The Final Score: Every Chris Bosh big game is a revenge game

Even if some of us don’t want to admit it, every big moment for Chris Bosh feels like good karma. Parang gantihan lang. It’s like the guy deserves to hit a critical three, or complete a cross-over move like he’s 5’11” and not 6’11”, or make a bounce pass so timely yet so absurd for someone so tall, or scream until his tonsils fly out partly because some of us owe him those moments.

That critical three, like the one Bosh hit to give the Heat a two-point lead over the Spurs with 1:21 left in game two of the NBA Finals, was for every Bosh-really-really-really-looks-like-a-velociraptor meme created in his honor.

That deft crossover move, like the one Bosh made against a stunned Tim Duncan with 12.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter, was for every nasty although often funny tweet posted at his expense. Sorry pero many of the Bosh-related tweets are really hilarious. My apologies talaga bro.

That unexpected bounce pass, like the point-guard-caliber bounce pass Bosh issued for a wide-open Dwyane Wade with 11 seconds left, was for every Bosh-is-as-soft-as-your-favorite-pillow thought.

That terrifying shriek, like the one Bosh let out after watching Wade push the Heat up by five, was for the guy who created and for everyone who follows @EmoChrisBosh on Twitter.

Bosh is like the Spurs to some degree. Overlooked. Under-appreciated. Maligned probably because he’s misunderstood. Yet Bosh is a wondrous aberration. If LeBron James is a stretch 1-2-3-4-5, Bosh is a stretch 5-4-3-2-1. That aberration has allowed him to achieve what others could only fantasize: 10 years in the league, nine All-Star appearances, an Olympic gold medal with the “Redeem Team,” and two NBA championships.





Yet in the discourse surrounding the Heatles, Bosh is neither Lennon nor McCartney. Eh kung si LeBron nga hindi exempted from all the disparaging tweets, paano pa kaya si Bosh? Is he George or Ringo? Is he Buddy Zabala or Marcus Adoro? Don’t get me wrong. They’re all great. But sports fans live for rankings and in the ranking of important Heatles, Bosh is the only one with burdened with an @EmoChrisBosh Twitter parody account.

At the risk of sounding trite, there has to be a chunk of Bosh in all of us. There’s that flaw you either hide or flaunt, a flaw that fuels the jokes at home or the side comments in school or the funky nicknames at work. Sige na. I know you’re nodding with me. If Bosh is a true-to-life raptor, then we are bound to be something else too.

So while LeBron went back to being un-crampable LeBron (35 points, 10 rebounds, occasionally pounded the Spurs inside like he was Barkley, occasionally shot from the outside like he was Allan Freakin’ Caidic), while the Spurs cramped from the free-throw line (12/20), while Miami’s defense down the stretch moved along with the Spurs’ ball movement pass for pass, step for step, Bosh, in the most crucial moments of game two, benefited from the Heat’s own vaunted passing game (nice pass LeBron) and created a shot for a ready teammate (nice pass Chris.)

You know what. I raised my arms when Bosh fired that three-point shot with 1:21 left. Parang instinctive on my part. LeBron’s drive, which attracted both Duncan and Kawhi Leonard, set it up nicely. Bosh dutifully stayed in the corner, waited for the pass, received the kick-out, took the shot, nailed the three. Did you let out a primeval “Woooooaaah” when he made it? I did. Big shot eh. Feeling ko talaga I owed him that. - AMD, GMA News