Winner of Thunder-Spurs today likely champ

By Al Mendoza

SUDDENLY, the San Antonio Spurs are alive and kicking.

Playing as if there’s no more tomorrow, the Spurs routed the unroutable Oklahoma City Thunder (OKC), 103-82, to force a 2-2 tie in their best-of-seven series in the Western Conference Finals of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

That was on Monday, May 25 Philippine time, the day when our tennis sensation Alex Eala was officially listed as a participant in the French Open.

Naturally, Eala’s entry sparked a celebration for a country enjoying the emergence of a tennis idol after a long, long while; she was introduced as a “global phenomenon” in the year’s second Grand Slam blasting off May 24 at the famed clay court of Roland Garros in gay Paris.

The announcement came after San Antonio’s overwhelming 21-point win over OKC that restored Spurs pride craftily engineered in their own turf.

So impressive and thoroughly agitated were the Spurs that they never let up in their sweet aggression, posting margins of 50-38 and 78-60 in the second and third quarters, respectively, after building a quick 28-19 first quarter lead.

It more than atoned for the Spurs’ back-to-back losses in Games 2 & 3, burying for good the stigma of a 123-108 loss in the third game for a 2-1 Thunder lead.

The Finals match-up has long been dreamed of by NBA pundits, embellished by the fact that the Thunder are the defending NBA champions, and bannered no less by repeat Most Valuable Player (MVP) awardee Shai Gilgeous-Alexander aka SGA of Canada.

Of course, the Spurs have their own superstar in Victor “Wemby” Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 skyscraper from France.

Finishing third in the season’s MVP derby, Wemby crashed into the Conference Finals in a monstrous Game 1 performance of 41 points and 24 rebounds in dealing the Thunder the stunning loss almost single-handedly in the series opener.

Wemby highlighted his breakthrough feat by forcing a second overtime in Game 1 with his own version of a three-pointer near the buzzer.

He waxed hot, as usual, in San Antonio’s Game 4 win Monday, firing 33 points against the measly 19 points of SGA—measly because SGA usually scores in the thirties.

Wemby highlighted his Game 4 heroics with a triple from 65 feet in a spectacular  buzzer-beater at the half for the Spurs’ 50-38 halftime bulge that was never threatened in the final two quarters.

Today’s Game 5 clash is set in Oklahoma City and, for sure, the winner will have one foot inside the champagne room with a 3-2 margin.

Can SGA return to his scoring spree, in the process making his team move to within a game of retaining the Western crown?

Up to Wemby, I guess.

THAT’S IT   With a new import in Chris McCullough in harness, TNT Tropang 5G is even in a stronger position to again defeat Meralco today, Wednesday.  With an All-Filipino crew on Sunday following 7-foot-4 Bol Bol’s exit on an ankle injury, the 5G nipped the Bolts, 77-75, on a three by RR Pogoy as TNT posted a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven semifinal series in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup…Davao’s pride Chito Malabanan missed a second straight win in Jake P. Ayson’s CFC Golf Cup, losing by count back at the Veterans Golf Club.  There’s always next year to look forward to, Chito.  Cheers!