What The Warriors' Newest Title Win Means for Filipinos

As I wake up this Saturday morning here in California as I write this, many people here in the Bay Area are still euphoric over this latest NBA title run by the Golden State Warriors.

Led by Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, GSW easily rolled over San Antonio and New Orleans in the first two rounds of the Western Conference playoffs before needing its championship experience in overcoming the Houston Rockets in the conference finals.

Then in the NBA Finals against old foe Cleveland and LeBron James, the Warriors nearly lost Game 1 and were lucky to escape with an overtime win because of a late-game blunder by JR Smith in the closing seconds of regulation. That eventually demoralized the Cavaliers who hardly put up a fight in the decisive Game 4 which the Warriors won, 108-85, to complete the sweep.

Of course, who can't forget Durant's decisive shot late in Game 3 that gave GSW a 3-0 series lead.

While the entire Bay Area is celebrating a Warriors dynasty, many people back in the Philippines have mixed reactions towards this title win.

You see, the Cavaliers have more Filipino fans compared to the Warriors simply because of LeBron. He has visited the Philippines four times and I had the chance to cover two of his visits at the Mall of Asia Arena when I was still a sportswriter for Bagong TIKTIK tabloid back then.

In contrast, among the current Warriors, only Durant and Curry have visited the country once. Durant was part of Kobe Bryant's NBA All-Stars that played Gilas Pilipinas and a PBA All-Star team in 2011 during the NBA lockout and it coincided with the renaming of the Araneta Coliseum as Smart Araneta as a result of an agreement with the Araneta Center management and PLDT big boss and basketball patron Manny V. Pangilinan.

Curry, for his part, was in Manila in 2015 for a promo tour sponsored by his shoe brand Under Armour. He had another Asia tour for Under Armour last year but Manila wasn't part of his itinerary this time around.

Now that the NBA season is over, a lot of questions will happen as the Warriors and the other teams prepare for the new season beginning in October.

For starters, how will the Warriors' roster look like?

Although Durant, Curry and the rest of the gang will be back, there are questions as to who will be part of the bench corps. Nick Young hardly saw action and was inconsistent so there's a chance that he will be released even before he gets his championship ring. David West, on the other hand, is reportedly considering retirement.

As for the Cavaliers, many of LeBron's Filipino fans are wondering on what will be his next move in free agency. There is a strong chance that James will leave Cleveland simply because this current Cavaliers team is so weak that even Gilas Pilipinas can give LeBron and company a tough fight. Fil-Am Jordan Clarkson hardly saw action during the finals simply because he shot badly from the field during the Cavs' earlier playoff wins over Indiana, Toronto and Boston. It's no surprise why Clarkson was traded by the Los Angeles Lakers during the trade deadline.

Among the teams LeBron are reportedly considering to transfer include the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston, Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Miami (whom he led to two NBA titles in 2012 and 2013) and, hold your breath, Golden State.

The Rockets, who were built to beat the Warriors this season, will surely bounce back. Just imagine how things would have been if only Chris Paul did not get injured and played in the last two games of the Western Conference Finals.

For now, the NBA is starting to witness a new dynasty in Golden State. And the future looks bright for the Warriors especially since they are slated to play in a brand new arena two years from now.

For sure, there will be a lot of news about player movements in the NBA that even Filipinos will follow through the news, internet and social media. LeBron's next move will surely be eagerly awaited.

In my next post, I will discuss about how the NBA TV coverage in the Philippines can be improved by next season.

Congratulations Golden State!