AP PHOTOS: Devout in the Philippines mark Holy Week with flagellations, processions and passion play

KALAYAAN, Philippines (AP) — Dozens of penitents whip their backs to atone for their sins during Good Friday rites in the the southern Philippine town of Kalayaan, as Christians across this largely Catholic country commemorate the passion and sufferings of Jesus.

Residents watch as costumed men parade the streets and flagellate themselves using whips made of wood. The ritual is frowned upon by the church.

Luis Bautista, 27, says he does this so he can experience the hardships of Christ and also pray for the safety of his family.

Penitent Jayve Lorenzo, who has been participating in flagellation rituals for 19 years, says he offers his vow during Holy Week because of family problems and to pray for good health.

The penitents, mostly residents, walk under the scorching heat and stop at stations to pray or take a water break. They can be seen dancing as they whip their backs shortly after prayers.

Baby Ragaza leaves boiled eggs and water in front of her house for the penitents to take a break. She does this in memory of her late husband and to bring herself closer to God. “I am just happy to help and ease their hardships.” she says.

After going around town, the penitents hike to a small waterfall to wash the blood from their backs.

Meanwhile, residents of nearby Paete, a town of 25,000 people, pushed life-size images of Christ and saints during an evening procession around small roads on Holy Wednesday. The following day, a play was performed at the town plaza under the scorching summer heat as part of Maundy Thursday rites.

Rowell Ybanez, parish pastoral council moderator of Saint James the Apostle, said the Lenten rituals in their town have been carried on for hundreds of year, attracting tourists to a town known for wood carvings.

Ybanez said Paete is one of the most colorful towns in the Philippines “because art and faith are intertwined in our town.”

Various Lenten rituals are practiced all over the Philippines. Some people even hang themselves from a cross, to strengthen their faith in God.

A penitent dives into water after washing his back that was bloodied with self flagellation on Good Friday in Kalayaan town, Laguna province, Philippines, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Penitents wash their bloodied backs after flagellating themselves on Good Friday in Kalayaan town, Laguna province, Philippines, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Penitents wash their bloodied backs after flagellating themselves on Good Friday in Kalayaan town, Laguna province, Philippines, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Baby Ragaza distributes boiled eggs and drinking water for penitents who flagellate themselves as part of Holy Week rituals on Good Friday in Kalayaan town, Laguna province, Philippines, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

People watch as penitents flagellate themselves on Good Friday in Kalayaan town, Laguna province, Philippines, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A penitent flagellates himself on Good Friday in Kalayaan town, Laguna province, Philippines, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Penitents walk around town flagellating themselves on Good Friday in Kalayaan town, Laguna province, Philippines, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Residents watch as penitents flagellate themselves on Good Friday in Kalayaan town, Laguna province, Philippines, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A penitents flagellates himself on Good Friday in Kalayaan town, Laguna province, Philippines, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Hooded penitents flagellate themselves on Good Friday in Kalayaan town, Laguna province, Philippines, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A man cuts the back of a penitent using a blade as he prepares to flagellate himself on Good Friday in Kalayaan town, Laguna province, Philippines, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

People watch a reenactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Maundy Thursday in Paete town, Laguna province, Philippines, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

People watch a reenactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ to mark Maundy Thursday April 17, 2025 in Paete town, Laguna province, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Performer reenact the crucifixion of Jesus Christ to mark Maundy Thursday in Paete town, Laguna province, Philippines, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A performer reenacts the crucifixion of Jesus Christ to mark Maundy Thursday in Paete town, Laguna province, Philippines, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A performer acting as Jesus Christ carries the wooden cross as they reenact his passion and sufferings as part of their lenten practice to mark Maundy Thursday April 17, 2025 in Paete town, Laguna province, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A performer looks out from the stage as they reenact the passion and suffering of Jesus Christ as part of their lenten practice to mark Maundy Thursday, April 17, 2025 in Paete town, Laguna province, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Performers dressed as Roman soldiers walk around town as they reenact the passion and sufferings of Jesus Christ to mark Maundy Thursday April 17, 2025 in Paete town, Laguna province, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Performers dressed as Roman soldiers push a man playing the role of Barabbas during a reenactment of the passion and sufferings of Jesus Christ on Maundy Thursday in Paete town, Laguna province, Philippines, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Performers dressed as Roman soldiers walk around town as they reenact the passion and sufferings of Jesus Christ to mark Maundy Thursday April 17, 2025 in Paete town, Laguna province, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A performer dressed as a Roman soldier prepares his mask during a reenactment of the passion and sufferings of Jesus Christ on Maundy Thursday in Paete town, Laguna province, Philippines, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Statues depicting the life and sufferings of Jesus Christ and other saints are pushed by devotees around town to mark Holy Wednesday in Paete, Laguna province, Philippines, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A Catholic priest performs a ritual as part of lenten practice to mark Holy Wednesday in Paete, Laguna province, Philippines, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A band plays at the start of an evening procession of statues depicting the life and sufferings of Jesus Christ as part of their lenten practice to mark Holy Wednesday in Paete, Laguna province, Philippines, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Statues depicting the life and sufferings of Jesus Christ and other saints are pushed by devotees around town during an evening procession as part of their lenten practice to mark Holy Wednesday in Paete, Laguna province, Philippines, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Devotees hold an evening procession with statues depicting the life and sufferings of Jesus Christ as part of their lenten practice to mark Holy Wednesday in Paete, Laguna province, Philippines, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

CHICAGO (AP) — The ping-pong balls have spoken: Cooper Flagg might be headed to Dallas to start his NBA career.

And a fan base that lost Luka Doncic this season might have a new star to cheer for.

The Mavericks won the NBA draft lottery on Monday night, giving them the No. 1 pick in next month’s draft — and the first chance to take Flagg, the freshman who led Duke to the Final Four in his lone college season and the consensus player of the year.

A screaming Mark Cuban called new Mavericks governor Patrick Dumond — who was at his daughter's track meet — with the news, and just like that, there's something to root for in Dallas again after a tumultuous few months where Doncic got traded and the Mavs missed the playoffs.

“I am so happy for Mavericks fans,” Dallas CEO Rick Welts said, clutching the envelope with the No. 1 emblazoned on it. “I only got to Dallas January 1st this year. February 1st, we broke the internet. I am just amazed at the depth of emotion and connection that the fan base has with this team. And what happened today, I can’t imagine a better day for Mavs fans. It's going to really be something special. I can’t wait to get back to Dallas.”

Dallas bucked huge odds to get it done, with only a 1.8% chance — “a 1.8% chance? Are you kidding me?” Welts said — to win the lottery coming into Monday. A Mavs team that went to the NBA Finals last season, then scorned its fans by trading away Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, left the lottery with the biggest prize.

“I didn’t try to think about it too much,” Flagg said on the broadcast of the lottery about what it’ll likely mean for his immediate future. “It was out of my control.”

If Miami had lost in the play-in tournament, the Heat would have had the odds that the Mavericks ended up having — so if the ping-pong balls bounced the same way, they would have had the No. 1 pick.

“I mean come on man,” Heat forward Kevin Love posted on social media when the lottery winner was announced, presumably his reaction to seeing a No. 1 pick that could have been Miami's go elsewhere.

Instead, it was Dallas' night. And another Texas team nearly stole the show.

San Antonio, with back-to-back rookies of the year in Victor Wembanyama — the prize of the 2023 lottery — and Stephon Castle, will pick second. Philadelphia will pick third, and Charlotte will pick fourth.

“When you jump into the top four again, you put yourself as an organization in a place to make a really big acquisition with a really good player," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. "And that’s what we’re going to look forward to doing.”

Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists while leading Duke to the Final Four in his lone college season. He shot 48% from the field, 39% from 3-point range, 84% from the foul line and was The Associated Press’ national player of the year.

And he’s had success against NBA players already. Last summer, when the U.S. Olympic team was holding its training camp in Las Vegas in advance of the Paris Games — where the Americans won gold yet again — Flagg was part of the select team brought in for scrimmages against the Olympians.

Flagg, who was 17 years old at the time, more than held his own in those workouts.

“I don’t know who we’re going to take, but should we take him, I think his resume is pretty strong,” Welts said. “Every time he’s put in a situation that everyone wondered if he could succeed, he's succeeded and then some.”

Utah will pick fifth, Washington sixth, New Orleans seventh, Brooklyn eighth, Toronto ninth, Houston 10th, Portland 11th, Chicago 12th, Atlanta 13th and San Antonio 14th.

There were 13 teams with a chance to win the No. 1 pick. Utah, Washington and Charlotte had the best odds at 14% each. The Jazz and Wizards got jumped, with San Antonio and Philadelphia moving into the top four.

For the Jazz, it was the extension of a trend they didn’t want to see continue — in this format, the team that finished the season with the worst record hasn’t won the lottery. Utah was a league-worst 17-65 this season and got the fifth pick, its worst possible lottery outcome.

There were 14 lottery spots but only 13 teams with a chance to win the No. 1 pick because Atlanta’s odds conveyed to San Antonio, essentially meaning the Spurs were in the lottery twice — with a 6% chance of winning on their own, and a 0.7% chance to win with the Hawks’ combinations of ping-pong balls.

This system has been in place since 2019, the latest effort to discourage tanking — the practice where teams aren’t overly interested in winning regular-season games with hopes instead of bettering their chances of winning the No. 1 draft pick.

The teams with the three worst records all have the same chance — 14% — of winning the No. 1 pick, and odds for the remaining lottery teams are gradually reduced from there.

The lottery only sets the order for the first 14 picks in the draft. The rest of the first round — picks 15-30 — was determined by regular-season finish, though some of these picks have been traded many times over the years.

The rest of the first-round order, for now: Oklahoma City at No. 15, Orlando No. 16, Minnesota No. 17, Washington No. 18, Brooklyn No. 19 and Miami No. 20.

From there, the final 10 picks in the first round are owned by Utah (21), Atlanta (22), Indiana (23), Oklahoma City (24), Orlando (25), Brooklyn (26 and 27), Boston (28), Phoenix (29) and the Los Angeles Clippers (30).

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

Dallas Mavericks' Rolando Blackman celebrates after NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum announced that the Mavericks won the first pick in the NBA basketball draft lottery in Chicago, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Dallas Mavericks' Rolando Blackman, left, and NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum, right, pose for photos after Tatum announced that the Mavericks had won the first pick in the NBA basketball draft lottery in Chicago, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Duke's Kon Knueppel, left, and Cooper Flagg, right, smile at the NBA basketball draft lottery in Chicago, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum announces that the Dallas Mavericks won the first pick in the NBA basketball draft lottery in Chicago, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

FILE - Duke's Cooper Flagg (2) looks back after dunking the ball as Houston's Terrance Arceneaux (23), Mylik Wilson (8) and Milos Uzan (7) watch during the first half in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)