You see Pacman, kahit sa Celtics ka kumampi at si Jessica Sanchez sa OKC naman, we still love you guys
New world champion Spoelstra credits Pacquiao in motivating his Heat teamDennis 'D Source' Guillermo
There's a new Filipino world champion, and no, he didn't even have to throw a single punch to become one.
Moments after the Miami Heat became the 2011-12 NBA World Champions by dispatching the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the NBA Finals in Miami, Florida, Filipino-American Heat coach Erik Spoelstra credited being a fan of Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao in helping motivate his team all season long.
View slideshow: Heat celebrates winning their second NBA Finals trophy versus OKC
"Well everybody knows I'm a Manny Pacquiao fan," Spoelstra told Stuart Scott during the ESPN post-game interview, and added, "there's quite a few comparisons that our guys can relate to that sport (boxing). We got knocked down to the canvas two or three times this playoffs run, but we got up, and we kept on working."
Down, indeed they were, and work they sure kept doing.
The Heat lost their star forward Chris Bosh in game 1 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Indiana Pacers, and found themselves in a 2-games-to-1 hole, while Spoelstra was caught on camera jawing with star guard Dwyane Wade in Game 3. The Heat picked up the pieces, to eventually close out the Pacers in 6 games.
In their Eastern Conference Finals series against the Boston Celtics, the Heat took all they could from the rough veteran club led by Rajon Rondo, Paul Piece, and Kevin Garnett, and needed all of 7 games to reach the NBA Finals. Incidentally, Pacquiao, a Celtics fan, took some criticism back in June 9 when he fought Timothy Bradley, for holding up the event and making everyone wait, as he finished watching game 7 of the Heat-Celtics match-up.
In the Finals, the Heat dropped game 1 of their series on the road in Oklahoma City, as Kevin Durant and crew thrashed them to the tune of 104-95. But just like real champions, led by Finals MVP and regular season MVP LeBron James, the Heat bounced back, and stamped their class in sweeping the next four games, culminating with their game 5, 121-106 victory over the Thunder, bidding their formidable rivals "O-K-C-U-next-year".