Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Chot Reyes on Gilas trip to Lithuania: ‘We expect to get massacred’


The Philippine national men’s basketball team is about to embark on a journey to Lithuania, and the trip is anything but a vacation.
“We expect to get massacred,” said SMART-Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes. “Bubugbugin tayo doon, at kaya naman tayo magpupunta doon para magpabugbog.”
During the camp, the Philippine team will have the chance to play against six of the top professional teams in Lithuania and Reyes believes that the team will face a level of competition that is much higher than it’s used to.

“My belief is if you’re training, you have to train against superior competition. Better skilled, better height and you can only get that in places like Europe, in this case, Lithuania.”

Supervising the Gilas camp will be former Lithuanian national team coach Kestutis Kemzura, who led his country to a bronze medal finish in the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Turkey.

Kemzura’s squad, despite only having one NBA player in Linas Kleiza, suffered only one defeat in eight games – a semifinal loss to the Kevin Durant-led USA national team dubbed the “B-Team” due to the absence of players like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant from the roster.

For Reyes, the Lithuania camp will offer a rare opportunity for the team to be together, and is expected to be a crucial part of the Gilas preparations.

“It’s our first time to be really all complete. This is really our training camp, that’s the way we’re looking at it,” said Reyes.

“It’s going to form a big part of the final decision-making process.”

With several players falling to injuries, the Gilas pool headed to Lithuania consists of just 13 players hoping to make the final cut of 12. The players are Marcus Douthit, LA Tenorio, Gary David, Gabe Norwood, Jeff Chan, Ranidel De Ocampo, Larry Fonacier, Jimmy Alapag, Jayson Castro, Marc Pingris, June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar and Greg Slaughter. The delegation will leave on June 2.

Not making the trip with health concerns or injuries are Sonny Thoss, Kelly Williams, Jared Dillinger and Ryan Reyes.

The trip is part of the team’s buildup for the FIBA Asia Championship to be held in Manila in August.

Like father Benjie, rising teen star Kobe Paras brings Philippines basketball glory


Benjie Paras knows the excitement of carrying Philippine colors and winning a championship while representing the country in the international basketball scene.

That’s why the PBA’s “Tower of Power” wasn’t surprised when he was the first person his son Kobe called after helping the Philippine team win the FIBA Asia 3×3 Under-18 Championship last week.

“I experienced that before when we won the gold in the Southeast Asian games in Jakarta in 1987. It makes you feel proud being a Filipino and being a member of the champion team in an international tournament,” said Paras.

“He updated me right away when they won. Up to now, hindi sila makapaniwala beating China.”

Kobe, who plays guard for La Salle Greenhills, told his father about facing a much bigger Chinese squad.

“They were up against three players standing 6-foot-10, plus a 6-foot-1 point guard, so doon pa lang malaking disadvantage na on our part. That’s why the victory came sweeter. Bihira pa natin talunin sa basketball ang China,” said the elder Paras.

Kobe teamed up with another second-generation player Thirdy Ravena as well as Arvin Tolentino and Prince Rivero to bag the title.

The two-time PBA Most Valuable Player said winning at an early age would serve his Kobe well.

“Dati kasi, kami mga around 18 years old kami nakakapag-start representing the country. Now, sa age group, you can represent it as early as 15 and this is a good start for Kobe,” said Benjie.

“I told him to value this success and learn from this. He also has to value the school where he plays for dahil ito yung nagpapa-aral sa kanya.”

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Salud on Gilas snub in Jones Cup: ‘We control our destiny’


MANILA, Philippines — PBA Commissioner Chito Salud remained upbeat on the Gilas-Pilipinas’ chances in the coming Fiba-Asia championship this August despite its latest hurdle.

Philippine team head coach Chot Reyes last Monday night revealed that Gilas had been “un-invited” to the 2013 Jones Cup in Chinese Taipei due to the tension between the Philippines and Taiwan.

“Unfortunate as it is, we need to move forward. We need to stay strong. We need to stay focused,” Salud said in a statement.

“Nothing has changed — we control our destiny. We will not be deterred in our quest to perform well in the coming Fiba-Asia championship which our country will host.”

Monday, May 27, 2013

Pinoy GMs go for glory in World Chess Cup


MANILA, Philippines – The road to the 2013 World Chess Cup in Tromso, Norway starts Tuesday for Filipino Grandmasters Wesley So, Mark Paragua and Oliver Barbosa.

So, Paragua and Barbosa will represent the Philippines in the prestigious tournament slated Aug. 10 to September 5 eyeing no less than eyeing to clinch one, if not both, of the two spots staked in the 2014 Candidates Matches, a tournament which determines who will fight for the World Chess Championship.

"Our training starts as soon as we go home because the World Cup is just a few months away," said Paragua in Filipino moments after finishing third in the recently concluded Asian Continental Chess Championship dubbed "Manny Pacquiao Cup" at the Midas Hotel and Casino.

It will be the 29-year-old Paragua's fourth World Cup appearance, the most number of stints by any Filipinos in the event, after making it there in the 2004 edition in Libya and 2006 and 2010 in Khanty Minsk, Russia.

This time, Paragua hopes to perform better.

"The farthest I got in the World Cup was the second round, I hope to improve on my performance," he said.

So, who skipped the Pacquiao Cup to join a tournament he topped in Calgary, Canada, have made it to the World Cup via a strong performance in the Asian Zone 3.3 Championship last year while Barbosa joined the event and finished second but he already booked a slot in an Asian event also a year back.

Barbosa, who made his Olympiad debut last year, said he will prepare hard in his first World Cup appearance.

"I hope to do well in Norway and not disappoint my countrymen," said the 26-year-old Barbosa, the second highest ranked Filipino with an ELO rating of 2566 behind only So who has 2705.

The Chess World Cup 2013 is a chess 128-player single-elimination tournament.

SBP exec bats for Philippine hosting of FIBA Asia 3×3 tournament


Following the success of the Philippine squad in the FIBA Asia Under-18 3×3 Championship, Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Sonny Barrios will propose to the stakeholders of the cage body the possibility of hosting the prestigious event in the future.

Barrios shared his thoughts to InterAKTV on Sunday.

“It’s a big possibility. In fact, mas madali nga ito kasi mas konti yung kasali. Logistics-wise, the event will be easier to manage,” Barrios said in a telephone interview.

“Kasi sa 3×3, a team is only composed of four players per team plus a team official. Hindi kinakailangang coach yung kasama ng mga players. Pwedeng manager, pwedeng physical therapist. Depende sa kanila. Parang ang ginawa ng FIBA na ruling dito, these guys can coach on their own.”

Arvin Tolentino, Prince Rivero, Kobe Paras, and Thirdy Ravena clinched the gold medal in the FIBA Asia 3×3 Under-18 Championships in Bangkok, Thailand last week.

The Philippines will be hosting of this year’s FIBA Asia Championship, an event that will be held in Manila for the first time in 40 years. Barrios said this will be a good test of how well the country can manage a major international event.

Barrios noted that three-on-three is already popular in the Philippines.

“Kung sa Brazil they play football everywhere, tayo naman dito sa Pilipinas, we have our street basketball. Even sa electric post tapos magbibilog lang ng bakal, makakapaglaro na ng basketball,” said Barrios.


“That’s how popular basketball is in the country and FIBA is aware of how passionate Filipinos are about this game.”

Saturday, May 25, 2013

FA U18 3x3: Filipino boys stop India in their tracks, win gold

 Playing their second successive Final of the day, India would have hoped for their boys to make amends for the disappointment in the girls section. But as things would turn out, it was Philippines’ overall better control of the proceedings that became the highlight as the SEABA team outsmarted their opponents to win 21-19 and clinch the gold.
Things did good look for India during the day.
The team showing some excellent opportunism in offense and solid temperament in defense had overcome two tough WABA opponents in back-to-back games heading to the final.
Against Lebanon, India with Loveneet Singh at the vanguard seized the initiative early on and steadily built on it advance. And against Syria in the semifinals, it took a lot of effort on the defensive skills of Gurvinder Gill to keep the rally of their opponents at bay.
Thus when India entered the Final game, it was certainly with their expectations buoyant.
But Philippines, themselves had come into the gold medal game with their antlers up having beaten the mighty China in the semifinals.
As Rashleigh Rivero put it: “We were really scared of the Chinese, their size and height.”
But in a bruising battle that saw an unsportsmanlike foul being called on a Chinese player, Ferdinand Ravena converted two free-throws – a rare instance in 3x3 – to clinch the issue.
And the tale of close contest for Philippines, who had survived a late scare against Japan in the quarterfinals, continued in the gold medal game continued.
Ravena looked as flamboyant as ever and Rivero as steady, but the Indian quartet playing some uninhibited basketball kept nagging.
The scoreboard, as a result almost equal, till Ravena sealed the issue reaching the 21-point mark.
“Honestly, I don’t have words to describe my feelings,” Rivero said.
“We are overwhelmed. We didn’t really think we could go all the way. We had God on our side,” Ravena added.
 “We worked really hard for this,” chipped in Arvin Tolentino. “I think God helped us because we helped ourselves,” he said.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Alaska willing to lend Calvin Abueva to Philippine national team


The Alaska Aces previously made a clear stand that it won’t release its players to the Philippine national men’s basketball team while they were still in contention for the Commissioner’s Cup.

But with the tournament over and the team fresh off capturing its 14th PBA title, Alaska is now willing to do its part for the national cause.

That means that center Sonny Thoss can begin full contact training with the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team.

The Aces are also open to lending another player to the national squad.

On Monday, InterAKTV reported exclusively that members of the Gilas coaching staff are interested in tapping Alaska star rookie Calvin Abueva to join the pool.

“For Calvin, if he will be included, I don’t see a problem,” wrote Alaska team manager Dickie Bachmann in a text message to InterAKTV.

Gilas coach Chot Reyes originally named 17 players to the pool, but several members of the squad have been felled by injuries. Kelly Williams (blood disorder) and Jared Dillinger (pelvic fracture) have been ruled out of this August’s FIBA Asia Championship, while others are recovering from various ailments.

Abueva has emerged as the leading candidate to win the season’s Most Valuable Player honors after finishing runner-up in the Best Player race in the first two conferences. The idea of him joining the national squad has drawn strong support from PBA fans. In a poll on InterAKTV, more than 77 percent of voters agreed that he should be part of Gilas.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Volcanoes whip UAE, keep top Asian 5 slot


THE PHILIPPINE rugby team came up with a brave, battling game to smother the United Arab Emirates, 24-8, before a big, wildly cheering crowd at Rizal Memorial Stadium Saturday night and keep its spot in the HSBC Asian Five Nations elite group at least until next year.

Flanker Chris Hitch scurried for a try off a scrum from the five-meter line to break the ice for the PH side, before winger Gareth Holgate sprinted for another to give the Volcanoes a 10-0 lead in the first 15 minutes of the match.

“We had no special preparation, we just stuck to what we’ve worked hard the last few months and did it better and longer,” said coach Jarred Hodges after the match.

The victory installed the Philippines as No. 4 in the continent.
“Our goal was top three but we fell short,” added Hodges. “Now we look to getting better.”

About 5,700 spectators—the biggest attendance ever in a rugby game here—showed up, the majority of them expatriates who cheered both sides while sipping beer sold at the stands.

Hodges said the Volcanoes capitalized on their speed to overwhelm the UAE side, which had played at the elite A5N level for the past five years and would now be replaced by Sri Lanka, which topped the second-tier Division 1.

“(The PH) defense was better, but (a big) part of (the win) was because UAE doesn’t play as fast as the other teams,” said Hodges, the Volcanoes’ Australian mentor.

“They allowed us to have more time to set up our defense. The challenge for us was to play at the level of Japan and South Korea.”

The Volcanoes had lost to both countries and to Hong Kong by big margins.
Alex Aronson’s conversion kick pushed the Volcanoes to 12-0, before UAE flanker Reiner Els came through with a try for 12-5. UAE had three penalty kicks but fly half Andrew Russel couldn’t find his range.

The taller and bigger visitors finally came through with a penalty kick and closed in at 8-12 at the start of the second half.

But the Volcanoes stood their ground, and after successive attacks, succeeded in scoring another try—worth five points— through Graeme Hagan for 17-8 in the 58th minute.

“Jake Letts put me in the gap and at that time we needed a try because UAE could put the game any other way,” said Hagan, who scored after a 10-minute banishment to the bench for fighting.

“I just thought I needed to do something good for the team. We just didn’t imagine getting relegated and we needed a win.”

Aronson, designated to take the two-point conversion kicks which comes after a try, made it 19-8 before a power outage halted play with less than four minutes left in the match.

The Volcanoes came out after the 15-minute interruption with a decisive show as Matt Saunders scored another try half a minute before the final whistle.

“I was lucky, the board sort of popped up and there’s an opening and I took it,” said Saunders, who described the win as “massive” for Philippine rugby.

“You look for a moment like that, it was sort of luck, and I capitalized on it. We have never been relegated, we either stayed at one level or improved. It proved that Filipinos can play rugby. We are a force in Asia being in the top five and we deserve to be here.”



‘Wala pa ring tatalo’: Alaska sweeps Ginebra to win Commissioner’s Cup


The Alaska Aces defeated Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 104-80, in Game Three to sweep the Commissioner’s Cup finals Sunday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

Alaska used a furious fourth quarter run to end the game to win the 14th championship in franchise history.

“Wala pa ring tatalo sa Aces, wala pa ring tatalo sa Gatas Republik, wala pa ring tatalo sa Alaska!” exclaimed Alaska chief executive officer Wilfred Uytengsu after the match

Best Import winner Robert Dozier dominated with 27 points, 20 rebounds, seven assists, and six blocks to lead the way for the Aces. Calvin Abueva added 22 points and 10 rebounds while Sonny Thoss posted 13 points and 14 rebounds for Alaska, who dominated the boards, 64-50.

With Ginebra’s backs against the wall, the Gin Kings put up a tough fight through three quarters. The game was still close early in the fourth quarter, with Alaska leading by just two points, 80-78.

Then all hell broke loose.

Alaska unleashed a 24-2 run to end the game, capped by a three-pointer from third-string point guard Raphy Reyes, to close out the series.

Thoss won finals Most Valuable Player honors after averaging 14.5 points in the series while anchoring the Alaska defense.

LA Tenorio carried the fight for Ginebra with 18 points. But import Vernon Macklin once again struggled, posting a quiet 12 points on just eight shots.

New face of Alaska: Fred Uytengsu sees bright future for star rookie Calvin Abueva


In just his first year in the PBA, Calvin Abueva has become the new face of the Alaska Aces franchise, drawing the most love from Gatas Republik fans, leading the team in statistics, and helping them win the Commissioner’s Cup.

Alaska chief executive officer Wilfred Uytengsu said that the best is still ahead for the brash rookie.

“He has a lot of potential. He has oodles and oodles of talent and he has a bright future in the PBA,” Uytengsu told InterAKTV.

“He has that kind of energy I that I haven’t seen before.”

The Aces top supporter is well aware of Abueva’s reputation as a pest and irritant on the floor, which often earns the forward boos from fans of other teams.

“You’ll be glad when he’s playing on your team and you’ll hate playing against him when you’re on the opposing side,” said Uytengsu.

But while Abueva is emerging as Alaska’s star, he would still need to buy into the team concept.

“In Alaska, there’s always that sense of ‘we rather than me,’ and Calvin will just have to develop his maturity and work well within our system,” said Uytengsu.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Grizzlies close out Thunder to reach first West finals in franchise history


OKLAHOMA CITY – The Memphis Grizzlies advanced to the NBA semifinals for the first time in franchise history by beating the top seeded Oklahoma City Thunder 88-84 to take their playoff series in five games.

Zach Randolph finished with 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds but missed two late free throws with the Grizzlies holding a two-point lead.

“We got a great win,” Randolph said. “They came out blasting and we stood and fought. We kept fighting and now we will get some rest and get ready for the next series.”

Thunder superstar Kevin Durant had a chance to tie the game with the clock winding down but he shot long on an open 15-footer. That allowed Memphis’ Tony Allen to seal the outcome by making his two free throws.

“We knew Kevin would get the ball. Luckily he missed the shot,” Memphis guard Mike Conley said.

The Grizzlies will meet either the San Antonio Spurs or the Golden State Warriors for the right to go to the 2013 NBA finals. The Spurs lead that quarter-final series 3-2 with the next contest scheduled for Thursday in Oakland, California.

Conley finished with 13 points, 11 assists and seven boards for the fifth-seeded Grizzlies, who won the final four games of the series after losing game one.

Oklahoma City made it to the NBA finals last season where they lost to the Miami Heat who also advanced with a win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.

The Thunder earned the top seed in the Western Conference postseason, but lost all-star point guard Russell Westbrook in game two of their first-round series against the Houston Rockets.

Their fate was also sealed after trading away NBA Sixth Man of the Year and Olympic gold medal winner James Harden to the Rockets after last year’s playoff run.

Oklahoma City averaged a mere 89.6 points in the series — 16.1 points less than they did in the regular season.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Alaska coach Luigi Trillo believes Mark Caguioa won’t play in finals for Ginebra


Alaska coach Luigi Trillo is busy preparing his team’s game plan for the Commissioner’s Cup finals against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.

But one name would be conspicuously missing from his list of marked men: reigning PBA Most Valuable Player Mark Caguioa.

“I don’t think he is playing in the finals,” Trillo told InterAKTV. “It’s a risk playing him in the finals and I think Ginebra will not risk playing him.”

Caguioa has missed most of Ginebra’s games in the tournament after suffering a knee injury midway through the elimination round. He made a cameo appearance in the final minute of the Gin Kings’ semifinals clincher over Talk ‘N Text last Friday.

But for Trillo, the rest of the Ginebra squad presents the bigger problem.

“Our objective is to contain the guys who brought Ginebra to the finals and Caguioa isn’t part of that key group. We need to stop (Vernon) Macklin, LA (Tenorio), Kerby (Raymundo), Chris Ellis, (Mac) Baracael and (Jayjay) Helterbrand,” said Trillo.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Ginebra rolls through Talk ‘N Text to forge finals showdown with Alaska


Barangay Ginebra San Miguel unleashed a blistering attack early before showing poise in the face of a furious Talk ‘N Text rally to win Game Five of their Commissioner’s Cup semifinals series, 111-103, Sunday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

With the win, Ginebra booked its first finals appearance since the 2011 edition of the tournament.

“I didn’t expect that we’ll be in the championship,” said Ginebra coach Alfrancis Chua, who rebounded from an 0-4 start to the tournament to make a Cinderella run to the finals as a seventh seed. They will face top-ranked Alaska in the championship round.
“It’s a God-given gift, daming injuries, pero nakarating kami dito.”

Buoyed by a boisterous crowd of 21,408 cheering lustily for them from the opening tip, the Gin Kings built a 20-point halftime lead, 61-41, against the shorthanded Tropang Texters.

But Talk ‘N Text, which was playing without star forward Ranidel De Ocampo in addition to injured stalwarts Kelly Williams and Jared Dillinger, did not give up. The Tropang Texters cut the lead to just 11 points at the end of the third period, and came within striking distance in the final quarter.

“Tinitingnan ko, kinakabahan ako,” said Chua. “Pero yung mga players, wala lang.”
LA Tenorio led Ginebra with 28 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter to keep Talk ‘N Text at bay.

“The kid showed something that, pwede talaga siyang mag-[Best Player of the Conference,” said Chua.

Import Vernon Macklin, whose arrival in the tournament turned Ginebra’s fortunes around, added 22 points and 20 rebounds, while Mac Baracael had 21 points.

Against Alaska in the finals, Chua knows the going will get even tougher.

“Alaska is very complete, from wing to point to big man,” said Chua, who added that he won’t be thinking of the championship round just yet.

“Enjoy-in ko muna ‘to kahit isang araw.”

Friday, May 3, 2013

Ellis bags slam; Tiu 3-Point king

Digos City - Ginebra turned the Slam Dunk Contest into a family affair with Chris Ellis joining an elite club of first-time winner even as Rain or Shine Chris Tiu made a strong statement in the PBA All-Star Week at the Sports, Cultural and Business Center of Davao Del Sur here.

While Tiu easily crowned himself the new 3-Point King, Ellis survived a strong challenge by teammate Elmer Espiritu to earn the nod of the judges.

Ellis, the Kings' No. 4 overall pick in last year's PBA Rookie Draft, was actually behind by a point after the first round of the finals - 45-44 - as it took him four tries before he finally completed his attempt - a reverse windmill dunk from the baseline.

Espiritu, who went first in the finals, had 45 points with a simple bounce before catching the ball at mid-air for a two-handed dunk.

The former Slam Dunk champion in his college days at the University of the East, Espiritu blew his chances of winning the title when he failed to complete a tough trick in his second round dunk. 

In that play, San Mig Coffee's Mark Barroca threw the ball from the lower box section to the court intended for Espiritu but the 6-foot-4 forward failed to execute the trick after several tries. 

The final dunk of Ellis, which merited 49 points from the judges, including Davao del Sur Governor Douglas Cagas, was assisted by Meralco's Cliff Hodge, whose lob pass under the basket was caught by Ellis in mid-air.

To the delight of the crowd, Ellis threw down the ball with his right arm nearly inside the basket.

"It was fun competing against these guys. I'm just happy to win it," said the soft spoken Ellis, who had two perfect dunks in the eliminations - the cradle dunk popularized by Michael Jordan and a bounce to the backboard windmill.

Ellis became the fifth rookie player to win the Slam Dunk contest, joining Vergel Meneses (1992), Joey Mente (2001), Brandon Cablay (2003) and Rain or Shine's Gabe Norwood (2009). Ellis pocketed P20,000 for winning the event.

Tiu, on the other hand, was just the third freshman to capture the event as he collected 21 points in the finals round, beating Air2 veteran Rommel Canaleta and Alaska's JV Casio who had 18 and 14 points, respectively.

Tiu, the No. 7 overall pick of the Elasto Painters in the previous PBA Rookie Draft, also topped the elimination round of the contest with 17 points.

Aside from Tiu, who also won P20,000, the other rookies who won the event during thei te were Jasper Ocampo (1998) and Talk 'N Text's Jimmy Alapag (2003). The 21 points of Tiu also tied the record in the Three-Point Shootout finals, matching the effort of Allan Caidic (1991), Will Antonio (2006) and James Yap (2009).

In the Obstacle Challenge, Barako Bull point guard Jonas Villanueva retained the title for the fourth straight time after a flawless round as he completed the course with no mistake both in the elims round and final.  

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Spoelstra's managerial talents tend to go unnoticed


MIAMI (AP) -- Erik Spoelstra has either the easiest or hardest coaching job in the NBA.
Here's why it could be the easiest: The Miami Heat coach has at least four potential Hall of Fame players in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Ray Allen on his roster, and perhaps the deepest bench in the league. He has Pat Riley as a mentor and an owner in Micky Arison who will happily spend with hopes of winning.
Here's why it could be the hardest: He knows anything less than a second straight NBA championship would mean failure.
So that's why, at this time of year, the dark circles under Spoelstra's eyes -- a byproduct of not enough sleep -- tend to reappear with regularity. He takes nothing for granted, preaches at his team to do the same, and simply wants no part of any conversation that might mention how he could be in line to do something that only seven coaches before him have done: lead a team to back-to-back NBA championships.
"There's a lot of coaches who could coach this team," Spoelstra said Wednesday. "I wouldn't be as disrespectful to this profession to say anybody could coach this team. Some coaches could mess it up. I don't want to be one of those people. We honor that by trying to make the most of this opportunity. That's all it is."
By now, everyone in the league is probably somewhat aware of his story: Grew up around the game as the son of longtime NBA executive Jon Spoelstra, played in college -- as the point guard for Portland, he was maybe a few feet away from Hank Gathers when the Loyola Marymount star collapsed during a game in 1990 and died -- and came to the Heat as a video-room staffer in 1995.
When Riley retired in 2008, Spoelstra was the choice to be his successor. And all Spoelstra has done since is win - he's 260-134 in his five regular seasons, 38-22 in the postseason, including this year's four-game sweep of Milwaukee in the opening round.
This year, coming off last season's title, Spoelstra guided the Heat to a league-best and franchise-record mark of 66-16, including a 27-game winning streak that went down as the second-longest in NBA history.
"Spo has done an unbelievable job," Orlando coach Jacque Vaughn said. "One of the toughest things after you win one is being able to get those guys motivated and produce results year after year. You've got to give him credit for them going on the streak that they had, extremely impressive. He's done a great job with the group."
It started on the day before the first practice of training camp, when Spoelstra gathered his team and told them trying to win a second straight title will be much tougher than winning the first one.
Yes, he has tons of talent at his disposal. Still, the Heat players know they're not winning on just talent alone.
"What's overlooked when you talk about Spo is the management of the team," Wade said. "It's not the coaching part of it. It's, `Can you manage these egos, these personalities, without having one your damn self?' He's done it. Erik Spoelstra is overlooked. Coming off a championship, to come back and have the best record in the league and to do it the way we have, he's overlooked."
Maybe, maybe not.
Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers -- who knows what it's like to win a title and then try to hold it together for another title run with largely the same roster -- raved about the job Spoelstra did this season, particularly since the Heat didn't simply do rely on using the same schemes that worked for them a season ago this time around.
"When you think of what Spo's done, he not only won a title, he came back and changed the way they played," Rivers said. "That takes a lot of courage. He's young and was given a hell of a responsibility. He took it and ran with it."
When the Heat started 9-8 in the first season of the Wade, James and Bosh era, there were whispers that Spoelstra was getting fired. When the Heat lost the 2011 NBA Finals, the whispers returned. And when they entered last season's finals, again some suggested that Spoelstra was coaching for his job.
Privately, Heat executives laugh at all those notions. Spoelstra said he has no desire to coach anywhere else, and the Heat seem like they wouldn't mind keeping him for as long as he wants to stick around.
"Really, it's one of the hardest jobs to do, to have to win," said Riley, now the Heat president. "Erik has to win and has to perform and his team has to perform. How this team has grown over the last three years, I think this has been his finest year as a coach."
Some of Spoelstra's players study the game's history closely, and are aware of the significance of things like back-to-back titles (only four franchises have done that in the last four decades) or winning four MVP awards in a five-year span (which James likely will when the league announces this year's voting later this month).
It's different for coaches, Spoelstra said. Personal legacy is about the last thing on his mind.
"Coaching is survival in this league," Spoelstra said. "You're just thinking you want to keep your current position as long as you can. With this group, that's my attitude. I'm grateful for this opportunity with this team and I wouldn't want to coach anywhere else or any other team. That keeps anything in perspective for me."
So for as much as he loves to dive into the advanced metrics of basketball, all the little stats and numerical trends that get pored over with hopes of finding even the tiniest bit of an edge, Spoelstra's basic philosophy when it comes to coaching the Heat could not be more simple. He asks players to check their egos at the door of the locker room to help the team win, not to be worried about the individual numbers.
He goes about his job the same way.
"That's been part of the discipline, for all of us," Spoelstra said. "It's probably most important for the head coach to set the example. We're all in the position where we could get caught up in whatever the story line is, positive or negative. What we've been trying to preach is, let's be grateful for the opportunity -- which I am."