The Champs return to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The reigning NBA Champions Miami Heat pulled off the same feat they did in 2011 as they knocked off the fifth seeded Chicago Bulls in five games in the second round to advance to their third straight Eastern Conference Finals. After losing Game 1 at home, the responded by winning four straight games to book their ticket to the Conference Finals.

Photos ©NBA

The Bulls, coming off a seven game series in the first round against the Brooklyn Nets came in to the second round battered with a ton of injuries from Derrick Rose who has missed the entire season recovering from the torn ACL injury he suffered in last year's Playoffs, as well as players like Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich who are vital to the Bulls run in this year's playoffs. They were able to steal a game in Miami with an impressive Game 1 victory. Unfortunately for them, it would only be their only win of the series. They were unable to defend their homecourt against the reigning NBA champions and eventually suffers from four straight losses that ended their playoff run.

As for the Heat, after sweeping the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. They were well rested coming into the second round. LeBron James was crowned his fourth season Most Valuable Player award (his second back-to-back MVP seasons). They were heavily favored in this series. They dropped Game 1 on their home floor, however the Heat responded with a vengeance as they blew out the Bulls in Game 2, taking the next two in Chicago with empathic wins and they came back in Game 5 to wrap their series up and move on to the Eastern Conference Finals as their run for the repeat will continue.

The Heat will face the winner of the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers, in which as of this moment of writing, the Pacers have a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Knicks.

As for the Bulls, "The Return" of Derrick Rose may not have happened this season, but with the extra downtine for him, he'll be back come next season. If he does return, expect the Bulls to come back to the elite of the Eastern Conference. To Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich, get well soon as well. Chi-town will have better days come next season.

Here are the scores from all games of the series:

GAME 1 @ Miami: Bulls 93-86 Heat

Bulls leaders:
Points: Robinson 27, Butler 21, Noah 13

Rebounds: Butler 14, Noah 11, Boozer 7, Belinelli 7

Assists: Robinson 9, Noah 4, Butler 3

Heat leaders:
Points: James 24, Wade 14, Bosh 9, Allen 9

Rebounds: James 8, Bosh 6, Battier 4

Assists: James 7, Chalmers 7, Wade 4

GAME 2 @ Miami: Bulls 78-115 Heat

Bulls leaders:
Points: Belinelli 13, Noah 12, Robinson 11

Rebounds: Noah 6, Boozer 4
Assists: Belinelli 6, Teague 3, Noah 2, Robinson 2

Heat leaders:
Points: Allen 21, James 19, Cole 18
Rebounds: Cole 6, James 5, Bosh 5

Assists: James 9, Wade 5, Chalmers 4

GAME 3 @ Chicago: Heat 104-94 Bulls

Heat leaders:
Points: James 25, Bosh 20, Cole 18
Rebounds: Bosh 19, James 8, Wade 4, Andersen 4

Assists: James 7, Wade 5, Bosh 4

Bulls leaders:
Points: Boozer 21, Robinson 17, Butler 17
Rebounds: Noah 11, Robinson 6, Butler 5, Gibson 5
Assists: Robinson 7, Belinelli 6, Noah 4

GAME 4 @ Chicago: Heat 88-65 Bulls

Heat leaders:
Points: James 27, Bosh 14, Andersen 9
Rebounds: James 7, Haslem 7, Bosh 6
Assists: James 8, Wade 4, Cole 4

Bulls leaders:
Points: Boozer 14, Butler 12, Hamilton 11
Rebounds: Boozer 12, Noah 9, Gibson 9
Assists: Robinson 4, Hamilton 4, Teague 3

GAME 5 @ Miami: Bulls 91-94 Heat

Bulls leaders:

Points: Boozer 26, Robinson 21, Butler 19

Rebounds: Boozer 14, Noah 9, Robinson 5, Butler 5
Assists: Robinson 6, Butler 4, Noah 2

Heat leaders:
Points: James 23, Wade 18, Bosh 12

Rebounds: James 7, Bosh 7, Wade 5
Assists: James 8, Wade 6, Allen 2, Chalmers 2

Heat win series 4-1

K-Smoove

Frustrations and well-wishes from a citizen who's a non-voter.

The title speaks for itself. First of all, I'm a non-voter in this year's election well because I was unable to register for the elections this year since I got into the Filipino culture of "doing things at the last minute" and the fact I intend to register at a district which is one of the largest in the country. Well, it was entirely my fault for not coming in to register early for the election. But I just have to vent out some of the things I want to say from this year's election. For a non-voter in this year's election, these things do matter even if people will usually come up and say "Why did you not vote? or why did you let yourself slip up to miss the chance to vote?". Well that's what happened with me that's why I wasn't able to exercise my right to vote as a citizen of this country I love. It was indeed a lesson learned.

But anyway, let's get to the point of this one, Honestly, I'm frustrated with the outcome of this year's elections. All of the four senatoriables which I admittedly don't like a lot made it through to the Top 12 of the senatorial race and only 1 out of the my 5 senatoriables made it through, worse part my Top 3 picks didn't made it through. 

Though the counts are partial and unofficial, it was still an eyesore for me to see these four in a position to win a seat in the Senate. These four were UNA's Nancy Binay, LP's Bam Aquino, NP's Cynthia Villar and independent candidate Grace Poe. Well for starters, these "last names" ring a bell in Filipino politics. One is the daughter of our Vice President, another is a cousin of our President, one is the wife of an outgoing Senator and the last one is the daughter of a late former presidentiable. I admit, I didn't like them from the start. It was like 2010 all over again when I overwhemingly and whole-heartedly did not root for Noynoy Aquino to win the presidency which didn't happen especially coming off the death of his mother former President Cory Aquino. All these guys right here won not primarily by their platforms and their plans, but by their names that ring a bell to the masses. Nancy Binay, Bam Aquino and Grace Poe despite their well-documented lack of experience in politics and public service still are in a great position to win seats in the Senate. As well as Cynthia Villar who's husband's controversies are also well-documented is hanging on to a seat in the Senate.

Well like I said I rooted for five senatoriables namely UNA's Dick Gordon, independent Ed Hagedorn, UNA's Migz Zubiri, LP's Jun Magsaysay and LDP's Sonny Angara. Of these five, only Angara made it through to the Top 12. The other four are right outside of the Top 12 with Gordon at 13th, Zubiri at 14th, Magsaysay at 16th and Hagedorn at 18th. Obviously as a future tourism professional, I supported Gordon and Hagedorn as they are champions in tourism at the same time they are really good in what they do in their respective fields. Gordon was a former DOT secretary and the head of the Philippine Red Cross while Hagedorn helped in the development of tourism as Mayor of Puerto Princesa City in Palawan. As for Angara, Zubiri and Magsaysay Jr., though they belong in political families. I admire their intelligence and their platforms which will be of great use for our country. Like I said before, it would be a travesty if these people were not elected to a Senate seat.

Even though others who are also good like Loren Legarda and Alan Peter Cayetano are winning. Well, it's not enough to bent on emy frustration for the outcome of this election. Even on the local level with Joseph "Erap" Estrada winning in Manila (though I'm a bit half-hearted about that), Aga Muhlach winning in Camarines Sur, Lucy Torres-Gomez winning in Leyte, and the worst one for me Herbert Bautista winning in my hometown of Quezon City (though it looks like he doesn't have an opponnt even with the two candidates going up against him) as well as others which slipped out of my mind as I write this one. Still that is my opinion, you may agree or disagree with what I may say but I at least I was able to vent out my frustrations with this entry right now.

Unfortunately as I realize over the course of the past couple of months, there is clearly a lack of voter education here in the Philippines and I hate to admit it, but I'm a part of a smaller minority in this country. Makes me think that if I had able to vote this year, my vote won't matter still and my bets will still not win.

Then again like I said in 2010 to PNoy. To those who won and/or winning whom I don't like a lot. I only got one thing to say to them. 

PROVE ME WRONG!

We'll give you a chance to prove yourselves worthy of the people's vote. I hope that you'll do what's right for our country and serve the people well. I just hope that the trust the people gave to you will not go down to waste.

Come the next election though, I'll get myself registered early and exercise my right to suffrage no matter what happens and I will come out supporting those who really deserve the best for our beloved country which I don't intend of leaving to get a job. Sure, I'll travel the world, but there is no other place worth serving for than our country the Philippines.

God bless our nation.
K-Smoove

Afternoon out after a long time.

Yesterday, I decided to go out of home to relax in a different place as well as to beat the scorching summer HEAT in our home. Originally, I was supposed to go out alone. Yeah I'm an ambivalent person, and I'm proud to say that. But, one of my best friends from grade school Raphael reminded me about having our next meet up when I have free time to burn. So yeah, we pushed through with the plan.

I went early to SM North EDSA to enjoy a nice coffee drink at Starbucks as I waited for him to finish his classes. Then at around 2pm, he arrived and we went on to do a lot of things. We played 2 hours worth of NBA 2K13 at Cyberzone. Then we went next door to TriNoma to eat at Sbarro. Along the way, we did a ton of catching up to do and tell stories about what has been happening with our own lives, the NBA, racing, anime, tech, as well as look back to the memories when we were still classmates and the past reunions afterwards. We spent the whole afternoon as well into the night before we went home by taking a diversionary route to Cubao via the MRT since the terminal along TriNoma was packed up to the max since it was rush hour, before we took the ride back home and went our own ways.

It was nice seeing him again, after a very long time. We had great memories together as classmates as well as great friends afterwards. Though it would have been better if our friend Dominique who's now in Ireland return home. So come home soon homie! We're gonna have a good one when you come back here in the Philippines. So thanks for the time and we'll see each other again soon.

A break from it all.
K-Smoove

Missed opportunity to see "The Great Wall"

Yesterday, the Philippine men's national basketball team battled against the Shanghai Sharks in an exhibition game at the Mall of Asia Arena. But with all the basketball happening on the court, one guy stands out among the crowd. I mean he literally stands out. That person was Yao Ming, the former Houston Rockets center who is the owner of the team he played for before he was drafted by the Rockets #1 overall in 2002.

Yao and the Sharks arrived in Manila over the weekend, where Yao met with Vice President Jejomar Binay for "Basketball diplomacy" as well as conducting basketball clinics to aspiring Filipino basketball players before his Sharks played against the national team yesterday. The national team would end up defeating the Sharks 80-72. When I said he stands out, he really is as shown on this photo with the Vice President.

Photo ©Yahoo News Philippines

Yeah, I'm having a bit of a regret that I was unable to see him in person. I knew about his visit weeks before he arrived here in the Philippines. I mean he's the reason I became a member of Red Nation (Houston Rockets fanbase for those who don't know it.) from the time he was drafted to the NBA. Even though he hanged up his jersey for good two years ago with all the injuries he got throughout his 9 year NBA career. He's still one of my favorite basketball players of all-time and I've been riding with Red Nation since he left the league to include those 9th place finishes as well as their recently concluded playoff run. 

Then again, I'm saving up for the NBA preseason game between the Rockets and the Indiana Pacers this October which could possibly be worth a lot of money but it will be all worth it if I can get the tickets to see my favorite team in the NBA play on Philippine soil. So yeah, I must control my spending to get a better seat once tickets of the game come out very soon.

I may not have seen him when the opportunity was within reach. But definitely, I hope I will get to see him very soon. He's one of those guys you'll love and look up even if his basketball career was cut drastically short.

The Great Wall lives on.

K-Smoove

Bulls survive Nets comeback push.

In the only first round series that went to seven games, the fifth seeded Chicago Bulls survive a comeback run by the fourth seeded Brooklyn Nets. This after the Bulls go up 3-1 in the series, they allowed the Nets to come back and force a 7th game on the Nets' home floor. However, the Bulls sealed the series on the road to advance to the second round.

 Photos ©NBA

The Nets had a great first season since they moved from the Garden State of New Jersey to the New York City borough despite going through a coaching change during the middle of the season as Avery Johnson who led the Nets to a great start, faltered afterwards and was fired thus opening the door to PJ Carlesimo to call the shots for the Nets for the rest of the season. Brook Lopez had an All-Star year for the Nets, this despite Deron Williams having a rough season. Also helping the Nets cause are Gerald Wallace, Joe Johnson, Kris Humphries, CJ Watson and Andray Blatche to name some. The Nets took the opening game of the series. They lost the next three, but fought back to even the series and force a 7th game on their home floor. But their comeback bid came up short as their first season in Brooklyn ends in a tough home defeat.

As for the Bulls, they played all season long without their superstar Derrick Rose who was cleared by his doctors to play as early as January after his rehabilitation from the torn ACL he suffered in last year's playoffs. Despite not having Rose on the floor, the Bulls kept themselves competitive led by All-Stars Luol Deng and Joakim Noah as well as Carlos Boozer. Outside of the frontcourt trio, they have Nate Robinson, Kirk Hinrich, Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson and Marco Belinelli to name some. They survived a comeback bid in this round as they went up 3-1 but lost the next two to set up a seventh and decisive game which they won on the road. It is still unclear if Rose will come to play in the next series, but the Bulls need to push themselves more in order to keep their playoff push alive.

The Bulls will face the defending NBA champions Miami Heat in the second round who are well rested after their sweep of the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round.

As for the Nets, they will look back on this series and the question on whether their head coach PJ Carlesimo will be back full time to call the shots next season, but as they say pro sports in Brooklyn is back.

Here are the scores from all games of the series:

Game 1 @ Brooklyn: Bulls 89-106 Nets

Bulls leaders:
Points: Boozer 25, Robinson 17, Butler 13, Belinelli 13

Rebounds: Boozer 8, Gibson 7, Noah 5

Assists: Boozer 4, Deng 3

Nets leaders:

Points: Williams 22, Lopez 21, Johnson 16

Rebounds: Evans 13, Wallace 6, Lopez 5

Assists: Williams 7, Johnson 4

Game 2 @ Brooklyn: Bulls 90-82 Nets

Bulls leaders:

Points: Deng 15, Boozer 13, Hinrich 13

Rebounds: Boozer 12, Deng 10, Noah 10

Assists: Hinrich 5, Deng 4, Noah 3

Nets leaders:

Points: Lopez 21, Johnson 17, Watson 10

Rebounds: Evans 8, Blatche 7, Lopez 5, Humphries 5

Assists: Williams 10, Watson 5, Johnson 4

Game 3 @ Chicago: Nets 76-79 Bulls

Nets leaders:
Points: Lopez 22, Williams 18, Johnson 15
Rebounds: Evans 12, Lopez 9, Wallace 4
Assists: Williams 4, Johnson 3, Watson 3

Bulls leaders:
Points: Boozer 22, Deng 21, Hinrich 12
Rebounds: Boozer 16, Deng 10, Noah 8

Assists: Boozer 3, Deng 3

Game 4 @ Chicago: Nets 134-142 Bulls (3OT)

Nets leaders:
Points: Williams 32, Lopez 26, Johnson 22
Rebounds: Evans 13, Lopez 11, Wallace 9

Assists: Williams 10, Wallace 4, Blatche 3, Watson 3

Bulls leaders:
Points: Robinson 34, Boozer 21, Hinrich 18
Rebounds: Noah 13, Boozer 8, Deng 8
Assists: Hinrich 14, Deng 6, Robinson 4

Game 5 @ Brooklyn: Bulls 91-110 Nets

Bulls leaders:
Points: Robinson 20, Butler 18, Deng 12

Rebounds: Boozer 10, Deng 8, Noah 4, Mohammed 4
Assists: Robinson 8, Butler 3, Deng 3

Nets leaders:
Points: Lopez 28, Williams 23, Blatche 13
Rebounds: Evans 12, Lopez 10, Humphries 6

Assists: Williams 10, Wallace 3, Lopez 2

Game 6 @ Chicago: Nets 95-92 Bulls

Nets leaders:
Points: Lopez 17, Johnson 17, Williams 17
Rebounds: Evans 15, Blatche 7, Humphries 4
Assists: Williams 11, Johnson 4, Wallace 3

Bulls leaders:
Points: Belinelli 22, Robinson 18, Butler 17
Rebounds: Noah 15, Boozer 13, Butler 7
Assists: Belinelli 7, Butler 6, Noah 5

Game 7 @ Brooklyn: Bulls 99-93 Nets

Bulls leaders:
Points: Noah 24, Belinelli 24, Boozer 17
Rebounds: Noah 14, Boozer 7, Belinelli 6
Assists: Butler 4, Robinson 4, Teague 3, Cook 3

Nets leaders:
Points: Williams 24, Lopez 21, Wallace 19
Rebounds: Evans 13, Lopez 9, Williams 6
Assists: Williams 7, Wallace 5, Blatche 4

Bulls win series 4-3

K-Smoove

No matter what happens each season, Red Nation for life.

After 82 regular season games and 6 playoff games, the 2012-13 season is over for my favorite team in the NBA, the Houston Rockets. Well in this blog entry, we look back on what has been one season for the books for these "Youngbloods" and what to look forward come next season.

After three seasons of sitting in ninth place in the Western Conference standings despite having winning seasons in all three of those season, the off-season began when Rockets GM Daryl Morey making a large roster overhaul. He brought in players like Jeremy Lin who was coming off the "Linsanity" fare in New York, Omer Asik who was playing as the back-up center for the Bulls. He also brought in players like Toney Douglas, Carlos Delfino as well as drafting Jeremy Lamb, Terrence Jones and Royce White in the draft. Gone were players like Goran Dragic, Kyle Lowry, Luis Scola, Courtney Lee, Chase Budinger, Samuel Dalembert and Marcus Camby. However, all that was overshadowed when the Rockets pulled a trade with the Thunder sending Kevin Martin and Lamb to Oklahoma City for Sixth Man of the Year awardee James Harden, together with Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward. When the dust settled, only Chandler Parsons, Patrick Patterson, Greg Smith and Marcus Morris remained from last year's roster as the season began. The Rockets would make moves during the off-season as Patterson, Douglas and Morris were sent elsewhere and they brought in players like Francisco Garcia and Thomas Robinson. They also signed players like Patrick Beverley and Donatas Motiejunas as well as bringing back 2010 Most Improved Player awardee Aaron Brooks who was a part of that 2009 Playoff run.

James Harden had a breakout year for the Rockets, from a sixth man in Oklahoma City to becoming the face of the franchise in Houston. He finished the season 5th in scoring in the NBA. He also is one of the league leaders in free throws made and attempted. He was named to his first All-Star selection at home and is on track to become a part of this year's All-NBA team.

Jeremy Lin had a nice season with the Rockets on his first full year playing starter's minutes. He showed his durability as he was able to play all 82 regular season games while putting up respectable numbers. He also came out as one of the league leaders in steals as well as keeping his turnovers down which has been a problem throughout his entire career. He participated in All-Star weekend at the Skills Challenge.

Chandler Parsons came out big in his sophomore campaign. Being one of the two guys (Greg Smith) left from last year's roster, Parsons came out as the second leading scorer for the Rockets this season behind Harden. He also shot the ball better from three point range as he led the Rockets this season in 3 point percentage. He also played in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star weekend.

Omer Asik also came out huge when he got starter's minutes for the Rockets. He finishes the season as one of the leaders in rebounding, as well as providing a defensive presence for the Rockets all season long. Like Lin, he was able to play into all 82 games during the regular season and was able to play in all six playoff games.

Carlos Delfino and Francisco Garcia provided a veteran presence on a very young team. These two players live and die with the three pointer. They also have been great elder statesmen as they have been in the league for a long time now. Patrick Beverley and Aaron Brooks brought along speed and pure heart on a season which they never played from start to finish. It would be great to see them back in a Rockets uniform for a full year. Greg Smith, Terrence Jones, James Anderson and Donatas Motiejunas will have time to develop their game in the seasons to come.

Give a ton of credit also to head coach Kevin McHale who in his second year as the man calling the shots for the Rockets. He was able to find a style of play which made the Rockets a very exciting team during the course of the regular season despite going through a large roster overhaul during the off-season and the regular season. 

The Rockets finished 45-37 this season and were seeded 8th in the Western Conference ending a four year playoff drought. They would push the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder to six games before bowing out.

So yeah, it's been a great time being part of Red Nation this season. This is a a season to remember for me in the 10 years I've been a part of Red Nation. No one else though that this team, the youngest team in the NBA today would come up with a ton of heart and grit all season long. Now the off-season begins for them. With a cap space large enough to lure a big name in. These "Youngbloods" will be out to make a ton of noise come next season.

To cap this blog entry, let me share to you this banner made by the Rockets for the Red Nation. Truly the New Age has only just begun.

Photo ©Houston Rockets

RED NATION for LIFE. 
See you in October here in the Philippines.
K-Smoove