AS expected , the Golden State Warriors retained their NBA basketball crown .

And they did it with aplomb : Crush Cleveland by a 4-0 sweet sweep .

For one to be dealt that kind of a blow , it ’ s embarrassing to say the least .

And for it to be absorbed by Cleveland , which boasted of having the planet ’ s best player in its line-up , it ’ d be like a bitter pill to swallow .

But pre-playoffs predictions had pointed to that .

While betting stations in Las Vegas were bombarded with pro- Golden State bettors long before the series started , many also believed it would not end that way .

At least Cleveland could at least have won one or a couple in the bestof-seven series .

LeBron James should have done that .

As one endowed with virtual superhuman skills , LeBron James was destined to performing some impossible things .

Like gift Cleveland with some glorious moments — event if it would not have meant winning the title itself .

Hasn ’ t history been kind to LeBron James and the Cavaliers , when they went on to steal the 2016 NBA crown in a thrilling Game 7 victory over the Warriors ?

But , sadly this year , it was not meant to be .

While Cleveland had in its bench the spitfirish and prolific scorer Kyrie Irving to help LeBron James win the 2016 title , their partnership ended when Irving moved to Boston in the 2018 season .

Thus , with Irving gone , LeBron James was left with a crew sorely lacking in talent .

As we all know , basketball is a team game .

Even as LeBron James is endowed with Spiderman-like powers , he would still need a supporting cast to fulfill a mission .

Unfortunately , LeBron James never had the luxury of owning yet again a lethal backup .

In contrast , the Warriors are a team since 2015 — literally .

They have the perfect man for every position in a team game like basketball .

One , they won the league ’ s best guard in Stephen Curry , who does not only orchestrate plays but shoots threes as well with the crazy consistency of a hired assassin .

Two , they have a 6-11 forward in Kevin Durant that can dribble and then shoot threes in a shocking instant from as far as Antartica , doing the chore as easy as tossing pebbles into a manhole .

Three , forward Klay Thompson can be as sharp-shooter as John Wayne in his heyday ; KT is a perfect reliever when both Curry and Durant are either resting or having a day-off from beyond the arc — which happens as rare as Digong ’ s curses while

delivering a speech .

Three NBA titles in the last four years are screaming testaments to that incredible Warrior character .

It was , simply , that even before the 2018 Finals begun , the Warriors have become dynastic .

Isn ’ t the indestructible Draymond Green a gargantuan addition to the Warrior myth of invincibility ?

But still , as a footnote , it was no fault of LeBron James that the Cavaliers got blanked , blown out of the court .

Endowed with a bench that is as deep as the Pacific Ocean , the Warriors are here to reign without end — seemingly .

LeBron James needs to scour the Atlantic Ocean for a much-needed

reinforcement come next season . Lovers and haters of LeBron James

THERE will always be haters and lovers of LeBron “ King ” James .

He has become like the nowretired Robert “ The Big J ” Jaworski of Philippine basketball .

No in-between . No gray area . No neutral .

When LeBron ’ s Cleveland Cavaliers are winning , his fans are as insatiable in their adulation as some capitalists ’ greed for more profits . His haters are cemetery silent .

But when LeBron & Co . start losing , or finally lose the championship , that ’ s when his bashers are most active .

LeBron lovers let them bask in their bashing business .

Sportsmanship comes in many forms , you know .

Take the Cavs ’ recent defeat in the NBA Finals won by the Golden State Warriors via a 4-0 sweet sweep . Was that news ? Wrong . Weren ’ t the Warriors installed as not just favorites but heavy favorites ? Even pictured as carrying a lethal broom in their hands — making the sweep inevitable ?

But to LeBron ’ s bashers , that didn ’ t matter . They say with undiminished arrogance

that no one but LeBron James was to blame for the Cavs ’ shutout .

Why , because all plays were centered round him .

Why , because he always wanted to direct offensive patterns on his own .

Why , because he always personified either victory or defeat .

Seemingly in fairness , all true . LeBron ’ s guilty on all three counts .

But his critics forgot one screaming script sadly left out in the synopsis : That LeBron James was deeply wanting of a supporting cast to accomplish the ultimate mission , which was to bring the crown back to Cleveland . Utopia .

Since basketball is a team game , a one-man army may win some , but

not all of ‘ em .

LeBron , because of his God-given gift , was a virtual human wrecking crew in bulldozing his way to successfully bringing the Cavs all the way to the Finals .

By all means , that is no mean feat .

Citing all his achievements here is unnecessary as they are known worldwide , including 8 straight Eastern Conference Finals , 4 straight NBA Finals .

Those two alone are not

something to sneeze at . Only the legendary Bill Russell

has made , done , more .

But then , if , by powering the Cavs to Eastern supremacy in this decade has made LeBron appear superhuman , he would eventually fall back to earth against a Golden State squad that also had not only superhuman players but , more importantly , a super team as well .

Against a one-man wrecking ball in LeBron , Golden State ’ s answer was a Triple Terror in Stephen Curry , Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant .

If it were boxing , LeBron was like Pacquiao fighting Erik Morales , Floyd Mayweather and Juan Manuel Marquez all at the same time . And that ’ s not even including Draymond Green , who could be like Mike Tyson added to the mix atop the ring .

Would Kevin Love , JR Smith , Tristan Thompson and Kyle Korver have been of any help had they been dispatched as LeBron back-up in the rumble ? Pure crap . Mercifully , they ’ d be so pitifully bamboozled and punched out of the ring all the way to the moon in just one round — the equivalent of that 4-0 sweep , with the final blow bludgeoning the Cavs in their own house .

LeBron gave us some thrill . If it was of cheap stuff , I don ’ t know what is . THAT ’ S IT ! It is barely three weeks to go before Manny Pacquiao guns for yet another world welterweight crown when he battles defending champion Lucas Matthysse of Argentina in Kuala Lumpur .

Pacquiao has been training for nearly three weeks now , needing to be in tip-top shape as Matthysse is no pushover .

Matthysse might be an awkward fighter with his no-backpedal style but his knockout record is awesome : 36 KOs in his 39 wins thus far .

Thus , extreme caution must be in the overall strategy of Pacquiao , who has been knocked out three times already — the last was in 2012 against his bitterest foe , the Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez . May the force — of God ’ s mostly — be with Pacquiao come

July 15 . ●