March 29, 2011; Wizards secure 2nd road win of the season

The Washington Wizards avoided a mishap, which could well place them in the record books.

The team prevailed today against the Utah Jazz, on the road. It marked just their 2nd win away from the Verizon Center, to improve to 18-55 for the season. The worst away record for a regular season was set during the 1990-91 season by the Sacramento Kings, who had a 1-40 record away from their homecourt.

The Jazz on the other hand, fell to 36-39.

Rookie guard John Wall led the way for the Wizards with 28 points on 10/20 from the field, along with 6 rebounds and 7 assists. New recruit Jordan Crawford added 25 points, 5 boards and 4 steals.

Six Jazz players scored in double digits, led by CJ Miles with 17 points, followed by Al Jefferson with 15, Earl Watson with 13, Paul Millsap and Gordon Hayward both with 12 and Derrick Favors with 11. They played without the services of Andrei Kirilenko, Mehmet Okur and Devin Harris, who are suffering from injury.

Washington 100 (18-55)

Utah 95 (36-39)

Larry H. Miller Court at the EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah

WSH: John Wall- 28 pts, 6 rebs, 7 assts, 1 stl.

UTAH: CJ Miles- 17 pts, 4 rebs, 2 assts, 1 stl.

Now here are the other scores around the league!

Milwaukee 86 (29-44)

Charlotte 87 (31-42)

Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, North Carolina

MIL: Brandon Jennings- 26 pts, 9 rebs, 5 assts, 1 stl.

CHA: Stephen Jackson- 18 pts, 5 rebs, 1 asst.

Boston 100 (51-22)

Indiana 107 (33-42)

Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana

BOS: Paul Pierce- 23 pts, 6 rebs, 1 asst, 1 stl.

IND: Roy Hibbert- 26 pts, 4 rebs, 2 assts.

Orlando 106 (47-27)

New York 113 (36-38)

Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York

ORL: Dwight Howard- 29 pts, 18 rebs, 2 assts, 1 stl.

NYK: Carmelo Anthony- 39 pts, 10 rebs, 2 assts, 1 stl.

Philadelphia 97 (38-36)

Chicago 85 (53-20)

United Center, Chicago, Illinois

PHI: Thaddeus Young- 21 pts, 7 rebs, 2 assts, 2 stls.

CHI: Derrick Rose- 31 pts, 4 rebs, 5 assts, 3 stls.

Portland 100 (43-31)

San Antonio 92 (57-17)

AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas

POR: Andre Miller- 26 pts, 2 rebs, 2 assts, 1 stl.

SAS: George Hill- 27 pts, 2 rebs, 6 assts, 1 stl.

So there you have it! You guys have just been fed!

God bless you guys! Stay safe! Peace out! The Wizard was here...:)

Comments, questions and suggestions are highly appreciated! :)

March 28. 2011; The Final Four Forecast

Every basketball fan should or have followed the NCAA Tournament this year. It has been a roller-coaster ride since not all top-seeded teams made it all the way to the Final Four. Surprise teams have once again made headlines as they barged their way in to the big dance. Now is the time for us to discuss and talk about the Final Four teams this year.

EAST Region

Champion: Kentucky

Nickname: Wildcats

Seed: 4th
Road to the Final Four: def. Princeton in the Round of 64 (59-57), def. West Virginia in the Round of 32 (71-63), def. Ohio St. in the Round of 16 (62-60), def. North Carolina in the Regional Final (76-69).

Who to face: Connecticut

Player/s to watch: Brandon Knight (Fr), Josh Harrellson (Sr)

Verdict: After John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins left the University last season in pursuit of a professional career, nobody really expected this team to go all the way to the Final Four, and by beating UNC in the Regional Final. Expect more crucial shots from Knight down the stretch, just as what he delivered before. Close game to be expected against UConn.

WEST Region

Champion: Connecticut

Nickname: Huskies

Seed: 3rd

Road to the Final Four: def. Bucknell in the Round of 64 (81-52), def. Cincinnati in the Round of 32 (69-58), def. San Diego St. in the Round of 16 (74-67), and def. Arizona in the Regional Final (65-63).

Who to face: Kentucky

Player/s to watch: Kemba Walker (Jr), Jeremy Lamb (Fr)

Verdict: Kemba Walker, an alumnus of New York's famed Rice HS, has stepped up his game this season, averaging 29.2 points per game. He single-handedly brought back UConn to its glory days. He is doing Kevin Durant-type of a performance. His terrific knack for offense will make it hard for Kentucky's defense.

SOUTHWEST Region

Champion: Virginia Commonwealth

Nickname: Rams

Seed: 11th

Road to the Final Four: def. Georgetown in the Round of 64 (74-56), def. Purdue in the Round of 32 (94-76), def. Florida St. in the Round of 16 (72-71), and def. Kansas in the Regional Final (71-61).

Who to face: Butler

Player/s to watch: Jamie Skeen (Sr), Bradford Burgess (Jr), Brandon Rozzell (Sr), Joey Rodriguez (Sr)

Verdict: This squad has lots of seniors (4 out of 14), which, in a good way, led their team to Houston, earning a spot in the Final Four to face last year's runners-up from Butler. This squad is the epitomy of run-and-gun. They execute it as beautiful as possible. As seen during their win against Kansas, just when Kansas makes a run, they bounce back to score as quick as they can, credit it to coach Shaka Smart. Expect this team to rely on the backcourt savvy of PG Joey Rodriguez to lead them towards the National Championship perhaps.

SOUTHEAST Region

Champion: Butler

Nickname: Bulldogs

Seed: 8th

Road to the Final Four: def. Old Dominion in the Round of 64 (60-58), def. Pittsburgh in the Round of 32 (71-70), def. Wisconsin in the Round of 16 (61-54), and def. Florida in the Regional Final (74-71)

Who to face: VCU

Player/s to watch: Matt Howard (Sr), Shelvin Mack (Jr), Ronald Nored (Jr)

Verdict: Last year's runners-up are back on the hunt this year. Ronald Nored told the hundreds of Butler fans that "This year we're going to get the real call from President Obama and not the runner-up call", a bold statement to tell the least. Their performance would simply do the talking. With last year's champs Duke out of the running, is it prim and proper that Butler go on for their Cinderella story this season? No more Gordon Hayward this year though, but with a steady performance from Matt Howard, everything will be fine.

By the way, I pick Butler as the champions for this year, haha!

There you have it! You guys have just been fed!

God bless you guys! Stay safe! Peace out! The Wizard was here...:)

Comments, questions and suggestions are highly appreciated! :)

March 7, 2011 (Part 1); UST claims overall championship

It's a long time running for the University of Santo Tomas.

Not just being the oldest university in Asia (celebrating 400 years this year), they still proved to be a cornerstone in collegiate sports as they bagged this year's overall championship in the recently concluded University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) 73rd season.

The Tigers, emerged as champions in six events (Men's Volleyball, Women's Judo, Men's Lawn Tennis, Women's Taekwondo and Women's Baseball) with the equivalent of 15 points each, as runners-up in seven events (Women's Volleyball, Men's and Women's Football, Men's and Women's Chess, Women's Athletics, Men's Swimming, Men's Beach Volleyball and Men's Taekwondo) with the equivalent of 12 points each. They also finished 3rd in 5 events.

De La Salle University, who topped Women's Volleyball, Men's Taekwondo, Women's Chess and Women's Tennis settled for bridesmaids with 263 total points, while University of the Philippines finished third upon gathering 221 points, just two points ahead of fourth placer Far Eastern University with 219 points.

Ateneo de Manila University came in fifth with 206 points, followed by the University of the East with 148, Adamson University was in seventh with 114 points, while National University rounds up the competition with 80 points.

The UST Tiger Cubs completed a double for the Espana-based squad as they secured the junior's overall title, amasing a total of 128 points. This is the Tiger Cubs' 13th overall championship title, followed by the University of the East, with only one.

The Pages (UE's junior team) came in second with 113 points, followed by ADMU with 109, De La Salle-Zobel with 97, UP Integrated School with 48, FEU-FERN with 46, NU with 40 and Adamson with 28.

There you have it. The Wizard was here...:)

March 3, 2011 (Part 2); Hawks rip Bulls sans Smith

Without the services of injured forward Josh Smith, the Atlanta Hawks still managed their way to win against the red-hot Chicago Bulls via a 83-80 squeaker inside the Philips Arena in Hot-lanta.

Center Al Horford tied his career-high, scoring the game-high 31 points, including a slam dunk off a give-and-go pass from Jamal Crawford, with 29.4 seconds left in the game. They came from 19 points down to win the ballgame.

Crawford, along with Joe Johnson, tallied 12 points each for the Hawks, while Marvin Williams added 10 markers.

Luol Deng led the Bulls with 15 points along with 5 boards. Joakim Noah added 13 points, leading MVP candidate Derrick Rose had 12, while Carlos Boozer finished with 11.

Chicago 80 (41-18)

Atlanta 83 (37-24)

Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia

CHI: Luol Deng- 15 pts, 5 rebs, 3 assts, 2 stls, 1 blk.

ATL: Al Horford- 31 pts, 16 rebs, 2 assts, 2 stls.

Now here are the other scores from around the league!

San Antonio 109 (50-11)

Cleveland 99 (11-49)

Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio

SA: George Hill- 22 pts, 5 rebs, 5 assts.

CLE: Samardo Samuels- 23 pts, 10 rebs, 2 assts.

Golden State 106 (27-33)

Washington 102 (15-45)

Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.

GSW: Stephen Curry- 29 pts, 9 rebs, 5 assts, 1 stl.

WSH: Nick Young- 31 pts, 2 rebs, 1 asst, 1 stl.

Phoenix 103 (31-28)

Boston 115 (44-15)

TD Garden, Boston, Massachussetts

PHX: Aaron Brooks- 17 pts, 7 assts, 2 stls.

BOS: Kevin Garnett- 28 pts, 11 rebs, 3 assts.

Minnesota 116 (15-47)

Detroit 105 (22-41)

The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan

MIN: Kevin Love- 20 pts, 20 rebs, 3 assts, 1 stl, 2 blks.

DET: Austin Daye- 22 pts, 4 rebs, 3 assts, 1 blk.

New Orleans 88 (35-28)

New York 107 (31-28)

Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York

NOH: Jarrett Jack- 21 pts, 5 rebs, 2 assts.

NYK: Amar'e Stoudemire- 24 pts, 7 rebs, 4 assts.

Indiana 89 (27-33)

Oklahoma City 113 (37-22)

Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

IND: Tyler Hansbrough- 13 pts, 7 rebs.

OKC: Russell Westbrook- 21 pts, 3 rebs, 9 assts, 3 stls.

Charlotte 80 (26-34)

Denver 120 (36-26)

Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado

CHA: Matt Carroll- 19 pts, 2 rebs.

DEN: Wilson Chandler- 16 pts, 2 rebs, 2 assts, 3 stls, 1 blk.

Portland 107 (34-27)

Sacramento 102 (15-44)

Power Balance Pavilion, Sacramento, California

POR: Wesley Matthews- 21 pts, 3 rebs, 5 assts, 3 stls.

SAC: DeMarcus Cousins- 28 pts, 11 rebs, 4 assts, 1 blk.

Houston 103 (31-32)

LA Clippers 106 (22-40)

STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, California

HOU: Kyle Lowry- 24 pts, 4 rebs, 11 assts, 2 stls.

LAC: Eric Gordon- 24 pts, 1 reb, 1 asst, 1 stl.

So there you have it! The lowdown of today's games!

The Wizard was here...:)

March 3, 2011 (Part 1); Air21, San Miguel engage a seven-player trade

After PBA Commissioner Chito Salud denies their first try, San Miguel Beer went back to the drawing board to re-arrange a trade with Air21.

The original plan was to ship Joseph Yeo, Mick Pennisi, and Danny Seigle for last year's top three picks Nonoy Baclao, Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Rey Gueverra, but the commish denounced that proposal, reasoning that "it will only favor one team".

With some revisions, SMB removed Yeo and Pennisi from the equation and made it a seven-player deal which will send Seigle, along with Dorian Pena, Dondon Hontiveros and Paul Artadi to the Express in exchange for the 3 rookies abovementioned.

This trade is part of SMB's rebuilding plan. They went from being the oldest team to being the 3rd youngest team with that single trade.

This will be a win-win situation for both teams, since Air21 is in a need of a solid inside presence, which will be answered by Dorian Pena. A good back-up guard who will provide the spark off the bench in Paul Artadi, steady minutes from Danny Seigle and the clutch performance from the "Cebuano Hotshot" Dondon Hontiveros.

There you have it? What can you say about it? Let me hear you guys :)

The Wizard was here...:)

March 1, 2011; A Bittersweet E.N.D.

I could still remember myself arriving at the Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center on the 3rd of May last year, eager to start my internship, along with my co-interns. As I entered the laboratory, I observed the surroundings. Upon entering an unknown room, which would be the mess hall, I just said bluntly that, "This will be my second home for 10 months"... And so it was...

At first, I was tentative of my actions. But when I developed the sense of enjoyment in what I'm doing (routine work), I said to myself that being a MedTech is challenging, yet fun. After all the hard work in a full day of duty, at the end, you will still crack a smile because of the sense of fulfillment.

Now, ten months have passed, people came by, so as the experience. It's fun since now is the time to somehow rest after all the months of duties and schoolworks, but at the same time sad since the experience (internship) is over, and so is college life in a couple of weeks time.

All of us needs to move on. This is yet another hurdle that we are to pass, and another one is waiting, just a few meters ahead, whether it be the Board Exams (for those who will take the one in September), or the grueling world of Medicine (which majority, including yours truly, will undergo). As they say, when you're in the medical field, you will never stop studying, since a lot of advancements in technology are being done in this very moment alone.

It's high time for us to rest, to enjoy life, and to celebrate the fruit of our loins! Our hardship paid off! In one months' time, we will walk in red carpet, wearing our toga and headcap as we march towards to stage to receive our diploma signifying another success in life, and that is graduating college.

Congratulations to each and everyone of us! God bless to all who will take the Boards, and God bless to all the people who will go to Med school, whether it be UST, UERM, FEU, and the rest.

God loves us , remember that ;)

The Wizard was here...:)