OKC Thunder In Five Games Vs. LA Lakers
Youth, athleticism as well as Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. These are the obvious advantages of the Oklahoma City Thunder when they host the tired Los Angeles Lakers on Monday (Tuesday, Manila time).
The Lakers are the decided underdogs in this Western Conference semifinal series series.
Playing with just seven players in the first round while using Matt Barnes sparingly, the Lakers have daunting task of overcoming the Thunder, who are enjoying their best season thus far since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City.
The Durant-Westbrook combination is definitely deadly and would surely give the Lakers big headache defensively. Add to that James Harden, who for sure, is eager to prove something against Metta World Peace, who gave him an elbow on the neck during their final regular season match up.
Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol remain a frontline tandem to contend with, though playing more than 40 minutes in the game during the first round series versus the Denver Nuggets could lessen their effectivity in the series because fatigue might catch up soon.
With a rather shallow bench support, I feel the Lakers would go down in five games.
How about you? What do you think would be the series ending in the second round?
Photo Source: http://starberryicecream.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/durant-bryant.jpg
Earthquake And Foundation
Earthquake is just one of the numerous natural calamities that bring huge devastation in lives and properties.
My most vivid memory of a devastating earthquake happened in July 16, 1990, back when I was still in second year high school. I was with my younger brother Francis, around 4:30p.m., walking along R. Hidalgo to buy some peanuts in a small store, situated near a small bridge in Quiapo, when suddenly, everything around us started to shake.
I remember seeing a public utility jeepney nearly slam itself into another jeepney as the force of the earthquake grew. Meralco posts started to sway while an old, dilapidated building very near Jollibee-Hidalgo started to shake as well.
It was the most fearful thing I’ve every experienced during that time as people started to shout in panic, others cry and still others drop helplessly on the floor, as if receiving a massive right-hand punch from world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao.
That night, news broke out that more than 25 major structures in Baguio City, the country’s summer capital, was devastated by the earthquake that was measured at 7.6 intensity in the Richter Scale.
I felt chills on my spine upon seeing notable structures in Baguio like Hotel Nevada and Hyatt Terraces Hotel destroyed by the powerful earthquake.
As I recall this unforgettable experience I had on earthquake, I’m reminded of Jesus’ strong admonition on Luke 6 why it’s so important to build our life on the right foundation.
Luke 6:46 (New International Version) 46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice,I will show you what they are like. 48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
While it’s certainly scary to be in a place where there’s a strong earthquake, it’s even more alarming to live a life that’s not built on the right foundation.
People may build their life’s foundation on all sorts of things like career or business success, academic excellence, relationships, wealth, among others. Yet, these things won’t mean anything at all and won’t even give meaning to our lives in light of eternity.
When life is calm, our foundations don’t seem to matter. But when crises arise, our foundations are tested.
Life is not storm-free. But Jesus guaranteed it to be storm-proof when we learn to trust Him and completely surrender our whole life to His Lordship.
Is your life built solidly on Christ? If not, it’s time to let go and let Christ take over. Let Christ be your foundation.
As the Apostle Paul said, I Corinthians 3:10 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Photo Source: http://cityofpines.com/baguioquake/quake04.jpg
Long Vacation For The Mavericks
From NBA kings to the league’s playoffs bust.
That’s the headline for the NBA Playoffs this early following Oklahoma City’s “thunderous” fourth-quarter explosion behind the team’s top sixth man James Harden today en route to a Western Conference first round four-game series sweep of Dallas, ending the Mavericks’ roller-coaster 2012 season.
Honestly, as an NBA fan, I was hoping for the Mavericks to put their acts together when the Playoffs started. But as the Playoffs kicked off more than a week ago, the Mavericks appeared not really up to the task against the younger, more determined Thunder side.
Getting swept in this year’s post-season means no Los Angeles Lakers-Dallas Mavericks playoffs rematch this year.
For much of the Lakers fans, this would have been an opportunity to get back at the Mavs considering that last season was worth forgetting. Kobe Bryant and Co. were looking forward to chugging their way for a third straight crown, till the Mavericks’ stampeding offense completely shamed the Lakers in the post season.
Dallas went on to score a surprising four-game sweep of Los Angeles, whose aspirations for a third straight NBA crown hit a major snag, while giving Phil Jackson a rude ending in his coaching tenure with the Lakers.
And as every NBA follower knows, Dallas went on to advance to the league Finals after manhandling OKC in the Western Conference Finals, before winning the title in six games versus the talented core from the Miami Heat.
Anyway, Dallas’ 2011 NBA championship is but a distant memory as people now talk about how the defending champion lost the Playoffs at a humiliating fashion.
By this time, I think the race for the Western Conference Finals is but a three-cornered fight among the San Antonio Spurs, OKC and the LA Lakers.
Though I would admit that among the three, the Spurs and the Thunder are capable of arranging a Western Conference Finals meeting this season because of their more consistent performance throughout the 2012 season.
As for the Lakers, even though I’ve been an LA fan since my younger days, I still feel they would fall short eventually to the Thunder (but first, LA must beat Denver in their first-round match up before even thinking of the second round). The Lakers still have one of the league’s most potent inside operators in Andrew Bynum, who is playing his best-ever NBA season; along with Spanish center Pau Gasol.
But with a shallow and unreliable bench support most of the time this season, the Lakers could be contented making it to the West’s semifinals.
Photo Source:
http://kalalloomarketplace.com/wp-content/uploads/classipress/dallas-mavericks-wes-2000352958.jpg
http://www.fortheloveofteachingmath.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Kevin-Durant.jpg
Influence…
Influence. History is replete with people who have impacted the world through their extraordinary contributions in various fields: science, arts, politics, sports, literature, among others.
No doubt, names like Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill and even our very own Manny Pacquiao, ring a bell because of the way they have shaped the way people lived and the way they influenced people in our time.
Einstein is considered by far as the most influential scientist of the 20th Century because of his huge contribution in Modern Physics. He even received a Nobel Prize for his contribution in the field of Theoretical Physics in 1921.
Gandhi on the other hand, is called the Father of India for championing the Indian Independence through total non-violence and civil disobedience. His phenomenal influence gave India her independence in 1947, earning a place among the world’s most influential people in history.
Churchill, meantime, served as Great Britain’s prime minister at a turbulent time in the world’s history. His leadership at the face of German onslaught during World War II enabled Great Britain to soar and eventually help stop World War II alongside global ally United States during the 1940s.
And finally, Pacquiao. The General Santos native fought off poverty and hardships in life at an early age, making a living on top of the boxing ring during his teenage years. Through sheer hard work and determination, Pacquiao rose to the global boxing stage with sensational victories over big-name boxers like Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez, Erik Morales, Oscar “Golden Boy” Dela Hoya, among many others en route to becoming the very first eight-division world champion. To date, he has won six world boxing titles and was named the Fighter of the Decade for the 2000s by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA).
These global icons’ feats, were no doubt, worth remembering, worth telling and worth chronicling.
However, there is still one Person that stood out among all the rest of the most influential people the world has ever known, whose sayings, teachings and even life transcended history itself. He is no other than Jesus Christ.
Jesus came on earth to give an abundant life to people who believe in Him and surrender their lives fully to Him.
John 10:10 says, The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
The life Jesus gives isn’t limited to our life here on earth. But it’s a life that is rich, abundant, full of meaning and most of all, eternal.
At the same time, a life submitted completely to Christ, experiences Divine transformation.
Christ gives every believer the power to live life completely free from his old sinful habits and be able to live as light and salt in our world.
Want to influence your world?
It won’t come just simply through your sheer charisma, talent or skill. Rather, influence begins when we let Christ transform us from inside out.
Photo Source: http://www.lowdensitylifestyle.com/media/uploads/2011/01/AlbertEinstein.jpg
PBA, Cross & Victory
Managed to catch the tail-end of the Game 5 PBA Commissioner’s Cup last night after a string of meetings yesterday that started early in the morning.
James Yap, import Denzel Bowles, Marc Pingris and the rest of the B-Meg Llamados all sported determined faces last night in their 82-66 manhandling of an off-form Talk ‘N Text side before a full house crowd at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. The victory pushed the Llamados to within one more victory of a first PBA championship under coach Tim Cone.
While I wasn’t able to watch the entire game, a quick look at the final scoring output of the Tropang Texters in Game 5 reveals an obvious airtight defense employed by Cone’s wards.
B-Meg’s Game 5 performance was a complete reversal from what it displayed in Game 4 on Sunday where the Llamados were pummeled by the Tropang Texters, 85-100.
But now heading to Game 6, momentum has shifted to B-Meg’s side while the Tropang Texters face elimination and a possible bridesmaid finish for this conference.
Yet, anything is possible at this stage. In the years that I’ve watched local basketball, I’ve seen ball clubs down in the Finals series bounce back with aplomb en route to winning the championship.
While the PBA finals can brings cheers or tears to either fans at the end of the championship series, what B-Meg and TNT are fighting for is limited to the confines of sports.
However, there is one important victory in mankind’s history that should capture our complete attention: Christ’s victory on the cross.
1 Corinthians 15:55-57 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The Apostle Paul had one simple message: In Christ, we are victors. In Christ, we triumph!
Triumph over what? Over sin, over our past, over our weaknesses, over struggles that we couldn’t overcome by our own strength.
If you’re struggling today, I hope you don’t continue to find ways for you to overcome and win. Recognize Christ’s power by surrendering your life completely to Him, ask Him to forgive you and let Him rule your life starting today.
In Christ, defeat is but a thing of the past. In Christ, you are victorious!
