Trivial pursuit and Spectation @ Dubs' Golden Homecoming (Photos)
By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT PhilBoxing.com Mon, 14 Oct 2019
San Francisco, California (October 5th):
Imagine one autumn evening in the City by the Bay, and you get a rare chance to see an NBA game.
”Enjoy the Warriors-Lakers game with the fellas,” your loved ones say.
A glance at the ATM balance, a swift visit to Ticketmaster, and Presto! - lower reserved tickets await.
A slam dunk, it seems.
However, another fight of the year candidate on the same night looms---Gennady “GGG” Golovkin takes on tough Sergey Derevyanchenko for the IBF middleweight title on PPV, a precursor to Canelo-GGG.
There will be more (boxing) fight of the year candidates (think Manny Pacquiao beating Keith Thurman, Errol Spence split decisioning Shawn Porter, Tyson Fury bloodily escaping Otto Wallin).
But there will never be another inaugural game at The Chase---LeBron James versus Steph Curry and company.
What to do.
A round of calls and texts ensued, but lifelong friends Rudy Teodosio and Raul Rodriguez opted to see the fight on DAZN, so they’re out of the running.
Warrior faithful Tom Macasaet and I ended up carrying the proverbial torch along with Dub Nation fans still reeling from the move across the San Francisco bay.
What a wonderful night of basketball it was.
And what came out of our basketball fact-finding mission/adventure?
Here is a top ten list, a trivial pursuit of information emanating from the inaugural game between the LA Lakers versus Golden State Warriors on October 5, 2019, Saturday @ The Chase Center, 1 Warriors Way, San Francisco, California.
1. Who were the first musical performers to open Chase Center?
· Metallica and San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, September 6, 2019
The concert was called “S&M (2)” — as in Symphony and Metallica, the sequel — and drew 16,000 fans from all over the world, some who paid upward of $9,000 a ticket on the secondary market for the privilege of being in the room.
2. Who sang the inaugural, spine-tingling rendition of The Star Spangled Banner?
Video:
(TMAC)
· Misa Malone (Beach Blanket Babylon fame)
A quote to basketball, boxing and Filipino fans@Philboxing.com:
“I've been blessed to sing the National Anthem for many sporting organizations and each time is a reminder that because of the sacrifices of men and women in both military and civil service I'm able to be a Performer and live the life that I live. Whenever I sing, I sing for them. It is my honor, my tribute, and my way of expressing sincere gratitude for their service. Hua!”
3. Who made the first basket at The Chase Center?
· Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers, October 5, 2019)
4. What GSW attempted the first shot and missed?
· Steph Curry (October 5, 2019 against LA Lakers)
5. What GSW made the very first basket?
· Steph Curry (October 5, 2019 against LA Lakers)
6. Who are the first Asian-American emcees in the NBA?
(TMAC)
· Crystal Lee and Franco Finn for the Golden State Warriors --- Dubs Nation
7. What is the name of the fan-friendly exhibit designed for everyone to experience the Golden State Warriors championship years?
· HOOPTOPIA.com
8. What are the dimensions of the Chase Center electronic scoreboard---the largest and brightest scoreboard in the NBA?
(TMAC)
· 9,699 square feet on its screen, and is considerably larger than the Sacramento Kings' Golden 1 Center, which has a 6,100-foot screen.
· 82 ft. 9 in. x 52 ft. 8 in.
· It is made up of 15 total displays
· The 74,877 LEDs and 24,959,232 pixels ensure pristine clarity
9. What is the total cost to build Chase Center?
(TMAC)
· A shade north of of $1.3 billion privately funded
· Plans for building the arena was announced May 22, 2012
· Groundbreaking ceremony was January 17, 2017
· Grand Opening ceremony was on September 6, 2019
10. Last but not the least, PhilBoxing.com is the first Filipino outfit to cover the inaugural basketball game between the visiting Los Angeles Lakers and the host Golden State Warriors.
Here’s TMAC and the first account of an NBA game by a proud Filipino at The Chase Center---the shrine built for Dub Nation.
Oh, yes, here are the game results per request of our esteemed editor-in-chief Mr. Dong Secuya @ Philboxing.com and PinoyGreats.com:
LeBron James, Anthony Davis and LA Lakers convincingly beat Steph Curry, Draymond Green and the Golden State Warriors 123-101 in a glorified exhibition game which was anxiously awaited by the near capacity 18,034 in attendance.
If there was a message to the Western conference division and the rest of the NBA it is this: ”Watch out for the Lakers’ James-Davis one-two punch. Just watch out!”
Steph Curry sounded circumspect to NBA.com:
“There has been so many concerts, events and stuff, so Chase Center has been buzzing for a while, but from a basketball perspective, it’s going to be our first chance to kind of’ enjoy the atmosphere, enjoy the new sights and get used to a game day in San Francisco. I’m excited about it. We’ll work out the kinks and October 24th, it’ll be on and poppin'."
(TMAC)