After the Miami Heat lost the NBA championship to the San Antonio Spurs a couple of days ago, a veteran scribe covering the PBA beat wondered if the Gilas Pilipinas training under coach Erik Spoelstra in South Beach next month would push through.
This arrangement with the Filipino-American coach was sealed many months ago to coincide with the end of the NBA season. But most likely, Spoelstra had not counted on a second place finish, said the scribe.
“Surely he was looking forward to a third straight title,” my colleague said. “He looked really forlorn and downhearted as he approached Spurs coach [Gregg] Popovich for the usual post-game handshake.”
If Spoelstra continues to be in a depressive state of mind, my colleague said he might not be inclined to find time for Gilas “and this would be a great loss to us.”
My colleague said that perhaps, after a few weeks, Spoelstra would have gotten over the loss.”
“Yes, I suppose he’ll be in a brighter frame of mind by the time the Gilas team gets there next month,” the scribe said.
“Besides, I know he’s a Smart endorser, hence he has to honor his commitment.”
Spoelstra will help the Philippine team prepare for its assignments this August and September—the Fiba World Cup in Spain and the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
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The NLEX Road Warriors, PBA D-League champions, spent four days and three nights in Hong Kong and Macau, but no word was spoken regarding the ballclub’s projected entry to the professional league.
Only late Monday afternoon did the PBA Commissioner’s office announce that NLEX had informed them of its decision to enter the league by acquiring an existing franchise.
Commissioner Chito Salud said the ballclub is in the process of finalizing the acquisition of the current member-ballclub and will update the league of further developments.
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“We will know the identity of the team only after it has played its last game in the ongoing conference,” said PBA Media Bureau chief Willie Marcial.
Marcial believes NLEX does not want to disturb the focus of the coach and players of the franchise being bought by making an announcement now.
The team is still in contention, and while the coach and players may have an idea that the franchise will soon be under new ownership, they still want to go out with a bang.
A player agent also said that the players are out to prove their worth.
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