Game 5 and the trip to Apayao

While Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat, some members of the Baguio media including me where on our way to Apayao for an event.

I was thinking of not going to Apayao that day.

I was rooting for Fil-Am coach Erik Spoelstra’s Heat for them to make a comeback as they were down 3-1 against the top seed Nuggets who was seeking their first title before the they won it all on Tuesday.

The odds, in fact are against the Heat.

For one, the Heat made it to the finals after disposing the reigning Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics.

Prior to edging the Celtics, the Heat barely made it to the playoffs and needed to win in their play-in match against the Atlanta Hawks.

Although they lost to the Hawks, the Heat, with a higher quotient against Atlanta played Chicago and showed more experience against the Bulls and advance to the playoffs.

The Heat then made history by edging the number one seed in the east, the Milwaukee Bucks, 4-1.

The New York Knicks also fell prey to the surging Heat in the playoffs, 4-2.

Miami then surged to a 3-0 lead against the Celtics in their best of seven Eastern Conference finals match – up.

But Boston, the second seeded team in the east just won’t go down without a fight as they evened the series and force a decider.

Lady luck however was not on Boston’s side this time as Miami knocked out the strong-willed Celtics to be the first eight seeded team in NBA history to make it to the finals.

Miami’s magical run came to a screeching halt after Denver sent them crashing back to earth in game 1 before evening the series at one a piece in Game two.

Since their Game 2 victory, the Heat was no longer the team that had NBA squads fearing in the playoffs as they left reeling for an answer against the Nikola Jokic lead squad backed by Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Micheal Porter Jr. among others.

The Denver Nuggets, after winning their first title in the NBA, is the first team to win the championship outside the states of either California or Texas.

The Seattle Supersonic, before they moved to Oklahoma, was the last team, who is neither from Cali or Texas to do so.

Since Seattle won their last crown in 1979, teams from California and Texaswon a combined 24 titles, with the last two held by the Lakers and the Warriors.

It is also interesting to note that Lakers and the Warriors have combined 16 titles during that span.

We made it to Apayao that day despite the occasional strong rains while we were traversing Ilocos Sur and Norte enroute to Cagayan.

By the time we reach the town of Luna in the evening, we settled in our hotel, which doesn’t have an internet connection and watched the highlights of the game thru data.

Good thing I made that trip as I was not able to watch in agony how the Heat faltered. ###