WARRIORS, HAHARAP SA EMOTIONAL GAME FINALS

MATAPOS na makapaglaro ang injured star na si Kevin Durant sa Game 5 at umeksit ng panalo ang Golden State Warriors, muling mahaharap ang GSW sa isang emosyonal na NBA Finals showdown ngayong araw laban sa Toronto Raptors.

Hawak ng Raptors ang 3-2 lead sa best-of-seven championship series sa kabila ng 106-105 na pagkatalo noong Lunes kung saan, dumanas si Durant ng right Achilles tendon sa una niyang balik-laro matapos ang isang buwan na pag-inda naman ng kanang ‘calf injury.’

Humugot ng inspirasyon sa kanya ang Warriors, na pakay ang ikatlong sunod na NBA crown at ika-4 sa li­mang season mula kay Du­rant sa kanilang final game sa Oakland Oracle Arena bago bumalik sa bagong $1-bilyon na home­court sa next season sa San Francisco.

“To protect our home court, feed off our crowd’s energy, play for K and try to keep our season alive, there are a lot of things that you can tap into for energy,” saad ni Warriors guard Stephen Curry. “We’ll be ready.”

Ayon naman sa kakam­ping si 3-point sharpshooter Klay Thompson, inaasahan ng Golden State ang maka­say­­sayang suporta ng fans.

“We’re just thinking about enjoying this last show at Oracle,” saad ni Thomp­son. “I expect our fans to be the loudest they’ve ever been, especially in the name of Kevin and bringing his type of spirit to the fight and the competitiveness. We deserve it, but more importantly, Kevin does for what he gave this team, this organization. There wouldn’t be (championship) banners if it wasn’t for his presence. So we expect our crowd to be loud for him.”

Sumailalim na si Du­rant, ang Most Valuable Pla­yer ng na­karaang dala­wang finals sa operasyon kaha­pon bago ang final arena practice ng Warriors. (MC)