Entertainment

Now Playing: NBA Conference Finals

A new wave of NBA stars trying to lead their franchises to the crown

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The NBA Conference Finals 2025 started on May 20 (May 21 in Southeast Asia) with four franchises trying to inch closer to winning the 2025 NBA championship.

And the beauty of these conference finals? All squads are being led by a relatively new batch of stars trying to carry their respective teams to the title.

There’s Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, New York’s Jalen Brunson, and Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton.

That’s right: the conference finals this year won’t feature the likes of LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic, and a lot more.

Although, we may see some of those names again, especially the younger ones, in the future, the theme of this year’s conference finals is loud and clear.

These aforementioned NBA stars will continue shaping the league in the years to come. Welcome to the new age.

Franchises-wise, each have an interesting story. But only two will advance further once both series concludes. Here’s a closer look at each matchup.

Western Conference Finals: (1) OKC Thunder vs. (6) Minnesota Timberwolves

This year’s Western Conference Finals features a showdown between two Magic Johnson Trophy favorites Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards.

The Thunder have shunned doubts of being too young and immature, sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round before narrowly beating the 2023 NBA champions Denver Nuggets in the conference semi-finals.

Gilgeous-Alexander also booted out his fellow NBA Most Valuable Player finalist Nikola Jokic in the process in that series.

It wasn’t that long ago when the “young” trio of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden upset the more experienced San Antonio Spurs in the West finals in 2012.

It’s a feat SGA’s batch is trying to replicate. Only this time, the Thunder definitely would want to win it all.

But interestingly, it’s the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have never won an NBA title as a franchise, that are in their second straight conference finals appearance.

After getting eliminated by the then Doncic-led Dallas Mavericks last season, the retooled Wolves are out to spoil the top-seeded Thunder’s dream of bringing the title to OKC.

OKC has never won the NBA title since moving to OKC, although the Seattle Supersonics won it all in 1979 (the Thunder inherited the Sonics’ history).

With Edwards leading the charge, the Wolves pulled off a gentleman’s sweep against the third-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the first round, before also winning over the depleted Golden State Warriors in five games the next round.

In a series where both teams and their stars are hungry for taking the next step, it is expected to be a showdown unlike no other.

Other key players to watch out for are Jaylen Williams and Chet Holmgren for the Thunder. Looking for X-Factors? Isaiah Hartenstein and Cason Wallace are names to watch out for.

Meanwhile for the Timberwolves, expect Julius Randle to bring his hulking type of play. Other key members of Minnesota are Donte Divencenzo, Naz Reid, and maybe even veteran Mike Conley.

Schedule:

  • Game 1: Timberwolves @ Thunder, May 20
  • Game 2: Timberwolves @ Thunder, May 22
  • Game 3: Thunder @ Timberwolves, May 24
  • Game 4: Thunder @ Timberwolves, May 26
  • Game 5: Timberwolves @ Thunder, May 28*
  • Game 6: Thunder @ Timberwolves, May 30*
  • Game 7: Timberwolves @ Thunder, June 1*

Play and win with your own pick of players 

Up the stakes and the rewards as you enjoy the intense matches of the NBA Conference Finals with Daily Fantasy.

After creating an account and signing up, players may immediately get going by fulfilling daily tasks to earn free-to-play virtual currency to test the water. They may also head on to the coin-based contest and win big easily with as low as Php 10 entry fee.

Contests, of course, depend on the actual NBA matchups on a particular day. And as it is currently the conference finals, there is only one game per day.

Build your team with up to 8 NBA players, selecting from no more than two teams.

You can stack your lineup with stars from a single franchise or mix talent across teams — it’s your call.

Just remember: no more than four (4) players per position.

The users with higher overall scores in contests will win rewards. There are various contest types, like the mega-prized “Winner Takes All”, where the top 1 fantasy scorer will walk away with more than PhP 100,000 with just a low entry fee of PhP 10.

Eastern Conference Finals: (3) New York Knicks vs. (4) Indiana Pacers

Meanwhile, in the East, the defending champions Boston Celtics have already been dethroned. There will be a new superpower by the end of the month.

And how fitting is it that two franchises who share playoffs histories together have once again crossed paths?

Like the Thunder and Wolves, the Indiana Pacers are trying to win their first NBA crown as well. Although the franchise has copped three ABA titles, they have never won in the NBA since joining the league.

Undoubtedly the surprise of these playoffs, the Pacers beat the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round in five, before dominating the East’s top seed, the Cleveland Cavaliers, in the second round.

The last time the Pacers made the conference finals was back in 2004, when they lost to the eventual champions Detroit Pistons. Reggie Miller was in the tail-end of his career that season.

Yep, the same star who tormented the Knicks back in the 1995 East semifinals when he pulled off a miraculous eight-point stretch in nine seconds.

The Pacers eventually held off the Knicks that year, 4-3, although failed to advance past the conference finals.

Standing in their way are the equally eager Knicks. New York last won a title in 1973, back when their entire roster hasn’t been born yet.

Just as hungry as all other conference finalists, the Knicks are being led by Brunson, his Villanova teammates Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges, and former Timberwolf Karl-Anthony Towns.

New York beat a competitive Pistons group in six in the first round, before dethroning the Celtics in the next series.

The Pacers-Knicks duel is an intriguing matchup and a first after several generations. The Pacers arguably have a deeper and more balanced roster, while the Knicks like to keep more conservative.

Only one thing is certain: there will be new kings in the East, and has never been this wide open in years.

Schedule: 

  • Game 1: Pacers @ Knicks, May 21
  • Game 2: Pacers @ Knicks, May 23
  • Game 3: Knicks @ Pacers, May 25
  • Game 4: Knicks @ Pacers, May 27
  • Game 5: Pacers @ Knicks, May 29*
  • Game 6: Knicks @ Pacers, May 31*
  • Game 7: Pacers @ Knicks, June 2*

Entertainment

Street Fighter special look: Blanka vs. Ryu

Jason Momoa, Andrew Koji’s characters face off

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Paramount Pictures has released a new special look for Street Fighter featuring Jason Momoa and Andrew Koji.

The short, minute-long clip shows the actors’ respective characters, Blanka and Ryu, in battle.

It opens with a chained prisoner struck by extreme electrical charges, transforming into the green-skinned, electricity-infused Blanka.

He unleashes a fierce roar. Meanwhile, Ryu drops into a fighting stance, but tells Blanka he does not want to fight him.

Forced to defend himself, Ryu then fires a signature Hadouken fireball towards Blanka, as the teaser cuts to the Street Fighter title card.

Street Fighter debuts in cinemas starting October 14. It is directed by Kitao Sakurai and stars an ensemble cast that includes Noah Centineo as Ken Masters, Callina Liang as Chun-Li, Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoai as Akuma, and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson as Balrog, among others.

The film is set in 1993 when estranged Street Fighters Ryu and Ken Masters are thrown into combat when Chun-Li recruits them for the next World Warrior Tournament.

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Entertainment

Now Playing: Spider-Man: Brand New Day

It’s a must watch for Spidey fans who want to see Peter Parker enter his sad boy era.

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The Holland-led Spider-Man trilogy is one of my favorite franchises in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Compared to other series with admittedly disjointed plots, all of Spidey’s storylines have a clear thread leading from one to the next. Since the fourth entries after trilogies are historically lackluster, I had a lot of trepidation heading into Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Thankfully, all those worries were unfounded. Brand New Day follows the same throughline as its predecessors, once again reinforcing Spider-Man as the strongest franchise that Marvel offers fans today.

A brand new day indeed

Coming from No Way Home, Brand New Day still has Peter Parker live a new life as a literal nobody where no one remembers who he is. So begins his existence as just Spider-Man with no friends or family.

When a new and unseen threat ravages through New York City, Spidey starts to wish that he still had friends to help him out, which leads him on an inevitable collision course with Ned and MJ. Ironically, it also leads him to other characters in the city, including the Hulk and the Punisher.

A cacophony of villains

When I first saw the trailer, I was worried about the astounding number of villains from the get-go. After all, one of the biggest problems in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, the most maligned entry in Spider-Man movie history, was the villains. Though far from the movie’s biggest problem, having too many bad guys without a solid plot led to its terrible reception. You can see why Brand New Day’s trailer raises some flags.

If you were thinking the same thing, Brand New Day does indeed have a cohesive plot. Everything flows neatly into one another. Each emotional beat of Peter feeling for his solitude mixes well with the action. In here, fight scenes feel like they have a purpose.

And there is a big bad here. It’s not just a collection of guys that Spidey has to go through. That big bad, who shall not be named at this time, doesn’t feel like just a placeholder for Peter’s internal struggles. They have a character of their own and their own struggles to solve. I wouldn’t say they’re at the level of Loki just yet, but they definitely have a better go at it than most of the MCU’s other villains.

Marvel’s New York City finally debuts

Despite being a prime location since 2012’s Avengers, New York City never really felt like the quintessential city for superheroes in the comics. In the movies, the city was just another city to be ravaged when a new villain comes along.

For the first time, Brand New Day makes the city feel like a lived-in world with a bunch of superheroes living in the neighborhood. And they do pop up.

Does Peter have a scientific problem that only a very specific hero can solve? It’s a good thing Bruce Banner is just around the corner. Does he need some muscle? Well, the Punisher is skulking around somewhere. Plus, there’s even a succinct reason why other superheroes can’t help out.

In this way, Brand New Day presents itself more like a comic book series than a one-off movie. It’s like following the story alone from issue to issue. It’s not the most perfect adaptation of the landmark city, but it goes a long way from just another ravaging of New York.

Peter’s sadness

Everything here hinges on Peter’s loneliness. Despite meeting a trove of characters across the cinematic universe, Peter yearns for time with his loved ones. But they’re gone.

Unlike the past three films where he always had someone to go home to, he has no one here. Tony Stark is dead. Aunt May is gone. Happy has gone to parts unknown. Ned and MJ have no memory of him. Brand New Day has a way of making you feel for his aches, whether the way he still keeps track of MJ or some physiological changes as a result of his predicament.

It also helps that the movie’s big bad has similar motivations. Both serve as perfect mirrors against each other, elevating both their stories effectively. And that’s all I’ll say about that.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a few steps behind from being a perfect Marvel movie, but it’s still an extremely strong part of the Spider-Man mythos. The trilogy, now quadrilogy, remains Marvel’s most consistent franchises to date. It’s an absolute must-watch.

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Entertainment

UNDERTALE: The Determination Symphony hits Makati in October

Determination arrives in October.

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For so small of a game, UNDERTALE quickly made it into the gaming world’s hall of fame. Despite being only a decade old, the small title has had a major influence for modern-day gamers because of its unique gameplay, its lo-fi art, and, of course, its catchy soundtrack. If you’re a fan of UNDERTALE’s soundtrack, a unique concert experience is headed your way.

On October 17, Film Concerts PH, in partnership with SOHO Live, is hosting UNDERTALE: The Determination Symphony at the Proscenium Theater in Rockwell, Makati.

The concert will be performed by the Filharmonika Orchestra and conducted by Thanapol Setabrahmana. Personally curated by creator Toby Fox and developed by Lambert Jackson with Materia Music, the concert experience showcases the game’s most recognizable tunes laid over gameplay footage playing simultaneously. Plus, for the world tour, the experience will have expanded scoring.

In the game, you play as a small child stuck in the mysterious Underground filled with interesting characters and monsters. Unlike traditional RPGs, UNDERTALE asks players to choose between building relationships and chasing after wins. It’s a unique experience that’s defined by whether you chose to make friends or fought your way to the top. It teaches players to value different ways to solve problems, all while showering them with its one-of-a-kind humor.

Pre-sales for the concert, exclusively for members of the Film Concerts PH community, start on August 4. Public sales, however, will start on August 11 via Ticketmelon.

SEE ALSO: The hunt begins: The Witcher in Concert hits Manila with surprises in tow

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