SAN ANTONIO -- Kailangan nang magdesis-yon ni Tim Duncan kung gusto pa niyang makasama sina Tony Parker at Manu Ginobili.
Ang inaasahang pagreretiro ni Duncan - maaa-ring sa susunod na linggo, sa susunod na bakasyon o matapos ang kanilang susunod na NBA championship - ay hindi tatapos sa kanyang 15-year run para sa San Antonio Spurs.
At walang balak magpapigil ang San Antonio.
Dinomina ng Spurs ang Miami Heat sa limang laro para kunin ang kanilang pang-limang NBA championship na tinampukan ng 104-87 panalo sa Game 5 noong Linggo.
Sa pagkakaroon ng mahuhusay na players at matatag na liderato, hindi basta-basta mawawala ang Spurs.
“I think I said it many times. There was not one season since I’m in the NBA that I really didn’t truly believe that we could have won it,’’ sabi ni Ginobili. ‘’Every year we were up there. Sometimes we were No. 1 and we lost in the first round. Some other times we were se-venth and we had a shot at winning it.
“But playing with the teammates I’ve always played, coached by the guy that is coaching us, I always felt that we had a shot, and I truly never believed it was the last shot.’’
Naisip na ng 38-anyos na si Duncan na nalalapit na ang kanyang pagreretiro, ngunit hindi sinabi kung kailan ito mangyayari.
Si Ginobili ay magi-ging 37-anyos sa susunod na buwan at maaaring maglaro ng kanyang hu-ling taon.
Ngunit hindi naman makita kay Parker ang kabagalan, handa naman si NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard sa mas matinding trabaho at naipakita na nina coach Gregg Popovich at general manager R.C. Buford na kaya nilang maghanap ng magagaling na players.