What Went Wrong?

Sports Tidbits as of 14 June 2006

TENNIS: Roland Garros' French Open (France)

11 June 2006
Rafael Nadal defended his French Open crown with a 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over topseed Roger Federer in the finals at Roland Garros Stadium. The mighty Spaniard thus clinched his 60th straight win on clay surface and managed to avoid a "Roger Slam" as the Swiss tennis star holds the 2005 Wimbledon, 2005 US Open and 2006 Australian Open trophies.

10 June 2006
In the women's, another defending champ, Justine Henin-Hardenne salvaged her third title in Paris as she easily trashed Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-4 in the finals at the Court Philippe Chatrier. Her fifth Grand Slam championship triumph established her as a premier dirt-baller, never dropping a single set in the duration of the tourney.

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FOOTBALL: FIFA World Cup^TM (Germany)

14 June 2006
First round of the group stage matches is drawing to a close as the remaining four teams debut today to enter the scoreboards. Spain faces Ukraine in Leipzig while Tunisia tackles Saudi Arabia in Munich. Host Germany also tries to secure a second win and a berth in the next round as it goes against Poland in Dortmund.

13 June 2006
Group F - Brazil defeated Croatia (1-0)
Group G - Korea defeated Togo (2-1)
Group G - France drew with Switzerland (0-0)

12 June 2006
Group E - Italy defeated Ghana (2-0)
Group E - Czech Republic defeated USA (3-0)
Group F- Australia defeated Japan (3-1)

11 June 2006
Group C - The Netherlands defeated Serbia and Montenegro (1-0)
Group D - Mexico defeated Iran (3-1)
Group D - Portugal defeated Angola (1-0)

10 June 2006
Group B - England defeated Paraguay (1-0)
Group B - Sweden drew with Trinidad and Tobago (0-0)
Group C - Argentina defeated Cote d'Ivore (2-1)

9 June 2006
Group A - Germany defeated Costa Rica (4-2)
Group A - Ecuador defeated Poland (2-0)

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BASKETBALL: PBA Playoffs (Philippines)

11 June 2006
Barangay Ginebra now leads series 2-1 after a 95-87 victory over Red Bull. It is the Kings' fifth win in six outings with a depleted lineup in the absence of injured Andy Seigle, Aries Dimaunahan, Jayjay Helterbrand, Rodney Santos and Rommel Adducul. Game 1 on 7 June 2006 went to the Barakos while Game 2 on 9 June 2006 was won by the Gin Kings.

On the other quarterfinal showdown, Coca-Cola cut series deficit 1-2 as the Tigers dumped the Aces 77-75 to live another day. The Milkmen tried to sweep the quarters after grabbing a 95-94 buzzer-beating Game 1 win and an 81-75 Game 2 decision over the Tigers.

Game 4 of the Gran Matador Philippine Cup (PBA All-Filipino Conference) will be played tonight (Manila time) at Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City.

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What Went Wrong with the Mavs?

BASKETBALL: NBA Playoffs (United States)

A commanding 3-0 lead seemed very close yet so far for the Dallas Mavericks. The Western champs succumbed to the intense come-from-behind surge made by the Miami Heat in the final minutes of the NBA Finals 2006. The Mavs maintained a 13-point lead over the Heat with 6:34 left in the fourth quarter. An 18-4 salvo led by frontman Dwyane Wade (42 points, 13 rebounds) in the dying ticks of the game clock ensured the home team with a 98-96 victory at the American Airlines Arena in Southern Florida.

What could possibly go wrong with the Mavs?

1. The homecourt advantage is definitely AN advantage.
2. The four turnovers and four missed shots in the final canto kept the Mavs two wins away from their target four wins.
3. Stopping Dwyane Wade from downpouring crunch time baskets only gave the Mavs foul troubles.
4. Consistent sure-shooter Dirk Nowitski missed a game-tying freethrow with 3.4 seconds left. He scored 30, his most in the series, but his would-have-been 31st came short.
5. Erick Dampier was scoreless in the fourth quarter; his team won in its last 11 games when he scored in double digits. He had 14 today but his touch faded in the end-game.

These are the factors that in one way or another contributed to the Heat's on-its-own-turf-win.