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Sunday, June 18, 2006
Taneo: Never say die (die another day)
By Paul J. Taneo
Free-for-all
Opinion section editor and fellow columist Bong Wenceslao texted me minutes after the Dallas Mavericks made it 2-0 in the NBA Finals: “Never say die. Go Heat!”
From someone who had staked life and limb because of his love of freedom and the motherland, how could I doubt Sir Bong’s resolve. As it turned out, the Heat were just as resolute.
To come back from a 13-point deficit with less than seven minutes left in the final quarter and an unbeatable 3-0 deficit staring them in the face, the Heat played Game 3 like freedom fighters with their backs to the wall of City Hall, while government forces encircled them from Avenues A, B and C.
With that closest of wins, the Heat started to believe again they could win the series and veteran almost-theres Alonzo Mourning and Gary Payton could begin to think of retirement.
Dwyane Wade finally scored his usual bundle when it counted most, in the last quarter in a last-gasp situation. Fifteen points of 42 in all in 12 minutes is something Dorell Wright can only dream of while warming the bench.
Wade scored a little less in Game 3 but he was still in the forefront of the Heat’s great comeback from a near-death 0-2 ICU situation. With the best-of-seven series now looking like a real best-of-seven at 2-all, it is the Mavericks’ turn to doubt. Dirk Nowitzki may have missed more field-goal shots than a blind gunman in the dark, Nowitzki should now be thinking of a good mountain resort in Bavaria to vacation away from the World Cup hullabaloo just in case he has to lick his NBA Finals wounds.
But no. Nowitzki is a shooter with one of the best accuracy rates in the NBA. He will keep on shooting until his shots find their mark. It’s just that Nowitzki has been guarded better in Games 3 and 4, pressured and harassed to the point of inaccuracy. All he needs to do is to take it more aggressively to the basket where lay-ups and floaters get whistled more than perimeter fade-aways and 3-point snipings. He shoots in the high 80s from the free-throw line and should be getting his points from there like he did in Game 4 (11-of-13). The shots have not been dropping for the Mavs in the last two games. As statistics go, that should change in Game 5. That or Avery Johnson should set up some changes in his team’s attack and defense plans.
DOCTOR DOCTOR I AM SICK. Dwyane Wade falling ill or injured in the playoffs is no surprise. It is one of the constants of the NBA the last two years or so. He either tweaks his ankle or catches a nasty flu-causing bug. Now it’s a stiff left knee that teammate Shaquille O’Neal inadvertently fell on.
What can the Miami Heat do without it’s (sorry, Shaq, big guy) main man? If the Heat lose the Finals series, they have one ready excuse – Wade not well. It used to be that whenever O’Neal’s team lost you could say of his free-throws – Shaq shot shit. But now it’s too obvious to deny that Wade is the difference between a W and an L for Miami. Wade is the tireless whirling dervish who stamps his sneaker signature all over the floor scoring, rebounding, defending, intercepting, passing...and that’s not to mention slashing and dunking.
That’s what makes Wade the equal of Kobe Bryant. It is virtually impossible to stop them from scoring and contributing in all departments. Like Bryant, Wade’s moves are poetry in motion. There also lies the problem.
Wade takes too many risks. The Converse TV commercial says it perfectly: “Fall down seven, stand up eight.” In pursuit of the points and the rebounds, Wade subjects his body to extreme danger and pain.
My son asked me what the Converse Wade commercial means by the seven and eight numbers. I superciliously replied: “What it really means is fall eight times, stand up seven.” And my son’s eyes lit up. “Oh, I see,” he said. “After the eighth fall, he couldn’t get up any more.” The wisdom of children.
Wade’s daredevil ways will shorten his career but enlarge his legend. But was that really an injured basketball player in Game 4? They must have pumped Wade a gallon of painkillers.
BETTER LATE THAN ZERO. England’s 2-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago was far from being a jackrabbit finish. It took England’s stars until the 83rd minute and a minute past extra time to score despite having at least 65 percent of ball possession. Peter Crouch’s header from a David Beckham pass was accuracy enacted starting with Beckham’s laser-guided right foot for a 1-0 edge for England. While Brett Garrard’s solo effort was a thing of beauty – a right fake and a left-footed shot that zoomed to the back of the net in a far post shot that left the T&T goalie helpless.
Rule Britannia! But don’t count out supreme team Brazil, Italy and Germany. My prophetic sense is not as infallible as the pope is in matters of spirituality but one of the BIG teams will win the Jules Rimet trophy this year, me thinks.
P.S. My mother will disown me if I don’t write this down: Happy Father’s Day, father. That goes to all you Papas out there, too.
(paulotaneo@yahoo.com)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (June 18, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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