Jump Thru Hoops Debates: Will Giannis Leave or Stay?

Aaron Atayde asked, "Do we have a 'Deeracle' happening here?"

Of course, that's a reference to the San Miguel Beermen's "beeracle" after coming back from a 0-3 series deficit AND WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP against the Alaska Aces in the 2016 Philippine Cup Finals of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). 

The Milwaukee Bucks, supposedly the best team in the National Basketball Association (NBA) this season, have just staved off elimination after a 118-115 overtime win against the Miami Heat in Game Four of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. What made the win by the Bucks more impressive was that they did it without Giannis Anteteokounmpo who aggravated his already sprained ankle with 10 minutes to go in the first half, and with Khris Middleton finally showing that he could be Milwaukee's "number two" guy. However, Jinno Rufino believes as well as many pundits believe: "It's gonna be a gentleman's sweep. It's gonna be over whether Giannis plays (in Game Five) or not"

Jump Thru Hoops aired its fourth episode Tuesday night with Aaron Atayde and Jinno Rufino returning for another discussion about anything that is basketball. Following their success from last week's episode, the duo invited another basketball fan to join the discussion and Tuesday's guest happened to be third-ranked player in pinoyliga.com statistics, Rambo Ortega who is a fan of the Boston Celtics. 

The final stretch of the discussion revolved around one question from Jinno Rufino: What will happen to Giannis (after this series)? Will he leave Milwaukee or stay?

Rambo Ortega feels "He's (Antetokounmpo) gonna stay. He's trying to stamp his legacy on that path. He's trying to be that star who sticks with the team," Atayde offered his thoughts: "I think Giannis is starting to realize that the organization itself in Milwaukee might not be enough to win a championship" while using LeBron James' decision to leave for Miami in 2010 that LeBron James realized that he needed to go to a place where there was a winning mentality that was already instilled. "I think Miami is a good choice" he added

Rufino, meanwhile, took a different take of things although he admitted that the "Antetokounmpo to Golden State" is intriguing due to the package that Golden State could offer to get another blockbuster deal done. Rufino explained the physiological effects of playing inside the bubble in Orlando has to players and not just Antetokounmpo and the Bucks. "The Bucks were the number one (in the NBA) before the bubble. They were dominant. Sure, they didn't look that good inside the bubble. When the playoff started, they looked even worse.  Then, there's the whole thing happening in the conference semifinal. They're not all 'there' mentally" while also pointing out that it was the Bucks who were the first team to boycott a game last month that led to the league postponing playoff games for two days. Rufino concluded that "The Bucks are just fine. They don't need to do anything. If I were them, I'll do whatever it takes to keep Giannis there. Maybe, find another piece. They don't need another superstar"

Whether it's South Beach, Hollywood, or San Francisco, Aaron Atayde had just one thing to say "I just don't think that he will be in Milwaukee come next season,"

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