Self-serving

The best could not be or should not be alone, even if he is the scoring machine. Game six reeks, but not the lake. Stephen Curry scored 32 but was alone in the double figure uncharacteristic of a warrior. While LeBron James scored two points lower, four of his teammates sank in double digits. Anthony Davis had 17 points despite head injury, Austin Reaves scored 23, almost half of which neutralized the golden surge in the second quarter punctuated by a half-court buzzer beater that sealed the deal at halftime.

For the first time since quite a long time, the Golden State Warriors lost the playoffs in the western conference. It wasn’t even close, 122-101. That’s what happens to a team with the all-around presence of a LeBron James. The 38-year old lost his patience, not due to his age, but because he did not want to go the distance in their virtual final against the warriors. A game seven against a team that won half of the last eight NBA titles is too risky to get even. Anything can happen. Finish the task at the earliest opportunity right in familiar territory with fan base luxury.

Although at the regional games, home court advantage is overstretched by the host nation to include massive naturalization, a privilege supposed to be sparingly granted by the state to ideal citizens, not ideal players. Like what the Brazilian coach did to Alyssa Valdez, but for another reason. The country’s flag bearer did just that, bear the flag while injury-plagued.

The entire series brought the best and worst among Filipino fans who became seers with educated guess or wishful thinking, analysts with legitimate tactics or nuisance antics and hecklers with rude cowardice, proof of how involved Filipinos are in a sport we grope.

Too involved we condemned Cambodia for its blatant naturalization of at least five blacks, but at the same time frustrated at how Filipinized Justin Brownlee bungled the preliminary match against the host country. We also resented how two years ago we lost the crown to Indonesia with three naturalized players, but at the same time awed at how, again, naturalized Brownlee atoned for his disastrous game to avenge the country’s bitter loss.

In the final, the redeem team vindicated itself and tightly defended its exclusive territory against foreign invasion to reclaim lost glory. In basketball, not sovereignty. No one cares though, the country now moves on to the western and eastern conference finals, an uncanny repeat of the final four when the world stood still. But now LeBron and Davis are about to vindicate their bubble championship.

But also now, the bitter Nikola Jokic is a better player, and in game one he proved he deserves to be called most valuable player. Twice, but not the curse attached to the highest accolade, that team title eludes the individual title-holder. Superstition or coincidence. Curiously, even the newly embedded most valuable Joel Embiid is feeling it. Jayson Tatum just blanked him with a new record for most points in a decider briefly held by the best scorer.