NBA FINALS 2013: WHO'S THE BEST OF THEM ALL

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         It's a classic showdown between Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs as these two great teams collide to gain the coveted crown as 2013 NBA Finals champion. These elite teams have both this top three players on their line-up. For the San Antonio Spurs, they have Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker while on the other end, the Heat have Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. 

          Moreover, these two teams have passionate and great coaches. Gregg Popovich, the Spurs coach, is heralded as currently the longest tenured coach of one team in the NBA. He was handling the main coaching position of the Spurs since 1996.  On the other hand, the Heat's coach is Erik Spoelstra who has been bringing the club to glory since 2008. 

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          Currently, their showdown is tallied at 2 all.Who will emerge as this year's eventual champion greatly depends on the consistency and persistence by players of both teams. These star players cannot and never can do it alone. The rest of the team has lots of things to do to make their own worthy contribution.

          Whoever will emerge as the over all champion this year, CONGRATULATIONS and may this triumph serve as inspiration to others to continue striving for perfection and greatness. Never retreat in giving up any competition but rather, consistently aim for the top position.

  

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The Triumph of a Great Champion

          One of my favorite tennis players is Rafael Nadal and he did it again this time by topping the recently concluded Roland Garros tournament- the second of the annual four grand slam tournaments. He defeated his fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in the finals with the score: 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. 

          Just to share with you a little background of this annual event, here is a part of an article of this famous event:

from: www.kozzi.com

          The French Open, often referred to as Roland Garros (French: Les internationaux de France de Roland-Garros or Tournoi de Roland-Garros, IPA: [ʁɔlɑ̃ ɡaʁɔs]), named after the French aviatorRoland Garros, is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June inParis, France, at the Stade Roland Garros. It is the premier clay court tennis tournament in the world and the second of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments – the other three are the Australian Open, US Openand Wimbledon. Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam event held on clay and ends the spring clay court season.

          It is one of the largest events in tennis and by far the largest clay-court tournament.^[2] Because of the slow-playing surface and the five-set men's singles matches without a tiebreak in the final set, the event is widely considered to be the most physically demanding tennis tournament in the world. (Source-Wikipedia the free encyclopedia)

          Thus, the recent victory of Nadal is a major one since it happened in one of those major tennis annual events. What made it more historic and meaningful for Nadal is that it marked his 8th triumph of this said tournament thus earning him the title of the first player to win 8th titles on this famous tournament. 

          Moreover he is such a powerful player that his arsenal is consists of the following: "His formula includes speed, balance and steely defense. It features a left-handed forehand that he can curl inside every line with sonic speed, or hit with so much topspin on it that it’s near impossible to respond to with a winner off of it if the shot lands deep.

from: www.kozzi.com

It includes a twisting serve that usually results in a weak reply that can be buried for a winner. It includes a competent net game, an efficient drop shot, a steady, effective and improving backhand and a library’s worth of strategic knowledge." - Roland Garros 2013 official site.

          Thus, the world celebrates with this great Spaniard as he reasserts himself as one of the greatest players of the game. He joins the likes of those great names in tennis such as Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, John Newcombe, and many more. What made it sweeter for him since he just came back from a long break due to his injury. Welcome back and congratulations Nada.

WELCOMING DEFEAT IN A GRACIOUS WAY

          In life, one of the tragedies that we encounter one way or the other is defeat. And this could come in any form, whether in our work performances, life relationships, or in our sports endeavors.  When we are defeated the most common and immediate reaction is that of pain, sadness, and self pity. 

from:www.kozzi.com

Somehow, depending on our personal disposition, yet for sure we are greatly affected by those defeats that for some, these could lead to their personal demise and destruction. Others would resort to self- blaming and much worse for some,  they resort to blaming others for their debacle.

          On the other hand, one positive thing we can get from those defeats is that they can be our motivator to strive the more. That instead of being deeply down by it, we rather choose to fight back and retreat momentarily to reflect what went wrong on the process.

          Each defeat whether in sports or in personal affairs is a precious opportunity for us all to look back and assess what went wrong. Self evaluation is very essential in our life since it allows us to check the pros and cons of our past events. Like for example if we are defeated in a  game of chess, then we need to evaluate what are the factors that cause us to be defeated.

from:www.kozzi.com

           And this involves the following: checking of our own strategies in playing against our opponent, prior assessment on our opponent's positive and negative tools, preparing ourselves physically, mentally, psychologically, morally, or telling ourselves that our opponent indeed performed well than us.

            Thus, being defeated therefore becomes an opportunity for us to engage in a self- checking of our own strength and weakness. Afterwards, we express gratitude for our positive qualities and we promise to own as well as improve our negative habits and ways.

TEAMWORK: KEY TO A TEAM'S SUCCESS

Coming together is a beginning.

Keeping together is progress.

Working together is success.

- Henry Ford

          Years ago, I had the chance to coach a basketball team composed of students between 15 yrs. old to 18 yrs. old. Recalling back that experience, I could say that several factors such as individual discipline, commitment to the team, set of self direction, perseverance, teamwork etc. contribute to the success of a team.  Among them, I would single out teamwork as focus of my sharing at this time. 

from:www.kozzi.com

          Going back to my team, those boys were young, talented and had much  vigor in them. There were 15 of them who comprised the school's varsity team. After weeks of try out, sweating it out with all hopeful, they came out as the lucky ones and emerged victorious. All throughout the year, we had our regular practice sessions and we were able to participate in certain competitions. Consequently, there were tears on moments of defeat and screams of joy when we won games especially against much favored teams. 

          Basically what came out as an outstanding quality among these kids was their ability to promote and maintain teamwork among themselves. Basketball is one of those games that needs teamwork among all players. Among anything else, there should be cohesiveness within the team. Each player must condition his heart that he plays an essential role in the team and the moment that he forgets about it,  it's the whole team that suffers. 

          As Henry Ford says above, "working together means success." At times, any player will experience a tug of war between one's self centered desire to get everybody else's adoration and accolade against the team's goal of winning. On the other hand, when teamwork is present, each member prioritizes the team's  goals and ideals. With teamwork, other areas such as defense, team morale, collective effort and morale are positively affected. Any team's integral parts are made up of members who are working together as one.     

from: www.kozzi.com

          As mentioned by one the game's most influential and popular player, Michael Jordan, " Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships." With his statement, he knew exactly that he is considered as such an exceptional talent however, it is also very evident that he recognizes the contributions done by his teammates. He was never been selfish in his games. Being a winner then exemplifies certain characteristics with teamwork emerges as one of the most crucial one. 

WINNING THE GAME

          We have heard of such sporting legends in various games such as Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Niki Lauda, and many more names. These are all winners in their respective field. They have brought honors not only to their own names but to their country as well. 

          Such feelings as greatness and overwhelmed are what we usually go through when making any accomplishment in life. However the road to winning is a bit challenging and at times very tricky. It is never an overnight phenomenon that we emerge as winners. Aside from that, it takes a lot of patience and dedication before we reach fulfillment. 

          To have that attitude of a winner will usher us to our goal attainment. What is being dictated in our minds is also relayed to the other parts of our body system. We need to consistently focus on what are laid down as objectives then follow them up with the corresponding concrete steps for realization. On the other hand, it is also beneficial to look ahead for distractions or misgivings and in so doing, we allow ourselves to plan ahead for tools to counter any of them. 

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          Those great players mentioned above had their own high and low in their career yet what is most distinguished in all of them is their triumph in their chosen path. For us, even if we are not yet savvy in our field yet with constant practice and focus, we can reach our goal in the future especially when we also adopt effective strategies.   

          Winning the game should always be our constant motivation- our guiding star to a positive outcome. 

THE SPIRIT OF WINNING.....

"The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur".......

          .........a famous quotation from Vince Lombardi...Personally I believe in what has been shared in this quote. First and foremost, yes it is so true that it's our  will that will guide us towards happiness and contentment in whatever sports undertaking we are involved in. If we engage in any competition, the will to win should always be our constant goal yet it should be devoid of whatsoever negative trick so as just to win the game. 

          Hence it should be consistently inculcated in our minds and hearts that winning is our primary goal. Apart from winning, being fair in all aspects of the game should also be our utmost consideration. In any game, there is always that two sides of the coin- being a winner and that of a loser. We all know that at times we could be winners and the next time around, we could also be losers. Let us also be fair and brave enough to graciously accept whatever outcome either victory or defeat.

by: SHURAKI ...http://pixabay.com/en/girl-boy-sitting-sit-kid-kids-105523/

          The will to excel is also another essential element in any game. It is coupled by such spirit to regularly and spiritually discipline ourselves in practicing all aspects of our chosen field. Winning the game is achieved when we are ready in all its various elements such as physical, emotional, spiritual and moral It's the spirit and will that will lead us towards excellence. 

          Moreover there should also be consistency in our desire for improvement thus we need to practice as hard as we can and never just do it according to any mood. With all these factors mentioned beforehand, being a winner is always within our reach.  

CONQUERING MT. APO...CONQUERING MY OWN FEAR.....

          Mount Apo, considered as the highest mountain in the Philippines standing tall at 2,954 meters or 9,692 feet, is incredibly a symbol of prominence...a symbol of freedom and a symbol of greatness. Luckily, I successfully summit this magnificent symbol twice. Though those twin trips were so challenging and risky yet I made it to the top with the rest of our group. There were several challenges on our way to the top. I believed that the unity among us all members of the group helped us greatly in those two successes. 

          First and foremost among those challenges is the goal of reaching the summit with our group intact. Hence it was a conscious part of our mindset that  every member of the team has to be at the top together with the rest of us. With this goal in mind, it was our conscious effort to tag along with the group. I and my mates could not afford to be left behind since this will adversely affect the team's pace. The trip upward was so treacherous since there were many slopes and several steep points along the way. We passed the rainforest of Kidapawan and I was mesmerized to witness the richness of the forest magnified through its creatures such as the various kinds of animals we met along the way. 

          Aside from these creatures, we also trekked at the shadow and shelter of all those huge and vibrant trees which brought coldness along the way. Personally I like it to be that cold rather than traversing the mountain as well as forest on a very hot atmosphere. Yet considering the abundant and huge trees on the way to the top, it is then very natural to have a very cold weather along the way. 

          We walked for almost 8 hours including those stop overs along the way. I was filled with ecstacy when we reached Lake Binado and it was there that we rested then spent the night since we decided to finally settling the summit early the next day. Freezing and intensely quiet, the night was relatively friendly to all of us and we were all jubilant on what we achieved during the day. Wearing our suits for cold weather, we settled  during the night and the following morning, we continued our trip to the crater and to the top. 

from:www.dreamstime.com

          Recalling those twin trips to the summit, I can always declare to myself that after all, I did not just conquer Mount Apo twice but I did conquer my own fears as well. Indeed, the fear of the unknown is what sometimes hinder us to make one more step forward. However, my twin trips to Mount apo summit will constantly remind me that I can make things possible. In fact, until now, I can recall when I reached the summit and exclaimed silently, " Thanks God, I triumphed over my inner fears!"