Entertainment

Now Playing: The 2025 NBA Finals

A compelling matchup worthy of everyone’s attention

Image from x/com/NBAJPN

Published

June 11, 2025

GadgetMatch

After several rounds of drama, exhilarating action, and unforgettable moments, the NBA is down to its thrilling conclusion: the 2025 NBA Finals.

This postseason, it’s the West top seed Oklahoma City (OKC) Thunder going up against the gritty Indiana Pacers from the East.

So far, it’s 1-1 in the best-of-7 series. The Pacers stole Game 1, 111-110 behind Tyrese Haliburton’s last-second heroics. The Thunder then bounced back with a more dominant Game 2 performance, 123-107, to level the tally

For many, the match up is a breath of fresh air. And the first two games quickly attested to that.

New stars

Over the last decade, franchises led by NBA superstars like Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jayson Tatum all won titles.

And while the newly-minted NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is arguably one of the newer “faces” of the league, it’s clear to pundits that the matchup offers something unpredictable — something fans have not seen in a long while.

You’ve got two relatively smaller-market teams duking it out for the crown; two franchises that have not had much success this century in the playoffs.

It is that same unpredictability that all the more makes the series compelling, interesting, and worthy of everyone’s attention.

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The Thunder are young, hungry, and raring to go. They have not won a title for the city (although the NBA considers the Thunder and Seattle Supersonics history as one).

The last time they made the finals was when Durant, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook were all budding stars before carving out their own superstar careers for different franchises.

With a league-best record and a capable group, all signs point to OKC finally bagging home the chip.

Underdogs on paper, the Pacers, meanwhile, have proved doubters wrong time and again. They took down more favored contenders, with the group performing like a well-oiled machine.

They’re coached by a veteran tactician in Rick Carlisle who knows success at the highest level as well.

The Pacers shook the Eastern Conference throughout these playoffs. They’re also excellent on the road, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise if they are able to pull one more major trick up their sleeves in these NBA Finals.

Road to the NBA Finals

Choosing the right players always has its benefits for franchises wanting to build championship-caliber teams.

There are many schools of thought for NBA teams when it comes to this. There’s building through the draft, trading for superstars, or signing key free agents during the offseason.

Arguably, both the Pacers and Thunder are a mix of all three. But for each category, it cannot be denied that both squads made shrewd decisions in picking key cogs to boost their championship bids.

It’s much like players on Daily Fantasy — a new way to enjoy live basketball. They must strategize well in picking a maximum of eight NBA players — a maximum of four per position — for their fantasy team.

Each pick is crucial in earning points. Captains and vice-captains also add 2X and 1.5X multipliers, so assigning these roles to bonafide stars will boost players’ chances of winning Daily Fantasy games.

(1) Oklahoma City Thunder

Regular season record: 68-14, league-best

Playoffs:

1st round: Def. (8) Memphis Grizzlies, 4-0
2nd round: Def. (4) Denver Nuggets, 4-3
Conference Finals: Def. (6) Minnesota Timberwolves, 4-1

(4) Indiana Pacers

Regular season record: 50-32, 4th in the East

Playoffs:

1st round: Def. (5) Milwaukee Bucks, 4-1
2nd round: Def. (1) Cleveland Cavaliers, 4-1
Conference Finals: Def. (3) New York Knicks, 4-2

NBA Finals schedule

Game 1: Pacers def. Thunder, 111-110 (June 5)
Game 2: Thunder def. Pacers, 123-107 (June 8)
Game 3: Thunder @ Pacers, June 11
Game 4: Thunder @ Pacers, June 13
Game 5: Pacers @ Thunder, June 16*
Game 6: Thunder @ Pacers, June 19*
Game 7: Pacers @ Thunder, June 22*

Regular season match-ups

December 26, 2024: Thunder def. Pacers, 120-114
March 29, 2025: Thunder def. Pacers, 132-111

Key players

When it comes down to the NBA Finals, head coaches usually trim down their rotations to about eight or nine players per contest.

As the finals have shown so far, key players get more minutes than they do in the regular season. It’s about taking charge in high-pressure situations.

And coaches have a hand in ensuring the decisions they make affect the overall performance of the team positively.

For instance, in Game 1, the Pacers’ decision to play Obi Toppin late led to him draining five three-pointers and helping Indiana’s late comeback to steal the series opener.

But in Game 2, the strength of OKC’s bench, behind Alex Caruso and Aaron Wiggins who combined for 38 points, proved vital for the Thunder’s toppling of the Pacers to level the series.

In a way, this is exactly how you rule Daily Fantasy games on a regular basis. It’s about making the most out of the cards you’re dealt with.

Choose the best combination of eight players, taking into account their positions, what they can do on the floor, and how well they fill the stat sheets. You’re the coach, they’re the group, and together, you’ll make magic on the virtual hardcourt.

OKC Thunder

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Playoff stats: 29.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 1.6 steals, 9.2 free throw attempts, 2.3 turnovers

Jalen Williams

Playoff stats: 20.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.6 steals

OKC’s success in the playoffs so far largely had to do with its all-star duo of SGA and Jalen Williams. Everyone knows what the NBA’s latest MVP is capable of doing, but Williams played bigger when the stakes were higher.

Interestingly, SGA also dropped 33 and 45 points in OKC’s two regular season meetings against Indiana. He has a way of picking apart defenses to create for himself and his team. This will be key for OKC’s offense throughout these finals.

Indiana Pacers

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Tyrese Haliburton

Playoff stats: 18.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 9.8 assists, 1.1 steals

Pascal Siakam

Playoff stats: 21.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.1 steals, 53.7% FGs, 46.3% 3-PT FGs

Meanwhile, Indiana’s own all-star pairing of Haliburton and Siakam likewise gave the Pacers hope. Not the favorites to win it all, let alone to prevail in the East, the two orchestrated their team’s success as they took down their more favored counterparts and earn a spot in the last dance.

Indiana will go as far as where these two take them, against a team with the best defensive rating all season long.

X-Factors

OKC Thunder

Chet Holmgren

Playoff stats: 16.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.0 blocks

Alex Caruso

Playoff stats: 8.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals

What’s interesting is that Holmgren has not played in the two regular season meetings against the Pacers. Now that he’s fully healthy and part of the mix, his tall frame and all-around offensive capabilities will command attention.

Caruso, meanwhile, is known to make the most out of his minutes on the floor. He takes care of business defensively, whether his hustle reflects on the stat sheet or not.

Indiana Pacers

Myles Turner

Playoff stats: 15.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.3 blocks

Andrew Nembhard

Playoff stats: 12.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.6 steals, 48.3% 3-PT FGs

Aaron Nesmith

Playoff stats: 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 50% 3-PT FGs

Now a veteran big, Turner will be needed against an intimidating OKC frontline. He will likely be matched against Isaiah Hartenstein, who is among OKC’s top rebounders. Controlling the glass and ensuring the Pacers manage the possessions may end up as one of the difference-makers in the series.

Moreover, the starting wing duo of Nembhard and Nesmith will let Indiana throw different bodies at SGA. Both two-way threats, the wingmen should be able to help the team offensively by stretching the floor. On the other side of the court, they should tire out OKC’s main playmakers, starting with their superstar.

Play and win with your own pick of players

Up the stakes and the rewards as you enjoy the intense matches of the NBA 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.

A hot contest that is available on Daily Fantasy now is Shop All You Can at the NBA Store. Just be the highest fantasy point earner for special-tagged contests from all NBA Finals matches to secure this shopping spree.

The mechanics are available here: https://www.playdailyfantasy.com/event/shopallyoucan. Download the Daily Fantasy app here to get started.

Entertainment

Now Playing: The Devil Wears Prada 2 — Still sharp, still human

Growth over gloss

Published

April 30, 2026

Rodneil Quiteles

All images are screenshots from the Final Trailer of The Devil Wears Prada 2

I didn’t watch The Devil Wears Prada when it first came out in 2006.

I came to it a few years later, at a time when I was still figuring things out—career, identity, even the kind of movies I allowed myself to enjoy. It wasn’t something I would’ve picked on my own back then.

At the time, it felt like a story about love versus career. I was about to graduate with a Mass Communication degree, unsure of where I was headed, trying to make sense of both ambition and connection.

Watching it again recently, it lands differently.

It’s less about choosing between two things—and more about understanding who you are, and having the courage to follow that honestly.

That’s what makes The Devil Wears Prada 2 feel so deliberate. It doesn’t just revisit the past. It builds on it.

Growth over spectacle

There’s a version of this sequel that could’ve leaned entirely on nostalgia. Bigger moments. Sharper outfits. A louder version of what already worked.

This isn’t that.

The film is grander, but in ways that feel earned. It embraces the 20-year gap instead of ignoring it, placing its characters exactly where you’d expect them to be—not in status, but in spirit.

Miranda Priestly still commands every room, but no longer feels as unassailable as she once did.

Andy Sachs carries experience. She’s no longer the green assistant, but an accomplished journalist whose relationship with Miranda still shapes her decisions.

Emily Charlton feels fully realized—no longer orbiting power, but owning her place within it.

And Nigel remains a pillar. Dependable to both Miranda and Andy, an almost invisible hand that guides more than it claims.

None of them feel stuck in who they were. That’s the point.

What it says about the work

This is where the film hit me the hardest.

Working in tech media, I constantly see the push toward generative AI—toward making everything faster, more efficient, more scalable. A lot of it is impressive. Some of it is genuinely useful.

But some of it is also unsettling.

We’re at a point where generative visuals can fool people. Where audio—music even—can sound convincing enough that you stop questioning where it came from. That’s the part that lingers.

Because music, for me, is personal. It’s how I process things. And realizing that something artificial can mimic that emotional weight—even if imperfectly—feels dangerous in a quieter, harder-to-define way.

This film doesn’t shout about AI. It doesn’t need to. Instead, it argues for something more fundamental.

That the human touch still matters.

That taste, judgment, and intention aren’t things you can replicate at scale.

That the pain of heartbreak, the joy of victory, and the complicated weight of living—these are things that come from experience. And experience leaves a mark. We leave a part of ourselves in everything we create, whether we mean to or not.

That’s something I don’t think can ever be fully replicated.

AI is a helpful tool. But it should not be relied upon for things that require a piece of our soul.

Direction that understands power

A lot of that message lands because of how The Devil Wears Prada 2 is directed.

Blocking and staging do most of the talking. Who stands where, who moves first, who stays still—these choices define power before any dialogue kicks in.

The camera follows emotion closely. Moments of uncertainty feel slightly unsteady. Scenes of control are composed and precise.

It’s not trying to impress you. It knows exactly what it’s doing.

Sound that knows its place

The sound design follows that same discipline.

Nothing competes. Nothing distracts.

Every element feels intentional–supporting the scene instead of demanding attention. It’s cohesive in a way that’s easy to overlook, but once you notice it, you realize how much it’s doing.

Dialogue that winks, but doesn’t linger

There are a few “wink” moments–lines that echo the original, callbacks that longtime fans will catch instantly.

But the film shows restraint.

It never lets those moments take over. They’re accents, not the foundation.

Nostalgia used with purpose

That restraint carries through how the film handles nostalgia as a whole.

It doesn’t rely on it. It uses it.

Parallels to the original are there, but they exist to highlight change—not to recreate what once worked.

It’s less about remembering.More about understanding what time has done.

Why it works now

What makes The Devil Wears Prada 2 land isn’t just that it’s well-made.

It’s that it feels necessary.

In a world that keeps pushing toward speed, output, and efficiency, this film slows things down just enough to remind you what actually matters.

The intention behind every line, every scene feels sharp—like it could only come from people who care. Who care about the craft. Who care about making something that connects.

It might sound like a tired argument. But it’s still true.

The breadth and depth of humans who care is irreplaceable.

Entertainment

WATCH: Teaser trailer for DC Studios’ Clayface

DCU’s standalone horror thriller

Published

April 25, 2026

GadgetMatch

Courtesy: Warner Bros. Studios

The teaser trailer for DC Studio’s horror thriller, Clayface, has just been released. It is the studio’s first-ever foray into the genre, with the film co-written by Mike Flanagan and directed by James Watkins.

The R-rated standalone film is still part of the new James Gunn DC Universe, taking place within the main DCU timeline before the events of the 2025 Superman.

It stars Tom Rhys Harries as the titular Gotham City villain. He is joined by Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan, Nancy Carroll, and Joshua James.

The film opens internationally on October 21 and in North America on October 23.

Here’s a quick look at the film’s teaser trailer:

Clayface explores one man’s horrifying descent from rising Hollywood star to revenge-filled monster.

The story revolves around the loss of one’s identity and humanity, corrosive love, and dark underbelly of scientific ambition.

Joining Watkins in his creative team are director of photography Rob Hardy, production designer James Price, editor Jon Harris, visual effects supervisor Angus Bickerton, costume designer Keith Madden, and casting director Lucy Bevan.

In addition, here’s a quick look at the movie’s teaser poster:

Entertainment

DC’s Clayface teaser shows off a horror-filled superhero movie

Our first taste of James Gunn’s Gotham City will be frightening.

Published

April 23, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Last year, James Gunn’s Superman sparked an impressive wave of excitement for the new DC Universe. Though this year’s spotlight is on Supergirl, Clayface is also getting an eponymous film, giving us our first taste of Gotham City in this bustling universe.

There’s been a lot of mystery surrounding this film. For one, Gotham City’s DCU debut is based on, arguably, a secondary villain, rather than any member of the Bat-Family. Secondly, Gunn has confirmed that the movie will heavily lean towards the horror genre, a feat others have tried but often failed.

Today, DC Studios has released the first teaser trailer for Clayface. And no, Gunn wasn’t kidding when he said this is going to be a horror film.

Tom Rhys Harries plays Matt Hagen, a rising movie star suddenly scarred by a violent attack. Desperate to resurrect his career, he resorts to a scientific experiment that turns his skin into moldable clay.

As the teaser hints, the film will not shy away from body horror, including shots of Hagen’s disfigured face either from the attack or from the clay. It’s a big departure from the more traditional style of Superman or Supergirl. But it’s a gamble that might pay off for a universe as young as the DCU.

It’s also apropos that the DCU’s first horror film is getting a horror-themed premiere. Clayface will premiere in cinemas on October 23, 2026.