Philippine Showbiz Today Vol 13 No 18 | Page 22

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Philippine Showbiz Today
Miami Heat ’ s most accomplished superstar Dwyane Wade had , until last week , been strongly considering calling basketball over until Sunday when he met with coach Erik Spoelstra .
That Sunday , Wade himself , through a Twitter video , revealed his intention to play one more season detailing the lifestyle consideration that influenced his decision .
“ Can I physically do it ? Can I physically get out of bed every day to do this ? Can I deal with every step hurting in the morning ? Can I deal with the travel ? Can I be away from my family ? Is it selfish for me to want to continue to be away from my family ?” Wade asked .
“ These things to you guys may seem small . But to me , they ’ re real . I feel like my family have put me first for so many years , for good reasons . But there comes a point in time when we ’ ve all got to think about someone else , especially the ones around you that have supported you , supported your dreams , supported your journey like my family have ,” Wade added .
Wade , 36 , in his 13-year

Coach “ Spo ” changes Dwyane ’ s mind to retire

October September 22 - 22 November - October 7 , , 2017 2018 Basketball stint with the Heat , has led the franchise in career points , assists , steals , and games played before leaving for Chicago in 2016 , unhappy with what the Heat were offering him in free agency .
He later moved on to Cleveland , joining best friend LeBron James then received a hero ’ s welcome from Heat fans when he was traded back to Miami in February . He became a valuable reserve , averaging 12.0 points per night in 21 games while helping the Heat reach the postseason .
Wade made it clear in his announcement that he plans to retire once this season is complete , saying , “ I ’ ve given this game everything that I have , and I ’ m happy about that , and I ’ m going to give it for one last season , everything else I have left .
Wade has been holding his decision to hang up his playing uniform the past few weeks citing personal and family business to sort out as reasons . He also said negotiations with the team to reach an agreement that was agreeable to both sides delayed his decision .
Wade opted to accept a $ 2.4M veteran ’ s minimum con-
NBA ’ s Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade & Filipino-American coach Erik Spoelstra
tract rather than demand any of That projects to a $ 9.7M tax bill Miami ’ s $ 5.3M taxpayer mid-level that could rise to $ 11.7M or fall exception . The financial implications of that decision are huge for that the league considers likely .
to $ 7.3M depending on bonuses a team already in luxury tax territory , tweeted salary cap expert have a significant role with the
Wade wanted to continue to
Albert Nahmad .
Heat in his final season , but he With tax payments figured in , will be facing a different environment than he did at the end of the total cost of re-signing Wade will be about $ 4M . If he had demanded the full MLE , the price ang of The Miami Herald .
last season , noted Anthony Chi- would have risen to between Wade ’ s return could help put $ 14M and $ 17M . the Heat in contention for Jimmy
Wade will be the team ’ s 14th Butler if the Timberwolves opt to guaranteed contract , raising trade him , Ira Winderman of The the total salary to about $ 130M . Sun Sentinel for his part , wrote . ●

The tests Team Pilipinas has to survive

Look what the embarrassing players ’ fight that marred the Philippine-Australia game early last July had done to the country ’ s campaign in the on-going Asian World Cup qualifying tournaments .
Up to and until the eve of Team Pilipinas ’ all-important date with Qatar on Monday , national coach Yeng Guiao , as it the problem of lack of preparations weren ’ t enough , had , for the nth time , reorganized his roster to save the country ’ s bid to advance to the round from an exercise in futility .
Fleet-footed Stanley Pringle of NorthPort had to take the place of Christian Standhardinger of San Miguel Beer , the team ’ s most consistent performer in the Filipinos ’ fifth place campaign in the last Asian Games up to the opening of the second window of the qualifying against Iran , as a naturalized player .
Matthew Wright of Phoenix Fuel and Japeth Aguilar of Barangay Ginebra subbed for an ineffective Alien Maliksi , also of Phoenix and Raymond Almazan of Rain of Shine . Pringle and Wright were to augment speed and shooting , which Maliksi , along with Alex Cabagnot and Mafcio Lassiter , also of the Beermen , failed contribute against the Iranians .
Aguilar and Wright had just
served their one-game suspensions following their involvement in the brawl against the Boomers of Australia .
Meanwhile . coach Yeng retained the services of team skipper Gabe Norwood , Scottie Thompson , Paul Lee , Ian Sangalang , JP Erram , Beau Belga , Asi Tulava and even Cabagnot and Lassiter .
Thompson , Sangalang , Cabagnot and Lasster , were survivors of the insertions made to the Asiad team that saw the exit of three-point artist James Yap and Maverick Ahanmisi , both of RoS .
Whether the reactivation of
Pringle and the new additions of Aguilar and Wright served the purpose for which they were taken would have been known on Monday when the Filipinos were supposed to battle the Qataris in a closed door encounter .
The invitation only encounter , also on order of FIBA as an additional aftermath of the brawl that happened in that unfortunate H-Australia match up .
The incident , condemned by at least the Asian basketball community , if not by the entire sports world , resulted in the suspension of 10 Filipino players plus two of their coaches and a trio of Australian Boomers .
And to a larger scale , it sent in disarray the Philippines ’ participation in the recently concluded Indonesia Asiad and in the present Asia World Cup qualifiers .
First , the local basketball governing body Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas , in an ill advised move it hardly explained , withdrew the country ’ s participation from the Asian Game basketball competition two weeks before the quadrennial meet ’ s opening in Jakarta only to change heart response to a strong public demand a week later
Ġuiao was appointed as coach , who hurriedly and hastily formed a team , thanks the Rain or Shine management which volunteered he nucleus of its PBA team to the national squad filled with talents but bereft with the best in the pro-league , which , at that time was in the finals if the Commissioner ’ s Cup .
It was an uphill climb for Guiao and his men gallant men who won three of their assignments and losing only twice – to eventual champion China by mere two points and Korea by nine on the way to a decent fifth place finish sans an import .
And would have displayed , too , against the Qataris . ●