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Kyrie Irving sounds ready to keep chasing NBA titles in Dallas

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Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving pauses on the court in front of Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, left, during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

DALLAS — Kyrie Irving is a year away from having the option to leave the Dallas Mavericks, and at that point would be closing in on his longest stint anywhere since asking out of Cleveland, where he was drafted, in 2017.

Yet the mercurial guard sounded as if Dallas could be his basketball home well beyond 2025 after losing the NBA Finals in five games to the Boston Celtics in his first full season with co-star Luka Doncic.

“I see an opportunity for us to really build our future in a positive manner where this is almost like a regular thing for us, and we’re competing for championships,” Irving said after Dallas’ 106-88 loss in Game 5.

Irving jilted Boston in free agency in 2019 and has been steadfastly booed by Celtics fans since then. His 3 1/2 seasons in Brooklyn were filled with mostly self-inflicted drama, to the point that he finally asked for a trade after doing the same to break away from LeBron James and the Cavaliers.

When the Mavericks acquired the eight-time All-Star at the deadline last year, Irving’s reputation around the league was in tatters. Things have changed in 16 months.

READ: Doncic, Irving can’t deliver for Mavericks in NBA Finals clincher

“From a spiritual standpoint, I think I enjoyed this journey more than any other season, just because of the redemption arc and being able to learn as much as I did about myself and my teammates and the organization and the people that I’m around,” Irving said. “It’s a lot of good people here, so it makes coming to work a lot of fun.”

Doncic’s player option is a year after Irving’s, following the 2025-26 season. And every other rotation player in the playoffs except for guard Derrick Jones Jr. is under contract next season.

The Mavericks don’t have much room to maneuver under the salary cap, but they will have the nagging question of whether a more dangerous third scoring option is the missing piece.

The 25-year-old Doncic is entering his prime in a difficult NBA Western Conference, with two trips at least to the West finals in the past three seasons.

But Dallas was a surprise team both times, and couldn’t stick around past five games. The next level would be getting this far without being a surprise, perhaps as the favorite to win the title.

Such progress might be required to keep Irving and Doncic together beyond 2025-26, or to keep Doncic in Dallas as long as retired star Dirk Nowitzki stayed — a record 21 seasons with the same franchise.

“When you have one of the best players in the world,” coach Jason Kidd said, “you should be always fighting for a championship.”

READ: NBA Finals: Kyrie Irving says Mavericks change ‘starts with me’

While Irving and Doncic had a full season, the Mavericks like to talk about having just five months together. That’s when trade-deadline additions Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington arrived and helped give Dallas a defensive mindset that became crucial to the deep playoff run.

Last fall, the talk was the full reset for Doncic and Irving. In 3 1/2 months, the talk will be of Gafford, Washington and budding 7-foot-1 star Dereck Lively II, Dallas’ rookie first-round pick, having their first training camp together.

“We did some great moves,” said Doncic, who won his first scoring title. “I would say we’ve been together for five months. We didn’t win the finals, but we did have a hell of a season.”

If the Mavericks don’t add a starter in the offseason, the 32-year-old Irving figures to be the only player older than 26 in the lineup. Lively won’t be 21 until February.

Maxi Kleber, a 32-year-old with seven seasons of NBA experience, is the other 30-something who might be in the rotation. Tim Hardaway Jr. is the same age, but he fell out of the rotation late in the season, leaving his role in doubt with one year remaining on his contract.

“We’re a young team, and so this isn’t a team when you look at do we have to replace some of the older players,” Kidd said. “We have a core, a young core at that, and so this is an exciting time to be a Mavs fan and to also be a coach for the Mavs.”

The “old guy” — Irving — sounds as if he doesn’t want to be replaced in Dallas anytime soon.



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“When you really love something, you really want to win and it doesn’t happen, how do you respond from that?” Irving asked. “I think I could tell you I’m pretty confident that we’ll be back in the gym pretty soon and getting ready for next year.”

Celtics look to become first repeat NBA champion since 2018

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Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, center, holds the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy as he celebrates with center Kristaps Porzingis, left, and guard Jaylen Brown, right, after the Celtics won the NBA championship with a Game 5 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

BOSTON — It took more than a decade, savvy front office and draft moves, and some free agency luck for the Celtics to ultimately build the roster that brought an end to their 16-year NBA championship drought.

But with NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown already locked up long-term and fellow All-Star Jayson Tatum set to join him in the $300 million club this summer, Boston doesn’t have nearly as much work to do this offseason to keep together a core that is set up to become the first team since the 2018 Golden State Warriors to repeat as champions.

In the euphoria of locking up the franchise’s record-breaking 18th championship, Celtics majority owner Wyc Grousbeck gave president of basketball operations Brad Stevens a shoutout for finishing a process that began when Stevens was originally hired as Boston’s coach in 2013.

“We all watched the team the last few years. Great teams, but not quite there,” Grousbeck said. “And Brad was brilliant. We knew we needed to make changes … and he got it done.”

Moving away from longtime executive Danny Ainge — the architect of Boston’s 2008 championship Big 3 of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen — in favor of the 44-year-old Stevens was bold. Now, just three years after being pulled off the sideline, Stevens has made good on the belief that ownership had in him.

READ: NBA: Brown, Tatum answer critics while leading Celtics to title

He did it by taking the war chest of draft picks Ainge left him and borrowing from the aggressiveness his predecessor was known for to immediately go to work.

It started coyly with a February 2022 trade deadline acquisition of Derrick White, a young defensive-minded reserve with San Antonio.

Then, following the loss to the Warriors in the Finals, he steered the team through the suspension and ultimate departure of coach Ime Udoka for having an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the organization.

Facing a franchise-altering moment, Stevens leaned on his gut, elevating back bench assistant Joe Mazzulla to the top job.

Then, after a conference finals loss to Miami last season, he did what was originally unthinkable by trading veteran leader Marcus Smart and reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon in separate deals that brought in 7-footer Kristaps Porzingis and defensive stalwart Jrue Holiday.

The pair turned out to be the missing links for a team that, including the playoffs, finished 80-21 this season, placing it second in team history behind only the Celtics’ 1985-86 championship team that finished 82-18.

READ: NBA: Jayson Tatum says past pain inspired Boston Celtics

It also marks the first time in seven seasons the team with the best record during the regular season went on to win the title.

Most importantly, Boston is set up to keep the current core intact for the foreseeable future.

Brown is already locked up through 2029. Tatum is eligible to sign a five-year supermax extension this summer that will be worth a record $315 million and run through 2031. White, who is set to be a free agent in 2025, can ink a four-year deal worth about $125 million this offseason.

The remaining returning starters, Holiday and Porzingis, have already been extended through 2028 and 2026, respectively.

While some tough, luxury tax decisions could be looming in a few seasons, it’s a team constructed to win now.

Brown said it’s left everyone poised to defend their title next season and beyond.



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“I think we have an opportunity. I think we definitely have a window,” he said. “We take it one day at a time. We definitely have to make sure we stay healthy. But, we’ll enjoy the summer, enjoy the moment, and then we get right back to it next year.”

For Dominicans, NBA champion Al Horford is a national treasure

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Boston Celtics center Al Horford, center, and forward Jayson Tatum, center left, celebrates with teammates near the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy after the team won the NBA basketball championship with a Game 5 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Al Horford is being celebrated in the Dominican Republic after the Boston Celtics center became the first player from the country to win an NBA title on Monday.

Horford — whose full name is Alfred Joel Horford Reynoso — has been congratulated by the president of the Dominican Republic, international bachata stars and others after finally winning a championship in his 17th NBA season.

“Al Horford has made history as the first Dominican to win an NBA Finals series,” President Luis Abinader said on X. “What great pride for our country! Congratulations on your incredible achievement.” The tweet included an emoji of the Dominican flag and the hashtag #OrgulloDominicano, or #DominicanPride.

The Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 to win the franchise’s 18th championship, breaking a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most in league history.

“I feel proud to represent all the Dominicans, no just over there, but in the world because I know they’re in different places in Europe and here in the United States,” said Horford, who had a Dominican flag tucked in his waistband while posing for photos with the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

READ: Celtics look to become first NBA repeat champion since 2018

Rachel Quezada, a 38-year-old auditor in Santo Domingo Este, said she followed the entire series hoping for a Boston victory, which she never doubted given the team’s talent.

“I love that you can tell he is a person that doesn’t forget about his roots,” Quezada told The Associated Press. “The team had an A1 performance from the start.”

Horford, from Puerto Plata, joins a short list of Latino players to win an NBA title: Manu Ginóbili and Fabricio Oberto from Argentina, Butch Lee and J.J. Barea from Puerto Rico, Carl Herrera from Venezuela, Leandro Barbosa from Brazil, and Juan Toscano-Anderson from Mexico.

Dominican maestro Juan Luis Guerra also congratulated the 38-year-old Celtics star with an Instagram post of the basketball team and a caption that read “Glory to God!!.”

The Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Sports posted a picture on X with text reading “Dominican Pride.”

Horford earned his first ring in his 15th playoff appearance. The 38-year-old has played in the Finals twice. He is the son of Tito Horford, a retired Dominican basketball star who played in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks.



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Horford moved to Michigan from the Dominican Republic with his family before heading to Florida to play college basketball for the Gators.

Hawks GM taking trade calls but plans to keep top pick

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FILE – Atlanta Hawks general manager Landry Fields poses for photos after NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum announced that the Hawks had won the first pick in the NBA draft, during the draft lottery in Chicago, Sunday, May 12, 2024. Landry Fields says he’s liking his options for the potential top picks in the NBA draft more and more — and he insists he’s not planning on trading the pick, even though his phone lines remain open. “I think we’re really excited by the draft,” Fields said Monday, June 17, 2024, as he continued to prepare for the No. 1 overall pick in the draft on June 26. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

ATLANTA — Atlanta Hawks general manager Landry Fields says he likes his options for the potential top picks in the NBA draft — and he insists he’s not planning on trading the No. 1 pick, even though his phone lines remain open.

“I think we’re really excited by the draft,” Fields said Monday as he continued to prepare for the No. 1 overall pick in the draft on June 26. “And the more that we uncover, like we go, great, I’m glad we have No. 1. I keep joking around like I’m not giving it back. So, I think we’re in a really good position here. I’m excited about it, frankly.”

The Hawks were the surprise winner of the NBA draft lottery on May 12. Atlanta won the No. 1 draft pick despite just 3% odds after finishing 10th in the Eastern Conference at 36-46.

Fields says his initial enthusiasm about landing the top pick has not been diminished as he and his staff have examined options such as two French stars, Alexandre Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher, Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard and UConn center Donovan Clingan.

Even so, Fields acknowledged the task of determining which prospect should be No. 1 is an ongoing process. He said he, not team owner Tony Ressler, will make the draft choice.

READ: Hawks win NBA lottery in draft with no clear No. 1 pick

The decision on keeping the No. 1 pick could be affected by the fact the Hawks have no other selections in the draft. The roster may need help from more than one draft pick after the team lost to Chicago in the first round of the play-in tournament.

Fields said he and his staff are assembling tiers of draft prospects. When asked if a trade down for more picks would be wise if he sees no prospect clearly ranking above all others, Fields said, “Eventually you’ll narrow down to your guy, for sure.”

Fields said the pool of possible top picks on the Hawks’ draft board continues to shrink.

“I would say a week ago it was wider than it is now,” he said. “The board is definitely shaping up, tearing itself out.”

Fields said he’s looking for a player “to be No. 1 and just the guy that we see is a great fit for us, not just for the next day, but for the future as well.”

READ: Wembanyama’s selection by Spurs produces NBA draft record ratings

Aside from a slight break on Sunday for Father’s Day, Fields has stayed busy on the phone, taking and receiving calls from other executives.

“For the most part, it continuously rings,” he said.

The Hawks have been frustrated by the inability to revive a franchise that has not won a playoff series since advancing to the 2021 Eastern Conference finals despite scoring leadership from guards Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. The Hawks kept Murray at the trade deadline in February when there was much speculation he might be dealt for draft picks.

Decisions about the future of center Clint Capela and forward De’Andre Hunter also may be looming this offseason. But the first priority is making a decision on the No. 1 pick.



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“We as a group looked at a ton of different scenarios,” Fields said. “Like if you keep the pick, you try to get back into the draft. … With where we are right now, we’ll pick one. … We’re planning on picking one.”

Doncic, Irving can’t deliver for Mavericks in NBA Finals clincher

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Dallas Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving (11), P.J. Washington (25), Maxi Kleber (42) and Luka Doncic (77) head to the bench during a timeout in the second half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals against the Boston Celtics, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

BOSTON — Short jumpers rolled off the rim and 3-pointers went in and out. Even free throws were a challenge for Luka Doncic in the clinching game of the NBA Finals.

Dallas needed Doncic and Kyrie Irving to be at their best in Game 5 against the Celtics on Monday night. Instead, the Mavericks’ best players got off to a terrible start, and by the time their shots started falling the Celtics were coasting to a 106-88 victory and an unprecedented 18th NBA title.

“It just wasn’t our night offensively,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said after his fifth-seeded team fell short of its second NBA title. “We’re a young team. We have a young core, and so this is an exciting time to be a Mavs fan and to also be a coach for the Mavs.”

Doncic missed his first six 3-point attempts and finished 12 of 25 from the floor. He scored 28 points — 10 of them in the fourth quarter, when Dallas never got closer than 18 points. He had 12 rebounds but also turned the ball over seven times. He was 2 for 5 from the free throw line, a problem that has bothered him throughout the series.

“He’s one of the best players in the world,” Kidd said. “For him at the age of 25 to get to the finals, to be playing his basketball at the level that he’s playing — now it’s just being consistent.”

READ: Celtics rout Mavericks to win record 18th NBA championship

The Slovenian star said injuries — a bruised chest, and problems in his right knee and left ankle — weren’t the problem.

“It doesn’t matter if I was hurt, how much was I hurt. I was out there,” he said. “I tried to play, but I didn’t do enough.”

Irving was 3 for 9 from 3-point range and 5 of 16 overall while fending off boos and crude chants from his former fans every time he touched the ball. He had nine assists but 15 points — six of them in the fourth quarter, when the game was already out of reach.

READ: Postseason like almost none other for Doncic, even without NBA title

“The crowds can chant whatever they want to chant. When we’re away, they’re obviously going to go against us,” Dallas guard Josh Green said. “He does a great job of not letting it affect him and I think that goes back to his leadership on and off the court.

“So we have nothing but respect for Kyrie. … We all got his back, for sure.”

Irving and Doncic shared a hug at the end of the game.



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“We said, ‘We’ll fight together next season,’ and we (are) just going to believe,” Doncic said. “I’m proud of every guy that stepped on the floor, all the coaches, all the people behind. Obviously, we didn’t win finals, but we did have a hell of a season and I’m proud of every one of them.”

Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla goes from Division 2 coach to NBA champion

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Head coach Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics yells while lifting the Larry O’ Brien Championship Trophy after Boston’s 106-88 win against the Dallas Mavericks in Game Five of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 17, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. Elsa/Getty Images/AFP

Joe Mazzulla has been called weird. He’s been called a sicko. He’s been called crazy.

Those comments weren’t coming from critics or haters directing anonymous insults toward the NBA coach of the Boston Celtics. They came publicly from his own players who, by all accounts, absolutely adore him. And they are meant with all possible respect, especially now that those players — and everyone else — must call Mazzulla something else.

A champion.

A 35-year-old whose only head coaching experience before taking over the Celtics in the fall of 2022 was at the NCAA Division II level is now the leader of the best team in the NBA world. Boston wrapped up the NBA title on Monday night, beating the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 to finish off a five-game roll through the finals and secure the team’s record 18th championship.

“There’s nothing better than representing the Celtics,” Mazzulla said, “and being part of history.”

READ: Celtics rout Mavericks to win record 18th NBA championship

Including playoffs, Mazzulla’s record is now 148-54 — a .729 winning percentage. Among all coaches with at least 200 games in the NBA, nobody has a better record than that.

And when it was over, yes, the famously stoic Mazzulla smiled.

“The thing you just can’t take for granted in the game today is a coach’s greatest gift is a group of guys that want to be coached, want to be led, that also empower themselves,” Mazzulla said earlier in the series. “So, I think at the end of the day, just appreciate the fact that we have an environment where learning and coaching is important, and getting better and developing is important. You can’t be a good coach if your players don’t let you.”

He’s the 37th coach in NBA history to win a title and the seventh to do so from the Celtics’ bench, joining Red Auerbach, Bill Russell, Tom Heinsohn, Bill Fitch, K.C. Jones and Doc Rivers.

And there are other names the Celtics call him, too. Like genius, for example. Mazzulla doesn’t hide his Christian faith, talks about three of his loves beyond family being Jesus, coffee and jiu-jitsu, is obsessed with things like international soccer, and in his spare time leads teams to NBA titles.

“He’s really himself. He’s like authentic to himself. We all appreciate that,” Celtics guard Payton Pritchard said. “He’s not trying to be somebody he’s not. So, I think that’s kind of like the sicko side of it. He’s different, but we respect that. Then the basketball genius, you can learn a lot from him as to how he sees the offensive side of things, the play calling, the game management, all that. He’s elite in that. I’ve personally learned a lot from him, and I think our whole group has.”

READ: Celtics follow ‘craziness’ of Mazzulla’s coaching style to NBA Finals

Alex Cora, the manager of the Boston Red Sox, makes no secret that he believes the Celtics are going to be enjoying success for a while. He’s close with Brad Stevens, the front office mastermind of the team, and has gotten to know Mazzulla somewhat well since he took over as coach. The respect he has for Mazzulla is clear.

It’s not like Mazzulla struggled in Year 1 after being shoved into the job unexpectedly following the scandal that led to the Celtics parting ways with Ime Udoka; the Celtics did make Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals last season. Cora just thinks things were more suited to Mazzulla’s needs in Year 2, such as bringing in assistants like Charles Lee (the next coach of the Charlotte Hornets) and Sam Cassell.

“I do believe that with everything that they went through, with the head coaching part of it, and Joe last year being the head coach but not having his staff, I think it was kind of like an obstacle for him,” Cora told reporters before a Red Sox game last week. “But he got the right people, they got the right coach.”

Mazzulla’s path to the NBA mountaintop could easily be described as non-traditional, and not just for the circumstances under which he got the job as Udoka’s replacement.

Mazzulla’s only previous experience as a head coach before taking over the Celtics was a two-year stint at Fairmont State in West Virginia, where he went 43-17 and made the NCAA Tournament in his second season. A native New Englander from Rhode Island, Mazzulla played at West Virginia, was an assistant for the Celtics’ G League team before taking over at Fairmont State, and then got hired by the Celtics again in June 2019 to be part of Stevens’ coaching staff.

They’re a lot alike, Mazzulla and Stevens. They don’t waste words. They don’t seek the spotlight. Asking them a question about themselves is almost certainly not going to get any sort of peel-back-the-curtain answer. It’s not about them. It’s just about wins.

“When Joe won coach of the month, I was like, ‘Hey, congratulations,’” Celtics guard Derrick White said. “And he just looked at me and said, ‘Nobody cares.’”

The closest Mazzulla likely came to getting a head-coaching gig in the NBA before getting promoted by Boston was in 2022, when he interviewed with the Utah Jazz. The Jazz hired Will Hardy, and Mazzulla said they made the right decision. But when he looked back at that process, Mazzulla hated one part of his interview.

He wore a suit. “They’re useless,” he said.

To be clear, that wasn’t where Mazzulla thinks he blew that interview. The Jazz asked him a fairly standard question. Paraphrasing, they wanted to know how Mazzulla, as a young coach — actually younger than some NBA players — felt he was ready to lead a team.



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He didn’t have a great answer. But now, nobody will have to ask him that question again. Mazzulla answered it Monday night once and for all. He can lead a team to the top of the NBA world. The Celtics’ 18th banner will be raised this fall, and that’s more than enough for him.

“You get very few chances in life to be great and you get very few chances in life to carry on the ownership and the responsibility of what these banners are, and all the great people, all the great players that came here,” Mazzulla said. “When you have few chances in life, you just have to take the bull by the horns and you’ve got to just own it. And our guys owned it.”

Give men’s league a chance

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Retamar–MARLO CUETO/INQUIREr.net

The sport of volleyball has enjoyed a sudden rise in popularity, with the women’s UAAP and PVL leagues drawing record-breaking gate attendance.

Unfortunately, however, the men’s tournament have yet to receive the same attention from fans, something which young and talented national team setter Owa Retamar, who just wrapped up his playing years in the UAAP with National University (NU), hopes to be able to affect change.

“We know that here in the Philippines, when you say volleyball, people think about the women,” Retamar told the Inquirer after being named by the Collegiate Press Corps as the UAAP men’s volleyball player of the year on Monday night in Pasig City.

“The fans want longer rallies and intervals, but in the men’s (leagues) we have faster exchanges and faster kills and that’s how people see men’s volleyball,” the 22-year-old playmaker said.

Retamar was the unquestioned leader of the Bulldogs during his tenure at National. The team has also been the most dominant collegiate force in the men’s UAAP of late, recently pocketing a fourth consecutive championship under coach Dante Alinsunurin.

With his collegiate stint over, Retamar, who was also a part of the men’s national team that bagged the silver medal in the 30th Southeast Asian Games in 2019, is taking his act to Cignal in the Spikers Turf where he hopes to bring over NU fans.

“I hope we can be given the chance of gaining crowd support,” he said of the men’s pro league, which he also hopes would inspire the next generation of players.

“Since we first joined the national team, we have been doing everything we can to help bring more attention to the men’s volleyball team,” Retamar added. “We are doing what we are doing for the next generation to carry on, and we will improve the sport so they can take volleyball further.

“So I am happy and I feel proud, even though there is a bit of pressure and we rarely rest.” INQ



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Chris Newsome erases past heartaches

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Chris Newsome–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Chris Newsome’s first crack at a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) title came during his rookie year, and it ended with the opposing ace hitting a basket at the buzzer.

Nearly eight years later—and three more botched tries in between—the Meralco guard, now his team’s top gun, hit a late jump shot to give the franchise its first championship with an 80-78 Game 6 victory over defending Philippine Cup champion San Miguel.

“Man, it’s just like a movie, for sure,” Newsome, with confetti all over and the net of Meralco’s home goal around his neck, told the Inquirer on the heels of the clincher last Sunday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“Especially when you saw where we were at earlier this conference? No one really thought we were going to be here,” he went on as he shook his head.

Meralco’s campaign in this edition of the PBA’s crown jewel showcase indeed merits a deep dive at some point. With a 3-5 win-loss record way past the halfway point of the elimination round, the Bolts hardly looked like a title contender, but rather a club hurtling toward early vacation at 11th place.

Having patched up the gaps in its game, Meralco went on to march into the Final Four, dragged—and then finally conquered—long-time tormentor Barangay Ginebra in a thrilling Game 7 for the right to challenge the vaunted Beermen.

The campaign was a riveting turnaround for the club, which somehow mirrored Newsome’s career.

Going full circle

Throughout his years playing for the Bolts, the Filipino-American guard out of Ateneo has become a lot of things. He has been a Slam Dunk Champion, the Rookie of the Year, a two-time All-Star, and a member of All-Defensive Team.

He has also won two gold medals for the National Team as well, including the historic Asian Games captured in China last year, but not without being cut several times from the Gilas Pilipinas roster.

But it was only on Sunday night that he was able to call himself a PBA champion.

Newsome, after hitting the title-clincher with 1.3 ticks remaining, was also crowned as the Finals MVP. He averaged 22.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists in those six tightly contested games.

“It’s amazing to be able to see it all through because there were times when I was down. And, you know, I was kind of figuring out whether this is something that I really needed—to just keep on pushing with and keep on working towards,” Newsome said, his voice trailing off as he recalled all those years ending up short-handed.

“You know, in those downtimes, it gets really hard. Especially after failing time and time again. But I had a good support system around me. I have good people around me. Good teammates around me. They’re always encouraging me. It’s a very healthy relationship that we have at Meralco. We feed each other confidence and we continue to believe in one another.”

Newsome also had folks over at the other side silently cheering him on, among them San Miguel skipper and his Gilas captain, Chris Ross.

“New played amazing—he did everything for that team, he had a 41-point game. He was doing everything whether defending, making big shots, making the right plays. He was amazing in this series. … [H]e was 4-for-17. He didn’t shoot the ball particularly well but that didn’t change his mindset going for that last shot,” Ross, a 10-time champion, said in praising Newsome.

“I felt like he wanted that,” he added. “‘Make it or miss it just come to me,’ and that’s the confidence you need when you’re the leader of the team. He has the confidence. He puts in the work. Me being around him in Gilas, I know what kind of guy he is.

“He is an amazing player, but he’s an even better person. … He’s a great person so I couldn’t be more happy for him.”

Newsome said in an earlier Inquirer interview that he had imagined hoisting his first-ever PBA trophy in an import-laden conference. Not that he’s complaining about how everything has panned out.

“I never thought that it was going to turn out like this for my first PBA championship. But all those failures definitely make this a lot sweeter,” Newsome said.



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“And to anybody that’s been doubted, keep pushing, man. Keep striving to reach your goals and your dreams.” INQ

Jaylen Brown is Finals MVP as Celtics clinch historic NBA title

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Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown, center, raises the MVP trophy after defeating the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Jaylen Brown was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Monday as his Boston Celtics polished off the Dallas Mavericks four games to one to earn a record 18th championship.

“It was a full team effort,” Brown said as he accepted the Finals MVP trophy named for Celtics legend Bill Russell.

The 27-year-old averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists in five Finals games and delivered a strong defensive effort against Dallas star Luka Doncic, the regular-season scoring leader.

READ: Celtics rout Mavericks to win record 18th NBA championship

“I share this with my brothers and my partner in crime Jayson Tatum — he was with me the whole way so we share this together,” Brown said.

The Celtics claimed their first title since 2008. They had reached the finals in 2022 only to come up short against the Golden State Warriors and last season they agonizingly failed to get back to the championship series, falling to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals.

On a mission this season, the Celtics won a league-leading 64 regular-season games.

They swept the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals — Brown earning MVP honors in that series, too.

READ: Celtics will win NBA title if Tatum, Brown focus on details, not emotions

Brown, in the first year of a mammoth five-year, $286 million contract extension with the Celtics, earned his third All-Star nod, but it was Tatum, not Brown, most often pointed to as the team’s top star.

Snubbed for All-NBA honors and by selectors for the US Olympic basketball team for Paris, Brown now has the honor he really craved — an NBA title — and the Finals MVP to go with it.

Brown, who was taken third overall in the 2016 draft, shared a long, heartfelt embrace with Tatum as the final moments of the 106-88 clinching victory ticked off.



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Brown said he’d left doubts from previous playoff misses go this season.

“I never hung my head,” he said.

PH women’s basketball, men’s volleyball standouts feted

On: By: admin


Awardees for the 2024 Collegiate Press Corps awards night on Monday. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — History was made as standouts in the women’s basketball and men’s volleyball were recognized for the first time in the 2024 Collegiate Press Corps Awards Night on Monday at the Discovery Suites Manila in Pasig.

Kent Pastrana of the University of Santo Tomas was hailed as the inaugural Collegiate Women’s Basketball Player of the Year to headline a total of 23 awardees alongside Collegiate Men’s Basketball Player of the Year Kevin Quiambao of La Salle.

Pastrana steered the Growling Tigresses to their first title in 17 years, toppling the mighty dynasty of seven-peat champion National U with a thrilling three-game series win to win the UAAP Season 86 finals.

READ: Standout coaches to be feted by Collegiate Press Corps

She was also named the UAAP Player of the Year for team events in the league’s closing ceremony last year before a fitting follow-up recognition from the CPC in the momentous ceremony.

Pastrana also led the breakthrough Women’s Mythical Five with her teammate and UAAP Finals MVP Tantoy Ferrer, FEU’s Josee Kaputu, UP’s Favour Onoh, and Kacey dela Rosa of Ateneo while Quiambao, who lifted La Salle to the UAAP Season 86 title to snap a seven-year drought, bannered the staple Men’s Mythical Five with Rookie-MVP Clint Escamis of Mapua, UP’s Malick Diouf, Lyceum’s Enoch Valdez and Jacob Cortez of San Beda.

“It’s our honor to be given this kind of opportunity in women’s basketball. Thank you for this award at sa walang pag-suporta sa amin,” said Pastrana.

For the first time also, achievers in the men’s volleyball were feted with well-deserved honors led by UAAP Men’s Volleyball Player of the Year Owa Retamar of NU and NCAA Men’s Volleyball Player of the Year Louie Ramirez of Perpetual.

READ: Kevin Quiambao, Kent Pastrana banner collegiate Mythical Teams

Retamar pocketed the UAAP Season 86 Finals MVP and Best Setter while Ramirez captured the NCAA Season 99 MVP plum anew as the both the Bulldogs and the Altas won four straight titles.

“I’m really happy that I was chosen for this men’s volleyball award. I’m glad for men’s volleyball, which is slowly gaining recognition, of course with the help of the media. They’re the ones who helped expand this. I hope this continues for all the youth watching us. I hope we can inspire them,” said Retamar.

NU Bulldogs' star Owa Retamar.

NU Bulldogs’ star Owa Retamar. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

But the night didn’t only belong to the players as mentors from women’s basketball and volleyball also marked history and grand celebration.

Haydee Ong of UST copped the UAAP Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year with Dante Alinsunurin of NU and Sammy Acaylar of Perpetual winning the UAAP Men’s Volleyball and NCAA Men’s Volleyball Coaches of the Year awards, respectively.

NU’s Norman Miguel and Jerry Yee of three-peat champion College of St. Benilde’s were named the UAAP Women’s Volleyball and NCAA Women’s Volleyball Coaches of the Year, respectively.

“It’s the first time in history that you’ve given accolades and inclusivity for women’s basketball. Maraming Salamat po. This award will not be possible without the help of the whole community and ecosystem of UST,” said Ong.

Also in the spotlight of the event were the winners of the staple awards in men’s basketball and women’s volleyball

For the second time, MVP Bella Belen of NU took home the UAAP Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year while Cloanne Mondonedo of CSB, the first setter MVP in NCAA history, won the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year.



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La Salle champion mentor Topex Robinson was named the UAAP Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year while Yuri Escueta, who engineered San Beda’s NCAA title run, was hailed as the NCAA Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year.