Endless Line

According to KD35

"He approaches his game as all about business, all about trying to win, all about playing well. That’s what I try to do. I just want to play well for my team and for myself and just try to get better. That’s what type of player Dirk is. He’s never the type of guy that’s flashy with it. He just goes out there and plays, gets it done. That’s the type of player I try to be.”


And that's why even though he will likely never get to hold a championship trophy, he's still my favorite player. ^_^

Medical Exam Fails and More

Today I had my medical exam. It was one of the worst days of my life.

1. The lab needed to draw my blood for testing. I hate being injected with needles, and worse, I have ridiculously deep seated veins. The nurses couldn’t find my veins in either arms and had to call on a doctor to do it. Now the area where blood was drawn out is bruising and hurts like hell.

2. The lab also needed a ‘fresh’ stool sample but my digestive system wouldn’t hear of it. I sat down on the toilet for nearly five hours but got zilch. Can you imagine how horrible an unfruitful five-hour wait for poop is? Now I have to go back to the lab tomorrow TO POO. Hooray for me.

3. The lab also needed a ‘secure’ urine sample for drug testing. When I got into the room where I was supposed to pee, the waterless urinal had creamy/foamy whitish icky stuff all over it! You have got to be kidding me. I had maintenance clean it up before I used it but it still felt yucky.

4. On the X-ray waiting area, I had a really annoying seat mate. He wouldn’t stop talking about how amazing he said he was because – get this – he got hired at a call center the same day he applied. He didn’t shut up until he got called for his X-ray. Oh, the agony.

***

Well, since we’re talking about fails, a lot of my ‘friends’ are surely happy that the Mavs lost today. The first quarter was good but after that everything just went downhill. As I said in my last entry, this is what happens when the Mavs’ offense don’t work – they have such pathetic defense that they’re easily overwhelmed. And seriously, someone needs to teach Tyson Chandler how to alley-oop and Peja Stojakovic how to fucking guard somebody. Watching them made me so miserable.

Not to take anything away from KD3 and his team, of course, because they did play a lot better at Game 2. In you face to all those writers who after game 1 said Dirk was unguardable. Well, now we know he totally is. You just need two big guys to double-team him so he passes the ball to the perimeter shooters who didn’t happen to exist today. JJ and Jet, where the hell are you?

Honestly, I’m not gonna be surprised if the Mavs lose this series. Wins on the road are crucial because teams generally win at home during play-offs. Oh well. They’ve had a good run, but all good things are bound to end.

***

My sister is a lot like my friends. Meaning, she always pokes fun at Dirk simply because he’s my favourite player. This morning we watched Game 2 together, and at one part a commentator remarked that the Mavericks “is basically playing for Dirk Nowitzki. They’re just helping him get the championship he’s worked so hard for.”

I was at the verge of tears. In all fairness, this Mavs team has really been supportive of Dirk, who has spent 13 years in the NBA and has yet to claim a championship title. As Sekou Smith said, Dirk could have followed KG and King James’ footsteps and left Dallas to join a ‘championship’ team, but he stayed when he had every reason to leave. :’( I just love that guy to death.

My sister, however, did not share my sentiments. She just shook her head while saying “Hmf, playing for Dirk. Mga bading!”

Ipahintulot mong ako'y mapahandusay

…sa sumasaibayong kaginhawaan.

***

Until two weeks ago, I had never imagined myself becoming a banker. I dunno, finance isn’t really among my interests given how badly I suck at numerical stuff. But a banking job is supposed to be one of the most reliable careers out there and my parents cannot be less vocal about how they want me to pursue it. So here I am, eighteen hours away from signing the job offer to become a member of BPI’s Officership Training Program for 2011.

OTP is basically a management trainee program – you undergo eight months of training, after which you become at least a bank officer if not an assistant manager. Each year more than a hundred applicants go through four interviews and two exams to qualify for the program, but only a handful make the cut. BPI’s OTP is supposed to be one of the best management trainee programs in the banking industry, and the salary is competitive as well; while it’s nowhere near HSBC’s 35K, it’s higher than the 21K salary from my first job offer made by another local bank.

All in all, OTP is a great opportunity. It’s just that deep inside, I’m not sure if this is the life I want for myself. My mouth wrote so many checks during my interviews, and even though I have no doubt that my head and my hands can cash them, I don’t know if this is where my heart truly is. I have never liked numbers. I can deal with them by being industrious, but I don’t enjoy them at all. Haha, to put it simply, I am not Gboi. ^_^

I ask myself where my heart really is, and whenever I answer ‘writing’ or ‘NBA’, ‘MMA’, ‘DotA’ or ‘big cat conservation’, I have to swallow. Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t born an Ayala or a Sy. I can’t be a professional blogger, sports fan or wildlife conservationist. I have to think of my own financial stability first. When I have enough of my own money to not care about money, maybe that’s when I can start chasing my real dreams.

For now, I have to keep in mind the words that have kept me going for the last three years. I can’t always do what makes me happy, but I should always do what is rational. I didn’t like Econ but I managed to graduate with honors, and that’s what I am going to do with my banking career.

***

On a lighter note, the Mavs won Game 1 against OKC this morning. Dirk was even more terrific than usual, setting a new record for most consecutive free throws during a playoff game (23, formerly 21 by Paul Pierce). JJ Barea showed how hard he can drive to the basket (that little guy is fearless!) and Jason Terry crowned himself king of downtown.

However, it was alarming to see how bad the Mavs’ defense was, and how the team actually doesn’t have a player to legitimately match with Russell Westbrook. The Mavs only did great this game because their offense was working, but if they hit a rough offensive patch, Westbrook can destroy them single-handedly like Wade did. Er, I actually have a bad feeling about this.

MaxLawiIanGboiMarkJeff

So we went to Cavite yesterday and I forgot about my phone all morning because as everyone in my family knows, Auntie Lik doesn't hold anything back with her cuisine when we're there. :) However, when I finally remembered Georges (Yes, my current phone is named after gorgeous Georges St-Pierre, though a lot of times I wish I named him Cas after Supernatural's Castiel), there were eleven unread messages, and half of them were about the same topic.

Max: One game closer to one thousand pesos. ;)

Lawi: ZOMG

Ian: 0-3! woot woot!

Gboi: Nic, 0-3 na Mavs. x2ha panalo na cla nyan.

Mark: Dana. 0-3 na!

Jeff: I don't freakin believe it.

***

So it's 0-3 now, and though I'm as astounded as everyone else that Dallas looks like they're actually gonna be able to pull this off, I'm still not counting the Lakers out.

First, no NBA team has ever gotten out of a 0-3 rut, true, but if there's a team that would be the first one to do so, the Lakers are on top of my list. Whatever happens, they have Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant, and those two are capable of doing the most impossible things on earth because they're that GREAT. In defense of LA's last loss, they didn't have two of their big men - Ron Artest, who was suspended for whacking poor little JJ Barrea in Game 2, and Pau Gasol, who seems to currently be having an out of the body (or out of the mind) experience.

Second, Dallas does have that annoying habit of blowing off big-lead games. No one needs further examples.

Still, I won't be complaining if the Mas end up winning. :)

I Love This Game. :)

Sekou Smith is quickly becoming one of my favourite NBA writers. This week he dished ‘The Other Main Event’, where he basically explains why although Celtics vs Heat has the limelight now, we mustn’t forget the West Conference, where what Smith describes as an equally interesting match-up is taking place: Dirk Nowitzki vs. Pau Gasol for Best Tender European Seven Footer. If I were the average NBA fan I won’t really care, but because I’m a die-hard Dirk Nowitzki fan, I care like it means the world. ^_^

Smith posted the following poll:

The results of which I had to have a hand in, of course!

And I swear I did not vote more than 2,000 times. :)

***

However, it was the comments that drove me crazy. I swear, these guys are even crazier than the guys at VFDC and Sherdog, but they do make sense:

Gary says: Pau will own Dirk because his length forces Dirk to drive then Bynum will block or alter the shot.

rene mirambil says: bakit pag aari ba ni pau si dirk?

HeatRing2012 says: @gary: yeah – just like LeMarcus Aldridge with his length “owned” Dirk – right? For your info: LMA is a much better Dirk defender than Gasol is.

Benjamin Ladha says: Exactly Gary, Dirk and that jump shot cannot be stopped. He will shoot and score over a bigger or smaller guy. Plus no one will force Dirk to drive except Dirk. He settles for that jumper almost everytime- because he chooses to and because it cannot be stopped. He is like Kobe in that respect- that fallaway is unstoppable. I have to ask have you ever watched him play? Either a Laker fan or a Mav/Dirk hater

L337 says: Dirk is a Lone Star. Pau has Kobe. And in case you didnt know. Dirk is 1 out of 4 players in NBA history to average 25 ppg 10rpg in the course of his career but never he has been credited. I don’t know why, Cause he’s that good. I give this one to Dirk.

LAKERFAN_88 says: PLAYER ADVANTAGE: DIRK. TEAM ADVANTAGE: LAKERS!!!

kulangot says: Dirk Nowitzki is a basketball genius he will find ways to score…Im sure Lakers will have tough defense on him but dont forget he has average 10+ free throw attempts vs Portland every game.The problem now of Dallas is how to match Bynum.

Kenny says: They look like brothers! HAHA

kier says: well, different player with different team….offensively Dirk is better than Pau.. defensively Pau is way better than dirk… but Pau has better teamates than dirk…….and…………… thats the story of the game…^ ^

***

As I said, even if I love the Mavs to death, I just can’t realistically see them getting past the Lakers. I actually bet one grand for the Lakers in 6, although that move is kind of a psych on myself. If the Lakers win, I win because I bet on them. If the Mavs win, I still win because they’re my favourite team! ^_^

As Gboi said, it’s 2-0 now and WOW doesn’t even cover it. However, I’m not counting the Lakers out even a bit, given that they have Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant, plus the Mavs to have a history of blowing off a 2-0 lead and dropping 4 straight.

***

I love this pic.


Dirk Nowitzki, no defense as usual (I mean, dude can’t even defend the ball). Ron Artest, I-Will-Die-To-Snatch-This-Ball-Away-From-Dirk-Nowitzki Mode. And most epic of all, Pau Gasol, self-demoted to observer status. :)

Wow. Just wow.

- I totally agree. However, Ron Artest isn't really a consistent player - I mean, like AK47 and Mehmet Okur, sometimes he does so great and sometimes he's just pathetic - unlike Bryant or Nash or James or Wade, each of who always has a hand in their team's victory. Crossing my fingers that Artest hits a 'pathetic' patch. ;p

"The Lakers have the edge in every category and they own home-court advantage."