Lebron James – Stephen Curry show as usual. Cavs had a 20 point lead in the 3rd quarter but the Golden State Warriors went able to cut the lead to 1 in the 4th.
2015 NBA Finals – Curry (Golden State) versus James (Cleveland)
NBA Finals Tied 1 – 1, Games 3 and 4 to be played in Cleveland
Cavs now at an advantage after winning game 2 away from home. Golden State Warriors have to win at least one of the next two away games to even the series or take a 3 – 1 advantage. For obvious reasons, the Cavs will enjoy a huge hometown advantage in games 3 and 4 and could take a 3 -1 record by the time the 2015 NBA Finals series go back to Golden State court for game 5
NBA 2015 Finals, Game 2
2015 NBA Finals – Cleveland Cavaliers win Game 2 in Overtime to tie the series against the Golden State Warriors
Lebron James got his 5th career NBA Finals triple double
2015 NBA Finals – Curry (Golden State) versus James (Cleveland)
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It’s a make or miss league, they tell us. And if you like misses, Game 2 was your sort of scene.
The Cleveland Cavaliers stunned just about anyone who had been paying a whiff of attention to these NBA Finals, downing the 67-winGolden State Warriors in overtime to take a 1-1 series tie back to Cleveland. These NBA Finals were expected to be a one-sided affair with Cleveland working without the injured Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, and yet the Cavs rallied behind LeBron James and the indefatigable Matthew Dellavedova in order to pull out the 95-93 win.
The Warriors had to overcome an 11-point deficit with 3:13 left in the contest in order to force that overtime, with a series of calls going their way on both ends. James wowed all onlookers with a 39-point, 16-rebound and 11-assist night, but he also missed 23 of 34 shots from the field and clanged a potential game-winner in regulation. Warriors guard and NBA MVP Stephen Curry missed 18 of 23 shots while turning the ball over six times, airballing a possible go-ahead jumper in the waning seconds of overtime.
Meanwhile, Irving’s replacement – the tireless Dellavedova – clinched the game with two clutch free throws in the final seconds after securing an offensive rebound off a James Jones miss.
Jones was the seventh in a seven-man rotation as Cleveland threw all that it competently had against Golden State in the win. The team made fewer than a third of its shots overall and shot exactly 33 1/3 percent from three-point land, but it also crashed toward the free-throw line and took care of the ball – the Cavs turned the ball over just 13 times in 53 minutes.
James, Dellavedova, and forward Tristan Thompson were absolute workhorses. Thompson scored just two points (after the 64 percent free-throw shooter was hacked twice intentionally, making 2 of 4 from the line), but he also expertly switched on several Warriors after screen-and-roll plays while pulling 14 rebounds – with seven coming on offense. Dellavedova, only starting because of Kyrie Irving’s kneecap fracture, missed seven of ten shots and turned the ball over six times, but he also played fantastic defense on Curry while helping to clear James for endless isolation sets on the other end.
In return, the sweet-shooting Warriors just couldn’t buy one.
Credit should go to Cleveland’s active defense, but the Warriors did clang on an unending series of jump shots and made a series of poor offensive decisions from stem to bloody stern. Klay Thompson
2015 NBA Finals – Cleveland Cavaliers win Game 2 in Overtime to tie the series against the Golden State Warriors
impressed by hitting four of his first five shots while working toward 34 points in 45 minutes, but the W’s turned the ball over more times than they assisted (17 to 16) and missed 27 of 35 three-pointers.
GSW coach Steve Kerr limited his bench options as well, working only seven players double-figure minutes in a 53-minute contest, waiting out Curry’s bad luck streak in dancing school from long range – the MVP missed 13 of 15 from behind the arc.
“Nobody is immune from a tough night,” Kerr offered following the loss, and he wouldn’t be wrong in that regard. What he would be wrong with, and he’s certain to agree, would be putting Curry in a position to succeed. The league’s MVP was forced by the Cavalier into working as an afterthought offensively, showcasing little of the derring-do that marked his team’s 80-18 start to the season.
As it ran, his helpers acted as standbys rather than colleagues. Draymond Green played a good floor game defensively with four blocks, but it took until overtime for him to hit a field goal. Harrison Barnes worked a hesitant run, needing 10 shots to score 11 points, missing a makeable 17-footer late in overtime that could have sealed the deal for his team. Andre Iguodala, charged with chasing LeBron James up and down the court, could not replicate his Game 1 heroics offensively.
This was Cleveland’s win, though, and not Golden State’s loss. The Warriors had their chances, to be sure, but only because a determined Cavalier squad dared them into taking them.
The Cavs always seemed in control; and not for the usual, get-the-ball-to-LeBron-and-get-out-da-way, reasons. There was more movement and more action in Game 2 than in Game 1’s overtime loss, with James diving into his sets earlier in the shot clock and with screen-and-roll action clouding Golden State’s defensive approach. Somehow, 11 of Cleveland’s total of 14 assists came from James, as he lowered his shoulder and drove the Cavaliers toward the win – sitting for just 160 seconds of time in his team’s 98th game of the season.
“You’d be hard pressed,” Cavs coach David Blatt said following the contest,“to find a guy anywhere, anytime ‑‑ I can think of a name or two, but that’s the whole history of basketball ‑‑ that can give you the kind of all‑around performance and all‑around leadership that LeBron does for his group.”
Kerr concluded that “both teams defended like crazy out there,” and, again, he isn’t wrong in that summation. What seems to trick his Warriors, though, is the idea of playing from ahead.
James, for all his aspirations to surround himself with fellow stars and trusted role players, relishes the idea of playing from behind, and his Cavaliers clearly thrive on the challenge. Whether it’s taking on a full-strength Bulls squad while down a starter and a half, working against a top-seeded Atlanta Hawks club, or spitting into the wind while flying out to face the NBA’s best and healthiest team in its own arena, James and limited Co. continually rise to the challenge despite those abysmal shooting marks.
The Warriors get to play the same routine on the road soon, though, acting as the accidental martyr. LeBron’s Cavs have the home-court advantage in a best-of five series, now, with the pressure off of Golden State and the uniforms turning from blues and whites to yellow and yellow. Somehow, out of nowhere, the most important game of the NBA’s 223-day (and counting) season was tipped off on Matthew Dellavedova gathering an offensive rebound and James Jones working as a stretch four off of the bench. Things have gotten out of hand, and Golden State’s task is to restore order.
LeBron James, the guy who just played the game of his life while still missing 23 shots, doesn’t want order to return. Orthodoxy is his enemy, and that’s what makes him so compelling.
He plays best on the edge, with nary a call to go his way, with Timofey Mozgov as his second-leading scorer. It’s clear that he’s ready to do whatever it takes to extend his franchise’s season, and it’s hard to counter that sort of determination with a few fluttery three-pointers. Golden State might win out to end these Finals, but it won’t be easy.
Nakakainis na. Paanong nagkaroon ng dalawang number one. Isa lang dapat. May nagsisinungaling. May nangdadaya. May nagsasabi ng hindi katotohanan. Pera pera lang ang mga survey companies. NOTE: Sa Facebook tuwing may survey sa post ng mga pangkaraniwang mamamayan, ABS CBN ang laging MALAYONG NANGUNGUNA
STUPID NATION: Two TV stations claim to be number 1.
. Papaanong pinalalabas na kunwaring malapit ang labanan o patas ang resulta. Patunayan nyo sa mga srili nyo,gumawa kayo ng sarili nyong survey para malaman ang katotohanan. Huwag maniwala sa mga BAYARANG SURVEY FIRMS.
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Kim Ilagan: One person, a thousand feelings
Car Show Models Philippines page admin
Car Show Model and Admin of Facebook fan page Mitchie
The FIRST, AND ONLY, car show models Facebook account where the models themselves are the fan page admins. Most similar pages are created and administered by their legions of fans, followers and admirers. Some are initiated by publications, motor industry executives and other commercial interests.
Check this one out. Less than 200 LIKES as of today. Let us bring the numbers up to 500 by next week (wish, wish). Thanks.
This is a historic double win for Team Philippines as this marks the first time the Philippines won the Gold medal in triathlon. It’s a good day to be a Filipino triathlete!
Congratulations to Team Philippines! Congratulations to all the coaches and of course, to the Filipino triathletes for bringing honor to our country!
The Philippines won the women’s division gold and silver medals. Maria Claire Adorna won the gold at the 28th South East Asian Games! Kim Mangrobang took
second! An awesome 1-2 finish for Team Philippines!
Yahoo International shut down Yahoo Philippines along with other services (maps) and in other countries too (Canada, Spain) in a move to redirect its operations. While there is no official comment on why the closures were effected, it may have something to do with adjusting their business model. They are not competitive in maps (compared to the highly successful Google product) and the country Yahoos are not generating enough income to sustain operations or do not meet net profit goals. Searching and clicking to Yahoo Philippines are diverted to Yahoo Singapore, which merely implies a great dilution in terms of Philippine content. Sayang (sigh), we can only lament the loss of Yahoo Philippines at the same time that we understand Yahoo’s business decision. The massive Yahoo realignment also shows that not all Internet roads are paved with gold and that even high tech giants like Yahoo are not guaranteed instant success in any and every expansion (geographic, product) venture that
Yahoo Philippines Shuts Down
they undertake. In the cyber world now dominated by Google, Apple, Amazon.com, Samsung, YouTube and Facebook such names as Yahoo, Nokia, Blackberry and Microsoft (once giants in their fields) find the competition faster and more nimble in terms launching innovative products and scoring victories. But don’t look now a new generation of companies (Instagram, SnapChat) are out to steal a company’s lunch (which is why current giants are buying them out).
A Makati homeowner shares how he is able to cut his electricity bill by half using solar power
SUN-POWERED. Mike De Guzman has installed a device that turns electricity generated by his solar panels into a form that can power his appliances. All photos by Pia Ranada/Rappler
MANILA, Philippines – Mike De Guzman is one of the few Filipinos who looks forward to receiving his monthly electricity bill.
In the past 8 months, he’s been paying less and less for his power usage. If he used to pay around P24,000 (US$555*) to electrify his two-story, 3-bedroom house in Makati, now he has been paying only half, around P12,000 ($277). On good months, he has even gotten it down to P9,000 ($208).
He and his wife whoop for joy as they read a Meralco bill that had just arrived – P9,500 ($220).
Why the lower bill? Did electricity get cheaper without the rest of Metro Manila knowing it?
In a way, yes. For the past months, the De Guzman household has been getting around 80% of their electricity from the sun.
Their home’s roof is strapped with 20 solar panels that produce an average of 675 kilo-Watt-hours (kWh) or P8,000 ($185) of electricity a month.
From 8 am to 5 pm, the De Guzman home is powered by the sun. At night, when the sun too must sleep, the normal Meralco grid kicks in.
Is this cheating? Nope. In fact, the De Guzman household is one of the first to make use of a renewable energy program of Meralco called net metering.
Net metering allows households to sell back excess electricity generated by their renewable energy systems and use them as credits to lower their electricity bill the next month. (READ: Renewable energy use gaining worldwide – IEA)
Meralco came up with the program to comply with the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 which allows each homeowner to have up to 100 kWp (kilo-Watt peak) of installed solar panels under net metering. (READ: DOE to add more renewable energy in grid by 2014)
In June, Meralco announced they had finalized the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for the net metering program.
Plugged into the sun
De Guzman became a bonafide champion of solar energy a year ago when he bought his first solar panel.
“I put it in this house, I turned it on, I turned on my aircon and the meter wasn’t moving. Then I knew I stumbled upon something,” he told Rappler.
ABUNDANT. Mike De Guzman’s wide roof is an ideal place to install solar panels.
At that point, he was close to desperate to find a cheaper energy solution. His family owns a call center, an apartment building and hotel, which all use vast amounts of power. Couple that with Philippine electricity rates (around P11 to P13 per kWh or $0.25 to $0.30), one of the highest in the world.
The abundant sun tends to be overly-generous. On summer days when the sun shines longer, De Guzman’s solar panels produce up to 34 kWh as it did last May. This is enough to run an aircon for 45 hours.
Often, he has more energy than he needs.
“I had so much power I didn’t even know what to do with it. Last summer, I just turned on my aircon and put the dog in the living room because I had a lot of power. I could use 3 aircons and not use a watt from Meralco.”
So he visited the Meralco office in Pasig City asking for a program that would buy his excess solar power from him. After several letters and the pressure of the Renewable Energy Act, Meralco launched its net metering program in September 2013.
The program allows the De Guzmans to use their solar panels for their daytime electricity consumption. At night, they use their subdivision’s Meralco grid which they pay for monthly.
But if their solar panels generate more electricity than they use (as is usually the case), the excess energy goes to Meralco’s grid to be used by other customers.
Meralco “pays” for this extra energy by subtracting the cost of that electricity from the De Guzman’s bill the next month.
The family is able to save even more by combining net metering with Meralco’sPeak/Off-Peak (POP) program.
The POP program means that, instead of charging you the same rate for electricity, Meralco will charge a higher rate for daytime consumption and a lower rate for night-time consumption.
This is because demand for power in the daytime is higher than at night.
Currently, Meralco’s POP daytime rate (average generation charge) is P7.50 ($0.17) per kWh while it’s evening rate is P3.50 ($0.08) per kWh.
Meralco “buys” De Guzman’s excess electricity for P5.50 ($0.13) per kWh. So even if he still pays for the electricity he uses at night, he gets credited more per kWh he generates in excess.
“It comes in handy if you go for vacation for a month or you’re out of the country. Then when you come back, you’re going to have a lot of credits because your panels were generating energy all that time. Eventually you’ll use it all up within the year,” said De Guzman.
IN EXCESS. On summer days, the De Guzmans often generate more electricity from their solar panels than they need.
Is it affordable, practical?
De Guzman spent around P500,000 ($11.600) for his 5 kW solar panel system. He says it’s worth it, considering the savings. (READ: Renewable energy in PH affordable in long term — study)
“It will pay for itself in 5 years. The solar panels themselves will last for 25 years. It’s better than a time deposit,” he said.
Solar panels have begun to make so much “economic sense” that De Guzman now runs his own solar panel-installing company.
The past 3 years have seen the cost of solar panels go down to less than half, largely because of China, he said.
“Solar panels used to be expensive. The only players were Americans and Germans. I have this US inverter that used to cost US$5,000 (P216,000). The one I have now from China is $1,100 (P47,500).”
Solar panels vary in size and cost. A tiny 80-watt solar panel can be had for P3,000 ($69). A 250-watt panel is sold for around P15,000 ($347).
In general, each 250-watt solar panel can save you P200 to P500 ($4.6-11.6) each month, said De Guzman.
With solar panels, one size does not fit all. The size and cost of a system depends on the amount of appliances, electric consumption and architecture of a house.
Solar panels are ideal for houses with wide roofs, said De Guzman. They aren’t practical for apartments since balcony space is often not enough for a solar panel. Apartment owners would have to ask the building owner for permission to use the roof.
Panels are most efficient during the summer months of April and May. During the rainy season, from June to July, the panels will generate two-thirds what it would on a summer day.
MONITORING. This meter indicates how much electricity is being generated by the De Guzmans’ solar panels.
They are easy to maintain, and need only a wiping down or cleaning every few months. But after 25 years, they will be producing 20% less electricity than they did when first used.
To avail of the net metering scheme, home owners can call or visit Meralco Business Centers. They will be asked to sign a Net Metering Agreement and provide several required documents.
Meralco says it should take 3 months from application to actual connection of a resident’s solar panels to the net metering program.
Availing of the POP program is a bit trickier. The resident’s usage must be over P8,000 ($185) a month. It also requires more documents.
De Guzman’s company, Solaric, sells solar panel systems and takes care of net metering and POP applications. So far, they’ve installed systems in around 30 homes in Metro Manila, Cebu, Dumaguete and Cagayan de Oro.
As a “guinea pig” of the combined programs, De Guzman had to wait 10 months before he could make full use of the schemes. He had to go through 150 pages of paperwork.
But for him, it was all worth it.
Aside from electricity bill savings, his solar panels have lessened the load for an already power-strapped country.
It’s a happy coincidence that solar panels work best during hours when the country’s grid is most burdened.
From 10 am to 2 pm, electricity grids work on overdrive, sometimes requiring Meralco to buy power from coal and diesel generators at very high rates.
“So when you have a lot of solar, it coincides with the peak demand,” said De Guzman.
“We supply the grid with our excess power when the grid needs it the most. Instead of me being a burden, I’m a positive producer of power.” – Rappler.com
*US$ 1 = Php 43.22
MANILA – Bearing placards with messages written in Chinese, about 150 members of militant groups Bayan Muna and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan marched to the Chinese Consular Office in Makati City to protest what they call China’s violation of Philippine sovereignty in the South China Sea.
Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes said they meant to show that the Filipino people will not tolerate China’s expansion activities in the South China Sea, particularly the reclamation activities that encroach into the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, and the harassment of vessels and aircraft entering the disputed areas.
The groups are throwing their support for the arbitration case filed by the Philippines against China’s nine-dash line claim over nearly the entire South China Sea.
They said the Philippines needs to solve this crisis on its own terms.
Bayan and Bayan Muna also protest strongly “United States intervention” in the South China Sea and the Philippine government’s dependence on US military assistance.
“Para kang namimili sa pagitan ng magnanakaw at rapist,” said Reyes as he compared the actions of China with that of the US. “Talo ka sa pareho. Walang magbabantay sa interes ng Pilipinas kundi Pilipino.”
The groups reiterated that America’s help will come with a price, and that this indebtedness will put the Philippines in a bind in the long run.
Instead of relying on US help, the Philippine government should step up its own modernization and nationalize all industries currently controlled by China, Reyes said. “Kailangang mapa-aray din natin ang China dito eh.”
The groups do not believe that the US will step in to intervene should actual hostilities take place involving the Philippines since the US has significantly more massive economic ties with China than with the Philippines.
Reyes refuted criticisms that Bayan and Bayan Muna have been mum on China’s actions in the South China Sea, with some accusing them of taking the side of China.
Reyes said today’s protest was actually the sixth demonstration they have held, and vowed there will be more.
The groups have set a bigger protest action in front of the Chinese consulate on June 12, Independence Day. They will proceed to the US Embassy to hold another protest.
News Philippines 