MIAMI – Lumabas ng court sina Tim Duncan at Manu Ginobili na nakatungo ang mga ulo.
Ibinuhos ng San Antonio Spurs ang lahat ng kanilang makakaya sa Game 7. At nang matalo sila ay hindi mabubura sa kanilang isipan ang tsansang kumawala sa kanila sa Game 6.
“To be at this point with this team in this situation, where people every year continue to count us out, is a great accomplishment,†sabi ni Duncan. “To be in a game 7 or be in a Game 6 and up one with two chances to win an NBA championship, that’s tough to swallow.â€
Humakot si Duncan ng 24 points, 12 rebounds at 4 steals at nag-ambag si Ginobili ng 18 points at 5 assists.
Nagtala lamang si Tony Parker ng 10 points mula sa malamyang 3-for-12 shooting.
Hindi mawawala sa isip ng Spurs ang nakawalang pagkakataong makuha ang kanilang pang-limang titulo sa ilalim ni coach Gregg Popovich.
“Being so close and feeling that you are about to grab that trophy and then seeing it vanish is very hard,†wika ni Ginobili. “I think that if we would’ve lost both games like this, I would be a little more up. But it’s a tough feeling.â€
Sa Game 7 ay naimintis ni Duncan ang dalawang basket na siya sanang nagtabla sa laro. “For me, Game 7 is always going to haunt me,†ani Duncan.
Isa itong masaklap na kabiguan para sa Spurs na 21 segundo lamang ang layo para sa kanilang pang- limang korona sa Game 6.
“It’s such a fine line between celebrating and ha-ving a great summer with now feeling like crap and just so disappointed,†wika ni Ginobili.