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Year in Review 2014: The top 10 basketball moments

Gabe Norwood dunks over Luis Scola. (Photo by FIBA.com)

2014 was a very eventful year for Filipino basketball fans. San Mig Coffee completed a rare PBA grand slam, Gilas Pilipinas competed in the FIBA World Cup, the NBA Playoffs produced several breathtaking moments, the Spurs made team basketball cool again, and the UAAP Final Four had a couple of down-the-wire finishes. Here’s our list of the top 10 basketball game moments of 2014.


10. Paul George breaks his leg in Team USA scrimmage. This was the year that Indiana Pacers forward Paul George was supposed to make a name for himself in international competition. But sadly, he never got a chance to show his wares on a global stage after his lower leg snapped in two in a freak accident during a Team USA scrimmage in Las Vegas. The bizarre injury, which happened after his leg hit the basket stanchion at an awkward angle, left his teammates shocked and in tears.

Indiana Pacers' Paul George is taken off the court after he was injured during the USA Basketball Showcase game Friday, Aug. 1, 2014, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Indiana Pacers' Paul George is taken off the court after he was injured during the USA Basketball Showcase game Friday, Aug. 1, 2014, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

 

9. The Spurs shoot the lights out in the first half of Game 3 of the 2014 NBA Finals. The two-time defending champion Miami Heat were feeling pretty good after heading home for Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals with a 1-1 series split. But the Spurs couldn’t miss start out Game 3, shooting a phenomenal 76% in the first half en route to a 111-92 victory that would set the tone for the rest of the series as San Antonio would go on to win its fifth NBA crown in five games.



8. James Yap drops 30 on Barangay Ginebra in Game 7 of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinal duel. They don’t call him Big Game James for nothing. With his team locked in a  do-or-die Game 7 against crowd favorite Barangay Ginebra, James Yap rose to the occasion with a game-high 30 points, including 24 in the first half, as the Super Coffee Mixers cruised to a 110-87 win. San Mig would go on to capture the Philippine Cup title.

James Yap of San Mig Super Coffee shoots over Chris Ellis of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel during Game 7 of the Semifinals of the 2014 PLDT MyDsl PBA Philippine Cup held at Smart Araneta in Quezon City on 12 February 2014. San Mig won 110-87. (Czeasar Dancel/NPPA Images)
James Yap of San Mig Super Coffee shoots over Chris Ellis of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel during Game 7 of the Semifinals of the 2014 PLDT MyDsl PBA Philippine Cup held at Smart Araneta in Quezon City on 12 February 2014. San Mig won 110-87. (Czeasar Dancel/NPPA Images)

 

 

7. Mapua and EAC engage in a free-for-all. For about a week, the local NCAA league got some exposure from international sports websites, but for all the wrong reasons. In a video that quickly went viral, the Mapua Cardinals and Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals went at it with just 28.5 seconds left in their no-bearing game after EAC’s John Tayongtong elbowed Mapua’s CJ Isit. Benches soon emptied, and the league announced suspensions for 18 players and three referees.



6. Alfred Aroga snuffs out Ateneo’s UAAP hopes. Going back to 2013, the NU Bulldogs were the only team that the Ateneo Blue Eagles just couldn’t beat. They came awfully close in the second game of their Final Four clash, only to have NU center Alfred Aroga deny Kiefer Ravena’s last-second gasp. It pretty much summed up Ateneo’s struggles against NU the whole season.



5. Damian Lillard’s catch-and-shoot triple with 0.9 of a second left sends the Portland Trailblazers into the second round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs. Houston’s Chandler Parsons appeared to have set up a Game 7 between the Rockets and the Trail Blazers after his putback gave his team a two-point lead with 0.9 of a second left in Game 6. But Lillard had just enough time to release a breath-taking game-winner and give the Blazers a 99-98 win and their first playoff series win in 14 years.



4. LeBron James wilts under the heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The AT&T Center’s air conditioning system conked out during Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the defending champion Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs. No player was affected more by the stifling heat than LeBron James, who cramped up and had to be carried off the court by his teammates. With LeBron at less than 100%, the Spurs rallied from an early fourth-quarter deficit and pulled away for a 110-95 victory.

Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) is carried to the bench after injuring himself against the San Antonio Spurs during the second half in Game 1 of the NBA basketball finals on Thursday, June 5, 2014 in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) is carried to the bench after injuring himself against the San Antonio Spurs during the second half in Game 1 of the NBA basketball finals on Thursday, June 5, 2014 in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

 

3. Yeng Guiao leads Rain or Shine to a walk out, Salud gives out record fine. The San Mig Super Coffee Mixers’ six-game conquest of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the PBA Philippine Cup finals was marred by the E-Painters’ second-quarter walkout in Game 6. Incensed by what he felt was a bum call on JR Quinahan early in the second quarter, RoS coach Yeng Guiao ordered his troops to head for the locker room. The E-Painters eventually came back and even trimmed a 13-point deficit to six, but the Mixers held on to capture the title. The following day PBA Commissioner Chito Salud slapped a record fine of PhP 2 million on the team.



2. Mac Belo hits the biggest buzzer-beater of the year. With a ticket to the UAAP Finals at stake, the FEU Tamaraws and De La Salle Green Archers played an epic Final Four game that went down the wire. And with a chance to send his team to the finals, FEU star Mac Belo kept asking for the ball. When he finally got it, he knew what to do.



1. Gabe Norwood unleashes two nasty slams against Argentina. Gilas forward Gabe Norwood gave two Argentinian players something to remember him by with a couple of rim-rattling highlight moves.The first was a fast break dunk over NBA veteran Luis Scola early in the first half. As the commentator so aptly put it, “Smile for the poster, Luis.” Then in the second half Norwood faked a hand-off to Andray Blatche before driving to the hoops for a left-handed flush over Marcos Mata.