person highlighted the kickoff of SM’s 65th-anniversary celebration. As keynote speaker of SM Supermalls’ Tenant-Partners Summit, Gladwell shared his thoughts on what makes the new generation tick, in the context of a social movement as it affects retail and business. The mall management had also invited Emma Chiu, global director of Wunderman Thompson, a creative agency, to deliver her trend report in this “age of anxiety,” as she stated at the beginning of her 20-minute talk. One thing that stood out that afternoon was this: The world is not the same, and we must understand it in order to navigate it. Gladwell was right to point out that there is neither better nor worse in the disparities we see nowadays. In other words, the old versus the new generations is not a battle — it should be understood as being different and taken to inspire people to create. The social media age can be reviewed from the last two decades, when the young generation today was being molded in a world without borders, as they say. The youth today make decisions based on different triggers, valuing experience, connection, and inclusivity more than anything. Gladwell thinks “it’s because the world they grew up in had no spontaneity.” He cites a list of 21 rules he saw in a playground, where one might imagine kids learning to be less “joyful” and carefree as compared to those kids who grew up surviving bumps and bruises and scratches in kindergarten. In a “world far more controlled, far more regulated,” Gladwell said, people “crave a return to this kind of mass participation, a shared common cultural experience.” To the youth, brands or wealth have less influence than spontaneity and authenticity. And why is spontaneity so prized? The “spontaneity makes it feel real,” the writer summed up. In a world constantly in flux, how we shape young minds still matters even though our world today shows these same minds are no longer influenced by the same rules. The post Mind twist appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump-appointed judge, to preside over his case
When Aileen Mercedes Cannon was appointed a judge by Donald Trump three years ago, she could hardly have imagined she would preside over his trial. But on Friday she set May 20, 2024 as the date to start the unprecedented federal criminal prosecution of a former president in her small Fort Pierce, Florida courtroom. Her assignment to the high-stakes trial has added another layer of controversy to the case, in which Trump is charged with 37 counts of willfully keeping highly classified US documents in his Mar-a-Lago, Florida home, obstruction of justice, and lying to federal law enforcement officials. Some of the charges bring up to 20 years in prison, with Cannon to decide the sentencing if a jury finds Trump guilty. The pressure is even higher because the trial will start in the middle of an already intense battle before the November 2024 presidential election, with Trump leading the race for the Republican nomination. It remains to be seen how Cannon will accommodate the courtroom requirements and election campaign needs of the man who gave her the job. Lifetime appointment Cannon was relatively young -- 38 years old -- when Trump nominated her to the lifetime position in 2020. Born in Cali, Colombia, she grew up in Florida. Her mother immigrated to the United States from Cuba as a child. Cannon obtained her undergraduate degree at Duke University and her law degree from the University of Michigan, routinely ranked among the top 10 law schools in the country. A member of the Federalist Society, which brings together conservative attorneys, judges, and law experts, Cannon worked for three years at a private law firm in Washington and for seven years as an assistant US attorney prior to becoming a judge. Random pick Her selection to handle the Trump case was random, blindly drawn from the pool of several active federal judges in the Justice Department's southern Florida district. Some legal experts have argued she should have recused herself because she allegedly displayed bias towards Trump last year when she was assigned a lawsuit he filed over the FBI raid to recover the Mar-a-Lago documents. She has broad powers to determine the pace of the trial, and her 20 May start date comes smack in the middle of the presidential campaign. If the trial is ongoing and Trump wins the November 2024 election, he could conceivably take action to intervene or even pardon himself upon taking office. Daniel Richman, a law professor at Columbia University, said the presiding judge wields enormous power over a trial and plays a critical role in how it unfolds. "Even in a run-of-the-mill case, the judge can have a significant and sometimes even dispositive effect on proceedings," Richman said. Others contend that Cannon will ensure that he gets a fair shake. "It's impossible now for Trump to complain that he's got a judge that is biased against him," said Edward Foley, a constitutional law professor at Ohio State University. Thomas Holbrook, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, said Cannon is in a "tough position." "Almost no matter what she does, she's going to either feed into existing concerns about her potential bias or disappoint Trump supporters," Holbrook said. The post Trump-appointed judge, to preside over his case appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Egypt clinic helps women reclaim bodies scarred by genital mutilation
Intissar was only 10 years old when she was forced to undergo genital mutilation, but 30 years later, one clinic is offering help for some of the millions of Egyptian women affected by the still-rampant practice. Intissar, a journalist who like other women cited here spoke under a pseudonym to protect her identity, recalls having spent 30 years "completely deprived of pleasure, without any connection to my body". Her story closely resembles that of millions of Egyptian women and girls who have gone through female genital mutilation (FGM) at a young age, despite state-sponsored efforts seeking to curtail the practice. But for three years, one clinic has sought to change the reality of many of these women. In 2020, surgeons Reham Awwad and Amr Seifeldin became the first to offer clitoral reconstruction surgery in Egypt through their clinic, Restore FGM. Surgery is "the last resort", Awwad told AFP in her Cairo clinic. A common first step in the clinic's treatment is psychosexual counseling coupled with plasma injections, which Awwad said "can reduce the need for surgery by 50 percent". The plasma injections allow for the regeneration of damaged tissue without subjecting women to new, invasive procedures. Nourhan, also using a pseudonym, described chronic pain and a severed sense of pleasure in the two decades since she underwent genital mutilation at 11. Now in her 30s, the suffering has given way to "completely new sensations", Nourhan told AFP eight months after going under the knife again for reconstruction surgery. But more than the physical effects, Nourhan said she finally felt "in charge of my body again". Holiday peak Intissar recounted the day that her grandmother took her -- with the consent of her parents, a doctor and a principal -- to perform the harmful practice. When she cried, her grandmother "would tell me this was for my own good, that I was better this way", she told AFP. Under the grandmother's care, she spent her summer vacation recovering. Now aged 40, the prospect of undergoing reconstructive surgery offers her renewed hope. Lobna Darwish, gender officer at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, urged "prevention campaigns in schools right before the holidays", citing seasonal peaks of FGM during those periods to allow time for recovery after the procedure. In Egypt, the Arab world's most populous country with a largely conservative society, 86 percent of ever-married women aged 15 to 49 have undergone FGM, according to the latest official figures from 2021. Most commonly, they are subjected to the partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, which according to the World Health Organization can cause pain, bleeding, infections, painful sexual intercourse and complications during childbirth. The practice -- misguidedly meant to reduce libido and preserve women's chastity -- has been illegal in Egypt since 2008, and is regularly condemned by both Muslim and Christian religious authorities. Yet it remains widespread, not only in Egypt but in multiple other African countries and beyond, often cutting across social classes. Egypt marks its national day for the elimination of FGM on June 14, and every year, government-sponsored TV advertisements list its dangers. While experts say the awareness campaigns have largely scared off parents from what they were told was a dangerous procedure performed by suspect midwives in rural backrooms, a rebranding has kept FGM alive. Parents began opting for what seemed like a safer option, with official figures now showing three-quarters of procedures in Egypt are done by doctors. Intissar, who has studied the practice, said it was being promoted for its "aesthetic" value. When Nourhan and her then eight-year-old sister were recovering, she recalled how the women in their family praised not just the religious and moral virtues of FGM, but how "it was better and cleaner". In reality, Intissar said, FGM aims "to disconnect women from their bodies and their pleasure". Self-discovery Egypt has regularly toughened penalties on both doctors and parents over FGM, but both Darwish and Awwad described an uphill battle against ignorance. "We need proper sex education in schools, and to raise awareness of the dedicated hotline" created in 2017, Darwish said. Awwad noted that "at no point... do doctors learn about reconstructive surgery". And women are scarcely given the chance to get to know their own bodies. At every first consultation, the surgeon gives her patients a mirror so they can look at their genitals -- often for the first time. Intissar was shocked and furious. "Up until that point, I thought they had only removed a small piece of skin. But then I found out they had taken the entire labia and part of the clitoris," she said, recalling how right then she had decided to reclaim her agency. But the decision takes time and money. Nourhan fundraised for a year to be able to afford the surgery, which costs 40,000 Egyptian pounds (around $1,300) -- 10 times the country's average monthly salary. "Authorities need to... offer reconstructive surgery in public hospitals," she argued. In the meantime, Nourhan managed another personal victory: banding together with her mother to save her two nieces from undergoing FGM. The post Egypt clinic helps women reclaim bodies scarred by genital mutilation appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Heat on brink of NBA Finals after 128-102 win over Celtics
The Miami Heat knocked the stuffing out of the Boston Celtics on Sunday, powering to a 128-102 victory to take a 3-0 stranglehold on the NBA Eastern Conference finals. The Heat, who host game four on Tuesday, are one win away from reaching the NBA Finals against either the Denver Nuggets or Los Angeles Lakers. The Celtics meanwhile are battling the weight of history -- no NBA team has rallied from 0-3 down to win a best-of-seven playoff series. Heat talisman Jimmy Butler could afford a relatively quiet 16-point night as point guard Gabe Vincent led the way, connecting on 11 of 14 shots from the field, including six of nine from three-point range, on the way to a game-high 29 points. Duncan Robinson added 22 points off the bench for Miami, who are vying to become just the second eighth-seeded team -- after the 1999 New York Knicks -- to reach the NBA Finals. Unlike in their first two wins of the series in Boston, there would be no need for the Heat to claw back a double-digit deficit. In front of a pumped-up crowd at Kaseya Center in Miami, the Heat dominated, Boston unable to build on an early three-point lead in the face of a total team effort from the hosts on both ends of the floor. "I don't know if 'surprised' is the word," Vincent said of the lopsided result. "We played well tonight. We defended. We made shots. We forced them into turnovers." "The next game, the mentality is to come out and compete at a high level, defend, try to make the right read every time offensively and just play good basketball. "It's the first to four games. We are not satisfied with three." Boston star Jayson Tatum scored 14 points and Jaylen Brown added 12, but Tatum made just one of his seven three-point attempts and Brown missed all seven of his as the Celtics connected on just 11 of their 42 three-point attempts. Miami made 19 three-pointers on 39 attempts, connecting on 46 of their 81 shots overall. "As you can tell, the rim was as big as the ocean for everybody," said Miami center Bam Adebayo, who thrilled the crowd with a pair of alley oop dunks and a spin around Brown for a one-handed slam on the way to 13 points. "(We were) making the extra pass, making the right pass and everybody played together." Caleb Martin scored 18 points off the bench for Miami. Max Strus chipped in 10 and the Heat didn't miss a beat when veteran Kevin Love departed after less than five minutes with an ankle injury. The Heat closed a fast-paced, physical first quarter on a 9-2 scoring run to lead 30-22 and pushed their lead to as many as 22 points in the second quarter. Boston managed to cut the gap, but with the Celtics again struggling from three-point range and with turnovers, Miami's 61-46 halftime lead represented the biggest halftime deficit faced by Boston this post-season. There would be no re-set for the Celtics in the third quarter. They had managed to trim the deficit to 12 early in the second half, but Miami out-scored them 32-17 to take a 93-63 lead into the fourth. Tatum and Brown combined for just three baskets in the third, Miami's dominance evident on back-to-back Boston possessions midway through the period when Adebayo blocked Tatum's shot on one and Martin came up with a steal to set up a Strus three-pointer. The shell-shocked Celtics went more than three minutes in the period without scoring. "I don't even know where to start," Brown said. "I feel like we let our fan base, organization down, we let ourselves down, and it was collective. We could point fingers, but in reality, it was just embarrassing." Boston's first-year coach Joe Mazzulla, who took the helm after Ime Udoka was abruptly suspended before the season for an improper workplace relationship, took the blame for the Celtics' disjointed performance. "I just didn't have them ready to play," Mazzulla said. "Whether it was the starting lineup or it was an adjustment, I have to get them in a better place ready to play, and that's on me." The post Heat on brink of NBA Finals after 128-102 win over Celtics appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
One billion threatened by cholera: UN
A billion people in 43 countries are at risk of cholera, the United Nations warned Friday, and though the outbreaks could be stopped, the United Nations said resources were desperately lacking. The UN health agency said the outlook was bleak, as it seeks $640 million to fight the infectious disease, but said the longer it takes to ramp up the battle, the worse the situation will get. The World Health Organization said vaccination campaigns had been severely hampered. "WHO estimates that a billion people across 43 countries are at risk of cholera," said Henry Gray, the agency's incident manager for the global cholera response. So far this year, 24 countries have reported cholera outbreaks, compared to 15 by mid-May last year. Countries that are not usually affected by cholera are being struck, and case fatality rates are far exceeding the typical one in 100. Gray blamed the rise in cases on poverty, conflict and climate change, and the population displacement they trigger. "With the increase in the number of countries affected by cholera, the resources that were available for prevention and response are more thinly spread," he said. Oral cholera vaccine is a case in point: over 18 million doses have been requested this year but only eight million have been made available and so prevention campaigns have been stopped. Rather than the full two doses, only one is being issued to recipients "to try to spin it out", said Gray. "The outlook is bleak." WHO wants $160 million for more than 40 countries over the next 12 months. It is working in coordination with the UN children's agency UNICEF, which wants $480 million. Jerome Pfaffmann Zambruni, UNICEF's public health emergency unit chief, noted that back in November, the agency had asked for $150 million for cholera response -- a figure now eclipsed as the situation has worsened. "It's a wake-up call," he told a briefing in Geneva. "There is a pandemic killing the poor right in front of us and we know exactly how to stop it but we need more support and less inertia from the global community because if we don't act now, it's going to get worse," he said. Cholera is contracted from a bacterium that is generally transmitted through contaminated food or water. It causes diarrhea and vomiting, and can be especially dangerous for young children. The post One billion threatened by cholera: UN appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Bong Go: Continue health protocols even after global health emergency lifting
Despite the lifting of the global health emergency status of COVID-19 by the World Health Organization, Senator Christopher "Bong" Go has emphasized the need for Filipinos to continue observing basic health protocols, reminding them that although the status has been lifted, the threat of COVID-19 still exists. In an ambush interview after personally aiding residents in Batangas City on Monday, May 8, Go highlighted the need to be cautious and vigilant in the face of the ongoing pandemic, and to continue following health protocols such as wearing face masks when possible especially in public places, and more importantly, getting vaccinated. “Mas importante po sa akin ang buhay at kalusugan ng bawat Pilipino. Habang nandiyan po ang banta ng COVID, habang nandiyan ang sakit na COVID, ‘wag tayong maging kumpyansa. Marami pong paraan na maagapan natin ito (The life and health of every Filipino is important to me. As long the threat of COVID remains, let's not be complacent. There are many ways for us to stay safe),” he said. Go acknowledged that the lifting of the global health emergency status is a step toward returning to a more normal way of life. However, he stressed that the country cannot afford to let its guard down and become too complacent in the fight against COVID-19. “As Chair ng Committee on Health sa Senado, huwag pa rin tayong maging kumpyansa, tinanggal lang po ang pagiging world health emergency natin para unti-unti na tayo sigurong makabalik sa ating normal na pamumuhay (The global health emergency was lifted to allow us to slowly return to normal life), ” reiterated Go. On 5 May, the global emergency status for COVID-19 was lifted by the WHO, over three years since it was initially declared. However, WHO's emergencies director Michael Ryan said that "that battle is not over", adding, "We still have weaknesses and those weaknesses that we still have in our system will be exposed by this virus or another virus. And it needs to be fixed." The Department of Health responded favorably to the WHO's announcement, affirming that “this is an acknowledgment of our effective and collaborative COVID-19 response and concerted efforts to fully recover and re-open our economy.” Meanwhile, the senator also encouraged everyone to get vaccinated, and to get booster shots when they are eligible to better protect themselves from the virus. “Marami pong paraan na maagapan natin ito. Pabakuna kayo, kung qualified kayo sa booster, magpa-booster kayo. Nandidiyan lang po ang bakuna. Mas protektado po tayo kapag bakunado at ‘yan po ang tanging susi o solusyon para unti-unti na tayong makabalik sa ating normal na pamumuhay (Please get yourselves vaccinated; if you are qualified for a booster shot, get a booster shot. We're better protected if we're vaccinated, and it's the only solution so we can go back to our normal lives),” he stressed. “Hinihiling ko rin sa publiko na pangalagaan ang mga nakatatanda at may comorbidities. Kung hindi naman ito sagabal, magsuot pa rin tayo ng mask dahil hindi natin alam kung may dala tayong sakit pag-uwi sa pamamahay natin. Kung mahal natin ang ating mga magulang, mga lolo at lola, mas mabuti nang mas protektado tayo para mas maproteksyunan din sila dahil mas delikado kapag sila ang nagkasakit (I ask the public to protect the elderly and those with co-morbidities. Let's still wear face mask because we may bring diseases when we go home. If we love our parents and grandparents, it's better to keep ourselves protected so we can also protect them, because they're more prone to getting sick),” he also advised earlier. Go emphasized the sacrifices and learnings from the past three years during the pandemic must not be put to waste and efforts must continue to build a healthier and more resilient nation. “Halos tatlong taon na tayong nakikipaglaban sa COVID-19 pandemic. Huwag nating sayangin ang ating naging mga sakripisyo kontra rito. Patuloy tayong mag-ingat upang tuluyan na tayong makabangon mula sa krisis (We've been fighting the pandemic for nearly three years. Let's not waste our sacrifices. Let's continue to keep safe so we can finally overcome this crisis),” he said earlier. During the celebration of National Health Workers Day last 7 May, Go once again expressed his gratitude to all medical frontliners who have served and sacrificed in order to save lives during the pandemic. “Ang dapat nating pasalamatan ay ang ating mga frontliners. Hindi natin mararating ngayon ito lahat kung hindi dahil sa ating mga frontliners -- mga doktor, medtech, nurses, lahat down to hospital utility, salamat sa inyong sakripisyo lalo na nung panahon ng pandemya (We should all thank our frontliners. We wouldn't have reached this point without our frontliners -- the doctors, medtech, nurses, down to the hospital ulitility people, thank you for all your sacrifices especially during the height of the pandemic),” he expressed. #### The post Bong Go: Continue health protocols even after global health emergency lifting appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Finnish Jazz forward Markkanen wins NBA Most Improved award
Finnish forward Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz was named the NBA's 2023 Most Improved Player on Monday after boosting his scoring average by nearly 11 points a game. The 25-year-old Finnish forward earned his first All-Star selection this season and finished with career highs of 25.6 points and 1.9 assists plus 8.6 rebounds a game. Markkanen, who boosted his scoring average by an NBA-best 10.87 points a game this season, also had career-best shooting averages of 49.9 percent from the floor and 87.5 percent from the free throw line for the Jazz. "It feels amazing," Markkanen told NBA telecaster TNT from Helsinki, where he is fulfilling Finland military service requirements. "It's a huge privilege to be in this position." The 7-footer (2.13m), whose parents were both pro basketball players, was selected seventh overall by Minnesota in the 2017 NBA Draft and played for Chicago and Cleveland before being traded to Utah last September in the deal that sent Donovan Mitchell to the Cavaliers. "Just being in the right place at the right time," Markkanen said of his campaign. "I really wasn't the isolation player this year. I always give credit to guys finding me when I was open. I just tried to show up every night and be consistent. "I really tried to learn and step into that leadership role in the locker room. I'm still working on that." When it came to the military, Markkanen said he had plenty of others who wanted to play him one-on-one, but none yet who outranked him. "Days are pretty long but it has been pretty fun," he said. "Made a lot of new friends. We have to go through it together." He's the first European player to capture the award since Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee in 2017 and the first Jazz player ever to win the award. Other finalists for the award were New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson from the United States and Canadian guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder. The post Finnish Jazz forward Markkanen wins NBA Most Improved award appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Timberwolves hold off Nuggets to stay alive, Warriors edge Kings
Anthony Edwards scored 34 points, including a three-point dagger with 11.5 seconds left, as the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets 114-108 in overtime Sunday to stay alive in the NBA playoffs. Western Conference top seeds Denver, led by 43 points from reigning two-time Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic, closed regulation on a 12-0 run to force overtime. But they were out-scored 18-12 in the extra session at the Target Center in Minneapolis as the Timberwolves pulled within 3-1 in the series. Minnesota still face a daunting task -- no NBA team has come back from 3-0 down to win a best-of-seven series. "See you in Denver, we're going back," said Edwards, whose 16 third-quarter points keyed a Timberwolves charge that carried them to a 12-point lead midway through the fourth. Mike Conley added 19 points for Minnesota. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 17 points with 11 rebounds and Rudy Gobert added 14 points and 15 rebounds as the Timberwolves withstood another big night from Jokic. The Serbian star matched his playoff scoring high and added 11 rebounds and six assists. The teams swapped the lead four times in overtime, but Nuggets coach Michael Malone said too many defensive lapses in the extra session doomed his team. "You hold them to 16 points in the fourth quarter, then (they have) 18 in five minutes," Malone said. "That's the hardest thing to stomach about this game is that when the game was on the line, we were unwilling and unable to get the necessary stops." 'Sloppy' Curry It was the second Western Conference thriller of the day, after the Golden State Warriors held off a ferocious fourth-quarter fightback from the Sacramento Kings to secure a 126-125 victory that leveled their series at two games apiece. Harrison Barnes almost snatched victory for Sacramento at the buzzer, but his long-range effort bounced off the rim to leave the NBA champions celebrating. Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 32 points -- and breathed a sigh of relief after two uncharacteristic blunders in a frenetic finale at the Chase Center. Curry missed a wide-open three-pointer with his team-leading 126-121 with less than a minute remaining. He then erroneously called a timeout when the Warriors had none left, earning a technical foul and allowing Sacramento's Malik Monk to make it a four-point game with a free throw. De'Aaron Fox's three-pointer pulled Sacramento within 126-125 and Curry missed another floater to give the Kings a final chance. "It was kind of sloppy not knowing how many timeouts we had left, and a couple of dagger shots didn't go in -- but we did what we needed to do defensively in those last 10 seconds," a relieved Curry said. Klay Thompson added 26 points and Jordan Poole had 22. Draymond Green, back from suspension, scored 12 points with 10 rebounds and seven assists off the bench to help the Warriors withstand a 38-point performance from Fox. Knicks, Celtics close in In the Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics moved within a victory of advancing, the Knicks beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 102-93 and the Celtics downing Atlanta 129-121 to each take 3-1 series leads. Jalen Brunson drained five three-pointers on the way to 29 points for the Knicks, who again electrified Madison Square Garden. With just one win from three more games the Knicks can advance past the first round for the first time since 2013. Darius Garland led Cleveland with 23 points but Donovan Mitchell scored just 11 -- only two in the second half. The Cavs will try to extend the series when they host game five on Wednesday. The Celtics can wrap up their series at home on Tuesday after bouncing back from a disappointing game-three defeat with a convincing victory in Atlanta. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored 31 points apiece for the Celtics, each delivering a dunk in the final minute as the Celtics thwarted the Hawks' final rally bid. Hawks star Trae Young finished with a game-high 35 points and handed out 14 assists. But Boston stepped up their defensive intensity and had an answer for every Atlanta run, never trailing after the first quarter. Brown got off to a slow start, making just one of his first seven shots. Then he got rid of the protective mask he's worn since suffering a facial fracture in February and made 11 of 15. "Maybe it was all in my head," Brown said. "I took it off and started to turn things around a little bit." The post Timberwolves hold off Nuggets to stay alive, Warriors edge Kings appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Family’s frustration 30 years after racist murder rocked Britain
Thirty years after the murder of their son in a racist attack, Stephen Lawrence's parents are tired of broken promises. They have heard Britain's biggest police force talk about reform many times since a gang of white youths stabbed the black 18-year-old to death. The brutal killing shocked Britain and sparked calls for an overhaul of policing. It led to a damning official review in 1999, which found the force carried out a flawed murder investigation marred by "institutional racism" and recommended a series of changes. But last month, a new review following a spate of fresh police scandals, found racism still rife in the force, along with misogyny and homophobia. "I don't see any change," Neville Lawrence told AFP after giving a talk in central London to mark the anniversary of his son's murder. He said black people still fear the force will not protect them, and vowed to make life safer for his young relatives so they can "walk the streets and not worry about getting stabbed". Stephen had wanted to be an architect, and his father described being "robbed" of the chance to see him grow up and fulfil his ambitions. Battle for justice On the night of his death, 22 April 1993, Stephen was waiting for a bus with his friend Duwayne Brooks in south London. The gang shouted racist abuse before they attacked. Brooks remembers Stephen running fatally wounded from the scene, asking: "What's happened to me?" The suspects were well known in the area, but the mishandled initial murder investigation meant it took the family years of tireless campaigning before two members of the gang were jailed in 2012 after new forensic evidence came to light. Three others were never prosecuted. In recent years, Metropolitan Police officers have faced outrage over their treatment of black Londoners -- from routinely using disproportionate force to strip-searching schoolchildren. Stephen's mother Doreen Lawrence -- now a member of the UK's upper house of parliament -- said this week that the police force had not changed and officers could still be "as brutal as they want" without being held accountable. "I don't know how many more inquiries and how many reviews you need to have to say the same thing -- and still no changes, and still denials," she told the BBC. Over-policed, under protected Suresh Grover, founder of The Monitoring Group anti-racism charity, has been involved in the Lawrence family's campaign for justice since the outset. He said the family was promised "a proper attempt at addressing institutional racism" -- but the latest review showed the force had failed. "What little trust people had is gone -- it's got worse", he said. In Britain, April 22 is officially recognized as "Stephen Lawrence Day". The family will hold a memorial service in a church near Trafalgar Square, which the mayor of London and opposition party leader Keir Starmer are set to attend. On the eve of the anniversary, the head of the Metropolitan Police admitted the force had failed black communities in the three decades following Stephen's death, saying they had been left feeling "over-policed and under-protected". Mark Rowley paid tribute to the family's long battle for justice, acknowledged "systemic biases" in the force, and pledged to "finally" make it anti-racist. But he did not use the term "institutional racism", and his refusal to do so since the latest report's publication has been seen as a key sticking point in efforts to reform the service. "Until they can accept it, they can't fix it", Neville Lawrence said. The post Family’s frustration 30 years after racist murder rocked Britain appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»