Miami Heat: Not Unstoppable

Last year, the Miami Heat, the most scrutinized and the most hated team in the league, fell short of winning the NBA championship, to the delight of the entire basketball world. The Heat was ahead in 4 of the 6 games entering the 4th quarter and the collapsed and choked away the lead 12 minutes later to lose 4 games to 2 to the Dallas mavericks. The Heat said that was just a fluke, a learning curve or stepping stone they must take to become the best possible team they can be. They said they would put their 4th quarter collapses in their past.


That was in June. Now, almost 8 months later, the Heat are still having their 4th quarter collapses. Despite being one of the most athletic, quickest, and accurate 3point shooting team, the Heat are on a downward spiral. Their nightmares of the NBA Finals last year are resurfacing as they have encountered 3 straight 4th quarter (and over-time) meltdowns.

A picture of the Miami Heat's Not-So-Big Three
Taken from NBA.com

The Heat's biggest point of concern  is their Zone offense. Everyone knows they have 2 of the best 1-on-1 players in the league, which is why teams play them in a zone. Teams force the Heat to move the ball, to drive and kick, to rely on a team game rather than on 3 people. This is where the Miami Heat struggles.


As unselfish and team-oriented LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade are, they still always revert back to their one-on-one ways against the zone, the same mentality that cost them the Championship.


The team, not only struggled on the offensive end in the 4th quarters of the past three games, but also on the defensive end despite being one of the best defensive teams in the league. Their failure to score on one end and to defend on the other has cost the heat their top spot in the NBA.


The Miami Heat, now currently the 6th seeded team in the Eastern Conference, looks to silence all the loud, once more, doubters and haters with a win in their next game on Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs.

Project Fiona: Razer's Latest Gaming Product

by Francis Nepomuceno

Razer had been one of the leading companies who satisfied the needs of the gaming world. And now that there are many Tablet PCs that are coming out today, Razer revealed its newest gaming device concept - Project Fiona, a gaming tablet powered by Intel i7 CPU and runs on windows 7. Razer revolutionized the ordinary perception of PC gaming into another whole new level. Because it is portable like any hand-held gaming device, it takes the PC gaming experience with you anywhere you go.  "This first-of-its-kind PC gaming tablet with integrated dual controllers is definitely not for playing casual games about unhappy birds or zombie-killing flora," as stated by Razer. Check out the look of Razer's proposed gaming tablet.

Made you guys want more? Then now take a look at the specs:

• Hybrid user interface for PC gaming
• Intel Core i7
• 10.1" 1280x800 display
• Full-screen user interface supporting multi-touch
• 3-axis gyro, magnetometer, accelerometer
• Force feedback
• Dolby 7.1 surround sound
• WiFi 802.11b/g/n
• Bluetooth 3.0

BAM! Can't believe this is coming true, right? Razer says it plans to take Project Fiona in the market as quick as possible and have it ready for launch before the end of the year.

Project Fiona really is a dream come true to the gaming community. But of course it still has the whole year for improvements, many aspects of the unit is subjected to change. That doesn't matter though. Just thinking of gathering your friends with Project Fiona units and have an intense online multiplayer anywhere would be just so great. Just stay tuned guy for more fun news.

Are You Down to Fun?

Happy New Year, Basketball!

by Mikey Favis

It’s already 2012, so why don’t we ring in the New Year with some more basketball!

Christmas vacation (for those who are still in school or took leaves off of work) is winding down and it’s back to reality.  As you have probably already heard of, the NBA is back and there is once more a balance in the basketball world. However, with all the buzz the NBA has gotten over the past few weeks, we have forgotten our very own local basketball league, the Philippine Basketball Association or the PBA.

With the Christmas Season and the holidays rolling in, being a very family-oriented culture, the PBA “shut down” or went on a much needed leave of absence so that all the players, coaches, officials and members of the PBA could spend the holiday season with their loved ones. Before the PBA paused to take their Christmas Break, we were left with Final Four after the Quarter Finals round had finished. The Final Four or the Semi-Finals begins on January 4, 2012 with the Powerade Tigers Opening up against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.

JAN 4: Rain or Shine VS Powerade

This will surely be a very interesting and exciting series because it pits together two very high-octane and fast paced offensive teams. Both Powerade and Rain or Shine rely heavily on 3point shooting and fast-breaking. With Rain or Shine, the so called “Cinderalla Team” of the PBA (they were the first 8^th seed team to defeat the number 1 seeded team in the playoffs). Led by their scoring machine, Gary “El Granada” David, number one overall draft pick Javee Casio and former Smart-Gilas swingman Marcio Lassiter, the Tigers look to carry their momentum of eliminating number one seeded B-Meg into their match-up with the Elasto Painters.

On the other side of the fence, Rain or Shine was one of the top-scoring teams in the league this past season and is arguably the most physical defensive team. With their array of shooters and their sticky like glue defense, the Elasto Painters, spearheaded by dynamic and possible Rookie of the Year winner Paul “Angas ng Tondo” Lee and veteran Gabe “The President” Norwood, Rain or Shine looks to make quick work of the Tigers.

JAN 5: Talk N Text VS Petron

The second game, which will be on the 5^th of January, is the more anticipated and dramatic game between the Petron Blaze Boosters and the Talk N Text Tropang Texters. Already known as the “Championship before the Championship” all the hype in the PBA will revolve around these two teams. Featuring a rematch of last year’s finals and two of the more popular franchises, look for this to be a very exciting and down to the wire match.

With the long break, the Tropang Texters look to come back stronger than ever as most of their lineup is finally healthy. Being called the “Walking Wounded” for the whole season, TNT enters the semis with a full lineup. At their fullest, the Texters are the deepest team in the league wherein everyone of their players in the first and second unit can come out and score in the twenties. Led by Jimmy “Mighty Mouse” Alapag and Kelly “The Machine Gun” Williams, you can expect Talk N Text to come out guns a blazing and prove to everybody their loss last year in the finals was a fluke.

 On the other hand, Petron, the reigning PBA champs look to repeat and seem like the best suited team to combat TNT’s offensive firepower. Petron will rely once more on Alex “The Crunchman” Cabagnot and Arwind “Spiderman” Santos to carry the banner for the boosters. Alongside their one-two punch, Petron has an array of role players in Danny Ildefonso, Joseph Yeo, Rob Reyes and Smart-Gilas defensive Specialist Chris Lutz. This series will surely have a championship atmosphere and will certainly go the distance.

The NBA may be back, but it’s Playoff time in the PBA so expect a whole lot of drama, excitement and last-second plays in the semi-finals. This will surely be an interesting semis for the PBA with all the storylines and subplots within each series. Let’s all be thankful that we’re only fans because no matter what happens, we are the ultimate winner since there are a number of fantastic games lined up for our viewing pleasure. It truly is a Happy new Year for basketball!