TIME TO MOVE, TIME TO CHANGE

This early, some NBA teams had already started to prepare for the next campaign and what a better way to start off by changing the mentors, who will guide the club towards respectability and a possible winning season.

The Milawaukee Bucks immediately fired ertswhile coach Larry Kryskowiak after the regular season and in his place comes former Chicago Bull coach Scott Skiles. Skiles is no stranger to the Brew City franchise, himself a former first round draftee of the Bucks in 1986 (22nd pick over-all). Skiles played 13 games for Milwaukee as a rookie, averaging 3.8 ppg before being traded to the Indiana Pacers the following season. Skiles' career coaching record is 281-251 win-loss mark. He had coaching stints in Phoenix (1999-2002) and Chicago (2003-2008). He was fired early in the 2007-08 season after leading the Bulls to a disappointing 9-16 start.

The New York Knicks had finally parted ways with coach Isiah Thomas and is now looking into several prospects to take over the coaching reigns of the Gotham City franchise. Leading the race is NBA TV analyst Mark Jackson. "Action" Jackson spent 7 years of his NBA playing career with the Knicks. Another candidate is Jackson's co-NBA TV analyst and ex-Knick mentor Jeff Van Gundy. Van Gundy had an NBA coaching record of 430-318 mark. His last team was the Houston Rockets in 2006-07 season. He coached the Knicks for 7 years before moving to the Rockets. Van Gundy is well known for his defensive coaching style and his teams usually led the league in points allowed per game. Either Jackson or Van Gundy will have a lot of work to do during the off-season to rebuild the once-proud NY squad.

The Charlotte Bobcats had also come into the picture with the firing of 1st year coach Sam Vincent. The former Boston Celtic pointguard posted a coaching record of 32-50 in his only season with the Bobcats. The big news current circulating in the NBA world is the possibility of the Bobcats tapping the services of the legendary Larry Brown. A few days ago, Brown resigned from his front office position with the Philadelphia 76ers and is widely speculated of returning to the NBA coaching world. The 67 year old Brown had an over-all pro coaching record (including the ABA) of 1,239 wins and 907 losses. He led the Detroit Pistons to the 2003-04 NBA championship.

Expect more coaching changes in the next few months as more teams start to fall off from the ongoing NBA play-offs.

WHO IS DARIUS RICE?

For the meantime, let's deviate our attention from the heated wars of the on-going NBA play-offs (the Suns had just avoided themselves from being swept by the defending champs Spurs and the Pistons had just squared their series with the Sixers at 2-all) and take a look at an american import, who is presently taking the local pro loop by storm, the Purefood TJ Hotdogs' reinforcement Darius Rice.

Rice caught the fancy of local hoop fans by pouring in 56 points to lead the TJ Hotdogs to a nail-biting double overtime thriller of a win over the Magnolia Beverage Masters, 127-126 in its season opener last 02 April 2008. The PBA had not seen an explosive type of an import since the days of Tony "Hurricane" Harris, who displayed his wares during the early 90s with the RFM Swift squad. But who is Darius Rice? Where the hell did he came from? Is he an NBA vet?

I made a researched yesterday from the piles of books and magazines in my own little sports library at home and whoa!, I had gathered something about Mr. Rice! The following is the complete profile on Darius Rice, from the 2007 Pre-Season Media Guide of the Cleveland Cavaliers, which reads :

"2006-07: Played in 18 games with the Dakota Wizards of the NBDL.... averaged 13.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 25.4 minutes...... scored a regular season-high 32 points at Austin on April 13.... set D-League Championship game records with 52 points and 11 three-pointers made in the Final game, a 129-121 overtime win against Colorado.... started four of five played with the Cleveland Cavaliers Summer League team during the 2007 Vegas Summer League.... averaged 10.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.... finished with 19 points on 7-13 shooting against San Antonio and put up 21 points on 8-11 shooting versus Phoenix.

PROFESSIONAL CAREER: Played in two games with Polpak Swiecie of the Polish League during the 2005-06 season.... averaged 3.5 points and 1.5 rebounds.... joined the Gary Steelheads of the CBA and played in five games.... averaged 8.2 points and 5.8 rebounds.... also played in one game with the Marinos de Anzoategui of the Venezuelan League.... scored 17 points and four rebounds.... played in 42 games with the Florida Flame of the NBDL during the 2004-05 season.... averaged 10.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists.

COLLEGE CAREER: Was a four-year starter at Miami, averaging 16.1 points and 5.7 rebounds.... started 113 games, most at that point in School History.... only the second player in school history to lead the team in scoring, four consecutive seasons.... named All-Big East Second team as a senior.... led the Hurricanes in scoring (16.9) and rebounding (6.4).... led the team in scoring 15 times and in rebounding on 10 occasions.... averaged a team-high 18.7 points as a junior.... named Second Team All-Big east.... on four occasions hit a three-pointer to either win a game or send it to overtime.... had 28 points and seven rebounds against No. 3 Connecticut.... started 31 of 32 games as a sophomore.... recorded 20 or more points a team-high 10 times, including three 30 point games.... became first "Cane since Eric Brown in 1989 to records consecutive 30-point games.... set Miami freshman single-game records for points (35), three-point field goals (7) and 30-point games (2) on his way to being a Big East All-Rookie selection.... scored in double figures 20 times and led team in scoring 10 times.

PERSONAL: Nephew of NFL star receiver Jerry Rice.... son of Tom and Brenda Rice.... father was an All-American football player at Jackson State.... majored in Finance.... enjoys playing chess and working on his computer."

So there goes the complete details on super-import Darius Rice. But the million dollar question now is can he lead the Purefoods TJ Hotdogs to the promise land of the on-going Fiesta Cup, after the Hotdogs heartbreaking defeat in the Philippine Cup finals to the Sta. Lucia Realtors? Stay tuned!

THE SPURS WILL REPEAT

This is it! The best time of the year for NBA fanatics worldwide! The 2007-08 NBA playoffs are now in full swing. I hate making predictions because in the world of NBA playoffs anything can happen thats why the NBA is truly AMAZING!

But i'll try my luck on this one, the way I see it and according to my basketball heartbeat, my fearless forecast are as follows :

EAST FIRST ROUND

Boston over Atlanta, 4-0, Cleveland over Washington, 4-1, Orlando over Toronto, 4-2 and Detroit over Philadelphia, 4-2

WEST FIRST ROUND

LA Lakers over Denver, 4-2, Utah over Houston, 4-1, San Antonio over Phoenix, 4-2 and

New Orleans over Dallas, 4-1

EAST SECOND ROUND

Boston over Cleveland, 4-2 and Detroit over Orlando, 4-2

WEST SECOND ROUND

Utah over LA Lakers, 4-2 and San Antonio over New Orleans, 4-3

EAST FINALS

Detroit over Boston, 4-3

WEST FINALS

San Antonio over Utah, 4-3

NBA CHAMPIONSHIP

San Antonio over Detoit, 4-3

I pick the Spurs to repeat this season. Why? Simply because they play their best basketball in the months of April to June. Tim Duncan is the man! Tony Parker is the director! Manu Ginobili is the finisher and Greg Popovic is fast becoming a coaching legend. The Spurs had a slew of battle-scarred veterans in Michael Finley, Bruce Bowen, Brent Barry, Damon Stoudamire, Robert Horry and Kurt Thomas. Plus able back-ups Matt Bonner, Fabricio Oberto and shock-troopers Ime Udoka and Jacque Vaughn. What i'm truly amazed about this Texas outfit squad is their fluidity and no-nonsense hardnose type of basketball savvy.

So there goes my first ever NBA predictions, how about yours dude?

LIFE IS LIKE THE PLAY-OFFS

Nothing can be larger than life! Life is like the NBA play-offs, we all wanted either "live to win" or "live not to die". We must be very careful in living our everyday lives. We must cherish every moment of it as we can not hold on what is in store for each passing day.

Late last night, our family almost suffered a harrowing defeat. We received an overseas call from my sister, who had migrated to Australia with her family 8 years ago, and informed us of a nerve-racking news that her eldest son, our beloved Bogie, was stabbed by 3 unidentified young hold-uppers near the train station while on his way home from his hospital duty as a nursing student. We were all stunned with the development. As of that moment, my sister is still awaiting the ambulance which will bring Bogie to the emergency room of the hospital where she is presently working. After an hour, we got another call from my sister and this time, we were all relieved. According to her, Bogie was stabbed on one of his thighs and very luckily, not on any delicate part of his upper body. We immediately thanked the Lord Above for sparing our beloved Bogie from further harm. Our family had won by the skin of the teeth or by the slimmest of margin! That experience had transformed our family ties even stronger! How powerful the prayer is if its being said by the whole family.

Family should always work as a unit just like an NBA team. And always remember that a closely-knit family is the key towards a happy and victorious life! The chanmpions of all champions!

GREAT NEWS FOR SKY CABLE SUBSCRIBERS

I just got this information from the ESPN Star Sports website that beginning April 23, 3 NBA playoff games per week will be cablecast on Sky Cable! ESPN shall cover the games on Wednesdays and Saturdays while Star Sports will have its usual Friday games. On UHF or local channel, C/S Sports-RPN's coverage of the NBA post season games will be from Saturdays to Mondays.

This is definitely a big news for NBA fans without BTV or Destiny Cable susbcription! So lets all enjoy the "greatest show on earth" starting this Sunday, April 20!

UNCERTAINTY

With the Golden State Warriors exit from this season's play-offs, what lies ahead for the bay area squad? Right after their fateful loss to the Phoenix Suns, 122-116 which sealed their doom and gave the Denver Nuggets a free ride into the post season party, Warrior fans are now wondering what the future will be for this run and gun "gungho" team.

Will coach Don Nelson be back? How about team superstar Baron Davis? Well, old Nellie loves to play games, remember how he held up during the off-season and stayed much longer than usual in his Hawaiian home before coming to terms with the Warriors last October. Everything is still pre-mature to presume whether he would stage a comeback the next season or think about retirement and fishing in Oahu.

Davis has an opt-out clause in his contract and can sign with any other team this summer. However, I honestly believe that Nellie will play a vital role in Davis' future with the Warriors. If Nelson returns so is Davis thats how simple it is. Nelson has tremendous influence in the transformation of Davis from a self-centered guard during his Hornets days to what he has become now as leader of the Warriors.

2 major factors contributed to the Warriors' failure to duplicate last season's miracle play-off run. First is the trade which sent the team's spiritual leader Jason Richardson to the Charlotte Bobcats for rookie Brandan Wright. As the 2007-08 regular season comes to a close, take a close look at the individual stats of the 2 players:

J. RICHARDSON B. WRIGHT

21.6 PPG 4.0

5.3 RPG 2.6

3.2 APG 0.2

1.3 SPG 0.2

38.2 MPG 9.9

Whew! what a one-sided deal! If only J-Rich stayed with the Warriors, they could have easily reach the 55-win mark this season.

Secondly, the 0-6 start of the Wariors, no thanks to the 7-game suspension of Stephen Jackson, told heavily on their run-up for the 8th play-off spot in the west. To think that they missed the play-off bus by only a game, well, that season-opening 6-game losing streak did the Warriors out! Lets take a review of that 6-game debacle:

October 30, 2007 - Jazz 117 Warriors 96

November 2, 2007 - Clippers 120 Warriors 114

November 3, 2007 - Jazz 133 Warriors 110

November 6, 2007 - Cavaliers 108 Warriors 104

November 8, 2007 - Mavericks 120 Warriors 115

November 14, 2007 - Pistons 111 Warriors 104

After the 6-game tailspin, the Warriors won 9 of the next 10 games. But that is still not enough to compensate for that nightmare of a start.

Well, maybe a good advise for the team right now is to focus their attention on Nellie's and Davis' future with the team and not to think anymore of those "what ifs?".

I'm pretty sure it will be one hell of a busy summer for team Executive Vice President Chris Mullin. But knowing Mullin, he always delivers at crunch time even during his Warrior heydays!

CHANGING TIMES

In 1980, I bought my first-ever NBA magazine, the Game Plan 1980-81 NBA preview, at the National Bookstore-Harrison Plaza branch for only P 42.00. Then in 1982 I purchased a Basketball Digest featuring Moses Malone on the cover, for P 21.00 at the United Supermarket in Makati. Now, the prices of NBA magazines in the local market are as follows : SLAM at P 450.00/issue, NBA HOOP at P 575.00/issue and Basketball Digest at P 350.00/issue, respectively. Whew! How time flies!

However, if you find the prices astronomically high, you can try to settle with Tower Sports NBA magazine, a locally-produced quarterly publication, which sells at P 120.00 per issue except Issue No. 1 of each year, which is pegged at P 200.00. Its actually worth the price, as the said mag features great articles by who's who in local NBA media world such as Henry Liao (Editor), Quinito "The Dean" Henson, PBA Executive Director Ricky Santos, Bill Velasco, Ed Tolentino and Butch Maniego among others.

My sources of NBA magazines are not limited within the local market but through the help of my relatives abroad, like my sister in Australia, cousins in the United States and friends in Canada, they just keep pouring on. My sister, Sonia Martin, actually subscribed me before the Pro Basketball Today, an Australian newspaper-style publication, which touches on 90% NBA news and 10% info on the Aussie cage scene. Unfortunately, it has already closed shop, but lately, another outstanding basketball magazine from the land down under has emerged, HANDLE.

Anyway, I still continue to buy from time to time the SLAM and HOOP magazines from my friends in Emerald Headway, the exclusive local distributor of the same. Well, it seems very hard to stop an NBA junkie like myself from securing such even during these hard times, but no regrets! I just love it!

UPDATES: WARRIORS-NUGGETS RACE

The Denver Nuggets goes ahead of the Golden State Warriors in the race for the 8th and final play-off spot in the West. With the Nuggets victory over the Houston Rockets, 111-94 yesterday, they moved up to a 49-32 card as against the Warriors' 48-32.

Denver's last game of the season will be against the lowly Memphis Grizzlies (22-58) and a victory will clinch it for the mile-high city club. On the other hand, the Warriors have to pass through the Phoenix Suns before closing the campaign against the Oklahoma City-bound Seattle Supersonics. For the Warriors to make it, they need to sweep the said 2 games and hope for an upset win by the Grizzlies.

The Warriors had only themsleves to blame if they fail to qualify for this season's play-0ffs. They blew their golden opportunity to move ahead with that crucial 114-105 defeat to the Nuggets last Friday at home. They played as if there was nothing at stake in the make or break contest. The Nuggets feasted a lot on points off turn overs as they build up a 16-point cushion in the last 6 minutes of the game making it impossible for the Warriors to make a final stand. If only the Warriors played in the mediocre east, they could had easily join the post season bandwagon with their present win-loss card. But in the west, all 8 play-off teams will finish the regular season with winning records. Imagine the last seeded west squad will enter the play-offs with a possible 18 games above .500 slate! whew! Thats really earthshaking!

Tidbits: correction correction correction! The Houston Rockets 22-game winning spree this season was actually the 2nd-best all time, behind only the 33-game streak of the Los Angeles Lakers in 1971-72 season. The 3rd best-all time winning run actually belongs to the Milwaukee Bucks, led by Lew Alcindor during the 1970-71 campaign.

WILL T-MAC FINALLY END HIS PLAY-OFF WOES?

Here is a trivia for you, who is the 2-time league leading scorer and perennial all-star, who has not won a single play-off series in his entire 10 year career? The answer: TRACY MCGRADY of the Houston Rockets!

Its really mind-boggling to ever think that a player of T-Mac's caliber had not blossom in the very much coveted NBA post-season. Fom his days in Toronto, Orlando and now Houston, McGrady had failed in his every attempt to bring his team past the first round of the play-offs.

But this season, T-Mac has lead the surprising Rockets, who are challenging for the top spot in the Western Conference, thanks to a 3rd all-time NBA best 22-game winning streak during the months of February and March. He has single handidly bear the torch for the Texas club after the season ending injury to Chinese phenom Yao Ming.

This is one interesting sidelight that we are awaiting come the NBA play-offs, which starts on April 20. so stay tuned!

NBA ON PHILIPPINE TV

Its been 4 months now since BTV or Basketball TV was scratched off from SKY CABLE and to this day, I can say without a doubt that something is really missing in my everyday life! The problem now is that BTV is exclusively a property of Destiny Cable. In Metro Manila, NBA fanatics won't have any diffculty in switching cable operators, like Sky Cable to Destiny. I live in Cavite and Destiny Cable had no services yet in our locality, so I had no choice but to stick it out with Sky Cable. I had become so accustomed with BTV's daily comprehensive coverage of the NBA and now I just had to bear with whats being left of the NBA on Sky Cable like the Star Sports games on Fridays, ESPN on Saturdays, C/S Sports on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays and not to mention the House on Hoops presentations on ABC 5 during Mondays and Thursdays.

Anyway, I am really thankful to Solar Sports that the weekend NBA games on ABC 5 had been transferred to C/S Sports. Why? because C/S had the most powerful reception on local and cable tv! ABC 5 just have a very bad signal and with that kind of service, they don't deserve to cover such prestigious sporting event which is very close to the heart of the filipinos like the NBA. Lately I've also heard that PBA is leaving ABC 5 too right after the Fiesta Conference or at the close of the 2007-08 season, well,that's a good riddance by the local pro loop!

Last week, I called up Solar Entertainment Office and was able to chat with Mon Marquez, the Operations Manager of BTV. Mon assured me that an expanded coverage of the NBA play-offs is presently being cooked up with C/S Sports and that bit of information gave me a sigh of relief! But I will still miss the NBA summer league games on BTV as well as other programs such as the NBDL game of the week, Euro League and the PBL.

Come on Destiny Cable, your next destiny should be Cavite!

OVERACHIEVERS!

The NBA play-offs are just around the corner and is set to blast off on April 20! As expected, the perennial post season teams are there such as the defending champs Spurs, Suns and the Lakers in the West and the Pistons, Cavs and new look Celtics in the East. But 2 teams worth watching in the play-offs are not among the aforementioned teams but 2 surprising squads in the New Orleans Hornets of the West and the Philadelphia 76ers of the East.

The Hornets are presently occupying the top slot in the Western Conference and this was achieved without any big name signings before the trade deadline last February unlike the Lakers, Suns and the Cavs. Nobody predicted at the start of the season that the Hornets will be their present lofty position. Byron Scott had made a tremendous job in applying the team-concept system to perfection with his limited resources. Leading MVP candidate Chris (CP3) Paul is leading the charge of the hardworking blue-collar type of squad from a city, which is still reeling from the after effects of killer hurricane "Katrina" 3 years ago. Aside from Paul, outstanding efforts had been dished out consistently night in and night out by Peja Stojakovic, Mo Peterson, David West, Bonzi Wells and Tyso Chandler. Not a few are expecting the Hornets now to go deep in the play-offs with their no-nonsense brand of play.

The 76ers on the other hand, are waxing hot winning six of their last ten games and is presently on the 6th spot in the east. Just like the Hornets, non of the leading so-called NBA authorities gave a second look at the Sixers at the start of the campaign. Point guard Andre Miller is superb in backstopping the team in the post-Iverson era. But their main man remains Andre Iguodala, who is averaging a team-leading 20.0 ppg. Other notables in Mo Cheeks' charges are Willie Green, Louis Williams and Samuel Dalembert. Balance distribution in offense is evidently seen in the team with 5 players averaging in double figures in scoring. Anything can happen in the mediocre Eastern Conference and the 76ers are worth watching as they may go deep up to the conference semis! So stay tuned guys!

WE STILL BELIEVE!

Last season, the Golden State Warriors made a remarkable run in the play-offs, reaching the Conference semis. The Warriors recorded one of the most stunning upsets in NBA history by shocking the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in 6 games during the initial round of the play-offs. The Oakland-based squad were the last seed in last year's Western Conference derby.

In addition to the remarkable performance of the Warriors, their die-hard hometown crowd made a big difference in their unexpected play-off run. With the battlecry of "WE BELIEVE", Don Nelson and everyone in the Warriors organization were able to elevate the intensity of the high-scoring Warriors team. Actually, nobody believe in them prior to the start of the 2007 NBA play-offs. It also served as the main basis for the return of Nellie this season. I honestly doubt if Nellie would have stage a comeback if the Warriors faltered in the Dallas series.

So enough of the year that had passed and lets focus on the present. The Warriors had found themselves on the same boat as of last year. They are fighting for the last spot in the Western Conference in a 3-way race with the Mavericks and the Denver Nuggets. So far, the Nuggets
are tied with the Warriors at 47 wins and 31-loss cards, respectively. The Mavs on the other hand are 2 games ahead of the duo at 49-29. If both the Warriors and Nuggets finished tied-up for the last spot, the mile high city squad will get the nod due to a better conference record.

The Warriors diplayed their high-octane offensive game again by trouncing the Sacramento Kings, 140-132 at the Oracle Arena yesterday. The Kings output exposed the Warriors almost invisible defense for the nth time! If the Warriors hope to nail the final berth in the West and entertain thoughts of duplicating their miracle run last season, they must t sweep their remaining 4 games and more importantly, execute a play-off kind of defense. Remember, defense win games in the play-offs and not offense.

But still, and just like the rest of the bay area fans, WE (STILL) BELIEVE!

QUINITO HENSON MY HERO!

During my high school days, I used to send letters to Mr. Quinito Henson's "Hoop Notes" column in Sports Weekly Magazine (SWM). I'll send it thru my dad, who'll drop by at the Manila Post Office to mail it, so it can reach SWM's office on time. I am very happy whenever Mr. Henson answers all my querries in his column. I did not miss a single issue of SWM because of Mr. Henson's columns which includes "Hoop Notes", "NBA Weekly" and "Punchline", not to mention his numerous special articles.

When he started writing the "Sporting Chance" column, I immediately started buying the Philippine Star and up to this day, I never miss a single issue! Mr. Henson's style in writing is one of a kind. He is subjective and his articles are very informative.

Sometime in 1998, its was mid-afternoon and I was busy attending to my work at Philippine Postal Corporation, when I received a phone call and whoa!, the secretary of Mr. Henson, Ms. Babes Angat was on the other line and she was asking for help in behalf of Mr. Henson. I was very surprised and I almost fell out of my chair! My hero needs postal assistance and what a coincidence that the call fell on my hotline, considering that there are a hundred lines at the Philpost Office. She told me that Mr. Henson was worried about a cheque, which he expected to be delivered a week earlier, from China. The cheque represents payment for his services in covering an Invitational cage tourney in Shanghai (which was shown on ESPNSTAR SPORTS). I told Ms. Angat to call me back in 10 minutes as I have to call up the Postmaster of Makati Central Post Office to inquire on the matter. I called up the PM at Makati CPO and whoa! the cheque was there and he told me that he will be the one to personally hand it over to Mr. Henson that unforgetable afternoon. Soon after, about an hour later, I received another call and this time, my hero, Mr. Henson was on the other end, and he graciously thanked me that the cheque was finally handed to him in his office by the said PM. We had a long chat on the phone as I introduced myself as a longtime and loyal fan of his. From thereon, we had become friends and texted each other, even when he is abroad covering various sporting events.

The best thing whenever Mr. Henson comes home from covering NBA games in the US is that he does not forget to bring the usual "pasalubongs" for me. From 1999 to date, I had stored the pasalubongs in a special area in my library at home called "Quinito's Place". Among of which were various NBA media guides, NBA finals media guides, NBA All-Star Media Guides, NBA Officials Media Guides, numerous NBA books, NBA t-shirts, caps, wristbands and the latest of which is the Pacquiao-Marquez Media Kit.

Eventually, Mr. Henson became my godfather in my wedding last December 2005. Mr. Quinito Henson will always have a special place in my heart as a true friend and one of the most influential persons in my life!

THE WARRIORS NEEDS TO PLAY "D" TO MAKE IT

The Golden State Warriors, despite 15 games above .500 (as of this writing), are struggling to qualify for the 2007-08 play-offs. No problem with their offense, they are ranked number one in the league, but the bay area squad had to play descent defense if they wish to catch the last bus for the post season games.

It will really be very interesting to see how the Warriors play their last five games of the regular season. If they do make it, next on line, the scary NEW ORLEANS HORNETS! whew! that would be another story...

THE NBA AND ME

My knowledge about the NBA started in 1974, when my late godfather, Rodeo Fallago, a retired US Navy, told me to watch the delayed telecast of the NBA finals of that year between the Boston Celtics and The Milwaukee Bucks. But the things which caught my fascination then were the wooden parquet floor of the Boston Garden and the black shoes worned by the Celtics.

It was in 1975, while reading the sports pages of the Daily Express, that my love affair with the NBA really began. It was the 1974-75 NBA finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Washington Bullets and I religiously followed every game of the series on the newspapers. I was so excited when the underdog Warriors pulled off a series sweep of the heavily favored Bullets. Rick Barry was my first NBA hero. I love the flair in Barry's game, the sweet jumpshots and of course, the underhanded free throws.

The year was 1977, and Mr. Joaquin "Quinito" Henson, a young sports columnist then with the Daily Express, put up a contest for readers of his column, on "Guess the 1977 NBA champions". I was really looking forward of winning the prizes in the said contest, which Mr. Henson is giving up NBA magazines (it was a priceless treasure then) for lucky winners. But i choose the wrong team, the Philadelphia 76ers, which starred Julius "Doctor J" Erving, George Mcginnis, Lloyd Free, Darryl Dawkins, Hank Bibby among others, bowed to the Portland Trail Blazers, led by Bill Walton, Dave Twardzik, Lloyd Neal and Maurice Lucas, in six pulsating games.

Mr. Henson played a very big role in moulding myself into an NBA junkie. I followed all his columns and write-ups, from the Daily Express to Sports Weekly Magazines to TV Times. For me, he is my hero!, the best pinoy NBA expert and the real pioneer on it! I get too excited whenever Mr. Henson shared his experiences in his "Diary of a Tourist" series on SWM. I will never forget an SWM issue in 1979, which featured an NBA cover with Doctor J being closely guarded by Toby Knight of the NY Knicks in a pre-season game at the Madison Square Garden. The photo of course was courtesy of Mr. Henson. But my real life experience with Mr. Henson deserves another posting.

BASKETBALL AND MYSELF

Im Boyet Dones, 42 yrs. old and a true blooded NBA junkie. My love for basketball actually started in 1973, when my dad was following all the happenings in the 7th Asian Baskteball Confederation (ABC) Championship, hosted by the Philippines, from 01-13 December 1973. The games were then shown on KBS (now RPN) channel 9 and the venue for the games were at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum. That started my love affair with Basketball.