May pagdiriwang sa Cleveland

Cavs vs Knicks sa NBA season opener

CLEVELAND - Ma-tapos ang 50 taon na paghihintay ay ipagdiriwang ng mga Cleveland sports fans ang pagkopo ng Cavaliers sa kauna-unahan nilang NBA title at ang pagbabalik ng Indians sa World Baseball Series.

Para sa iba ay nagsi-mula na ang kasiyahan bago pa man itaas ang NBA championship banner ng Cleveland Cavaliers sa league season opener laban sa New York Knicks at ang pagho-host ng Cleveland Indians sa Game One ng kanilang best-of-seven series ng Chicago Cubs.

“It’s a special day for our fans, for Cleveland, for northeast Ohio to be able to enjoy,” sabi ni Cavaliers star LeBron James. “It’s a day that will go down in history for anyone that lives (here), they’ll never forget it. I’m happy I’m a part of it,” dagdag pa ng NBA four-time MVP.

Huling nagdiwang ang lungsod nang angkinin ng Cleveland Browns ang korona ng National Football League noong 1964.

“Knowing what our city has been through as far as our sports and eve-rything for the last 50-plus years, our fans deserve it,” wika ni James. “Our fans, no matter what has been going on, the Browns, the Indians, the Cavs, they continue to support us.”

Sa San Francisco, makakatapat naman ng Golden State Warriors ang San Antonio Spurs sa kanilang season opener.

Ang blockbuster off-season move para makuha si Kevin Durant ang lalo pang nagpalakas sa opensa ng Warriors kasama sina Stephen Curry at Klay Thompson para sa hangaring mabawi ang NBA Finals crown.

Nagposte ang Golden State ni coach Steve Kerr ng record-breaking start na 24-0 sa nakaraang season na pinagharian ng Cavaliers ni James.

“We all have pressure. But that’s a good thing. The alternative is, hey, maybe we can win 30 this year instead of 25,” sabi ni Kerr. “A lot of the teams in the league have that, teams that have gone through rebuilding stuff, and they’re trying to get where we are.”

“So we’re in a real-ly enviable position, we know how lucky we are to be together with this group. We understand the responsibility that comes with it. But that’s fine, that’s a good position to be in,” dagdag pa nito.

Isang sell-out crowd ang pupuno sa Oracle Arena para panoorin ang debut ni Durant, iniwanan ang Oklahoma City Thunder sa offseason.