Basketball is the first sport I ever loved and I used to play a lot during my elementary years. I’ve learned other sports like volleyball, badminton and sepak takraw but basketball was still my favorite. Sadly, since it is a man’s sport, my classmates often teased me by calling me a tomboy just because I play basketball. As a kid, I felt bad about being judged by my peers for playing a sport I truly love. But still I played because I enjoyed it. Eventually, as I entered high school I had lesser time to play because of the school works. Also, basketball for girls was removed from our high school intramurals which meant fewer chances for me to play. Good thing basketball is a sport which is fun to watch as it is to play it. I never really got tired of it so I started watching NBA and PBA to get a dose of basketball fever.
The last time I became an avid fan of the NBA was during the time of Michael Jordan and his team—the Chicago Bulls. I remember watching all of their games on TV with my dad and sister. During those years, I can truly say, I saw magic in NBA every time Jordan and the Bulls gave a stunning and impressive game. But more than Jordan’s amazing skills, I admired (and still admire) the Bulls as a team with all of the players giving their all to pull of a victory. From watching the Bulls play, I learned that basketball is not just a one-man show but a collaboration of a team which shares a passion for the game.
In the recently concluded NBA season, I again witnessed that passion after a long time in the Boston Celtics. The Celtics as a team showed strong hunger and desire to regain the championship and they worked hard to get to the finals. To add more spice to the finals, they fought against the phenomenal LA Lakers, led by NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, who were looking forward to retaining their championship. It was like a battle of a one-man team against one solid team. It was a very interesting and exciting match on that note. On the other hand, the 2010 final playoff is like a rematch after the Celtics beat the Lakers in the 2008 championship. NBA fans wondered if the Celtics can reclaim their victory or will the Lakers emerge victorious. The two teams’ rematch in the 2009 playoffs did not materialize after the Celtics came short of one key player with Garnet missing the playoffs because of an injury thus failing to reach the finals. But Garnet was able to come back for the 2010 playoffs and together with the whole Celtics team they again reached the championship to regain their title.
On the morning of June 18 (Philippine time), the whole world witnessed the much awaited game seven of the 2010 final playoff with the LA Lakers emerging victorious. It was sad to see my team go through an upsetting loss over the Lakers after watching their play fall apart towards the end of the game. The Celtics failed to maintain their play which ended up wearing down towards the last minutes of the game which gave the Lakers a chance to claim the game’s momentum. On the other hand, I must admit the Lakers did pull of an impressive win after struggling to cut the Celtics’ lead despite Bryant’s low field goal percentage. In the end, I think the Lakers became a solid team too after the other players stood up for their team to cover-up for Bryant’s streak of missed shots. It might’ve been a not-so-lucky-night for Kobe but still the Lakers as a team successfully bagged the championship which is the most impressive part on the Lakers’ side.
So I guess the Lakers’ is a stronger team than the Celtics…for now. Let’s see if it’ll still be the same next season.
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