The Season of Surprises

Photo By: NBA

Last season, the plays, teams, players were very unpredictable. There were a lot of surprises during that season. Lebron James left the Miami heat to go back to his homeland, Cleveland. This was one of the season's best surprises, Lebron leaving the Miami Heat, the number 1 contender of the San Antonio Spurs for the championship title. But this is not the best this season has to offer. The Golden State Warriors showed to everyone, literally everyone that they can put up a fight and make history in the NBA. The team is full of potential as almost all of them are still very young. The one leading this team to victory is the one and only Stephen Curry. Curry's average points during the 2014 - 2015 season was a dazzling 23.75. After that he kept on improving and improving and until now he still is the reigning MVP and the "must watch" NBA All Star player. He know averages an astonishing 30.68 points per game this season.

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 But let us not focus only on one player. Stephen Curry's partner in crime is the one and only Klay Thompson. He may not average the same points or steals as Curry has, but he is still a show stopper. Once he made 30 points in just 1 quarter. Imagine that? He averaged Curry's points per game in just 1 quarter. Watch the full highlights here. He managed to still live up to his name as a brother to Stephen Curry, a splash brother. 

This season Klay Thompson was hailed as the 3 Point Contest Champion. He has defeated his splash brother, Stephen Curry, in shooting 3 pointers in the contest. Everyone was at awe as they never thought that he could make a mark in the history of NBA and further more imprint his name his name in the NBA Hall of Fame. With this everyone should watch out for this team. They will be one heck of an opponent.

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Ok, now lets talk about the whole team itself. The team has lots to offer. With the lead of Stephen Curry and the aid of Klay Thompson and the rest of the team, they will be hard to take down. Due to the tremendous talent and leadership of Stephen Curry he doesn't take all of the points. He averaged a 6.5 in assists in every game which came 2nd to an average of 7.5 assists per game by Draymond Green. 

Enough of the statistics. This team is very much religious. With the leadership of Stephen Curry they have faith in the Lord and is always driven by him all through out the match. You can see in their celebrations as they strike their hearts and point up to the lord.

Author: Louie Valenciano

The Last Run

Photo by: Jesse D. Garrabrant

A huge event happened on February 14, 2016. It was the NBA All Star Game Day, one of the most awaited matches on every season in NBA. This season the All Star game was more of a show, rather than a match. Both sides scored nearly half of the normal matches of the NBA. The scoreboard of 196-173 was astonishing as it was record breaking. Both teams let their defense down so both of the teams can have as much points as they want. In the end it was all a matter of  a "who scores more?" rather than a "who plays better?" match. Even if they played such an effortless defense, they still made the crowd love every second.

Photo by: Bleacher Report

Photo by: NBA

This seasons reigning MVP of the NBA All Star match up is still the one and only Russel Westbrook. He showed us last season how he can dominate games like these with dominating performance. This year he is still dominating the court with 31 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals and a number of highlights in the game. He beat Indiana Pacers' star player Paul George who scored 41 points in the match up for the NBA All Star MVP. "Despite George's effort, he was 1 point shy of making history, which was tying with Wilt Chamberlain's 42 points in 1962." as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports stated.

Photo by: IBtimes

Overall what really made the crowd stay in their seats was not the fancy plays, nor the outrageous scores, it was the one and only Kobe Bryant. The 37 year old veteran who played in the NBA for 19 years is sadly retiring. In those 19 years of playing, he met stars such as Michael Jordan and the like and also was compared to him after creating a lot of history. Bryant only scored 10 points but he dished out 7 assists and 6 rebounds. Considering he is the eldest among all of them, you may still say that he still has the talent. The stadium was full of emotions as Bryant, for the last time, stepped in and out of the NBA All Star court. In a recent interview, Lebron James or also known as "The King" stated that "It was an honor and a pleasure to have the chance to play with Kobe". The same goes for last seasons MVP Stephen Curry.


Author: Louie Valenciano

Philippines joins Italy and Serbia in hosting 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament

The Philippines last hosted a FIBA tournament was in 2013

The International Basketball Federation, also known as FIBA (Federation Internationale de Basketball) announced last January 19, 2016 that the Philippines will be hosting the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, together with the two other host countries, Italy and Serbia. The 2016 FIBA OQT in the Philippines will be held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

                                                                                                            
The Philippines failed to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics, due to their lost to the Chinese Basketball Team, and just finishing second in the FIBA Asia Championship last year. But it did not end their hopes of qualifying for the 2016 Olympics. They earned a position at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, which will start on July 4 to 10 in this year. 


The President of SBP (Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas), Manny V. Pangilinan, expressed his joy through the social media app, Twitter. Panglinan stated, "YES!! PHILIPPINES TO HOST FIBA OLYMPIC QUALIFYING IN JULY. LABAN PILIPINAS! PUSO!"

Official Twitter post of Manny V. Pangilinan, President of Samhang Basketbol ng Pilipinas

The tournament will be divided into 3 different divisions composed of 6 teams. The Philippine Basketball Team, Gilas Pilipinas, are fighting to earn it's first appearance in the Olympic Basketball Tournament since 1972. 

Gilas Pilipinas will be facing the teams of France, Senegal, Turkey, New Zealand, and Canada. The Philippines will be facing the toughest players from around the world, and some great NBA players.

NBA Players from the teams that will play in the FIBA Qualifying Tournament in the Philippines:

Nicolas Batum

FRANCE
- Nicolas Batum (Charlotte Hornets)
- Joakim Noah (Chicago Bulls)
- Ian Mahinmi (Indiana Pacers)
- Evan Fournier (Orlando Magic)
- Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz)
- Joffrey Lauvergne (Denver Nuggets)

Gorgui Dieng

SENEGAL
- Gorgui Dieng (Minnesota Timberwolves)

Omer Asik

TURKEY
- Ersan Ilyasova (Detroit Pistons)
- Enes Kanter (Oklahoma Thunder)
- Omer Asik (New Orleans Pelicans)

Steven Adams

NEW ZEALAND
- Steven Adams (Oklahoma Thunder) *questionable

Andrew Wiggins

CANADA
- Andrew Wiggins (Minnesota Timberwolves)
- Nik Stauskas (Philadelphia 76ers)
- Andrew Nicholson (Orlando Magic)
- Cory Joseph (Toronto Raptors)
- Kelly Olynyk (Boston Celtics)
- Dwight Powell (Dallas Mavericks)

Jordan Clarkson

PHILIPPINES
- Jordan Clarkson (Los Angeles Lakers) *questionable