Back in the glorious days of the Jaworski era, the common "tao" are seen incensed with fanaticism only explainable with a compelling history of resiliency, of utter disregard to physical limit engulfed by the fighting spirit well-associated to legendary action heroes. The histrionics it presented in a way defined the social perspective of the time—the upper class that held proprieties to the letter are disgusted with them, but the toiling masses had seen in them the reflection of their own struggle. And by glorious, I didn't mean the influx of championship hardwares the way of the people's team, rather, the grit amid the glitz of the glorious run-and-gun Ginebra squad led no less by the Philippine basketball iconoclast Robert Jaworski was what made the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) the number one pastime in the country on the pre- social media era.
The Ginebra of old wasn't the winningest out there (and nothing had changed) except perhaps during the reign of Menk-Caguioa-Helterbrand where they put the Gin Kings on the pinnacle of Philippine Basketball for a brief period of time (4 titles in 4 years). The Ginebra in retrospect is a team composed of has beens and unheralded. Some played trying to squeeze every remaining juice they have after their illustrious playing years had pan out. Some played on a borrowed time for the opportunity to rub elbows with the firebrand Jaworski in hope to share the same limelight. They were an outcast from the glamorous and powers-that-be of pro basketball.
But they were loved. They were expected to lose on a nightly basis but they were expected to fight nonetheless. They weren't short of the passion and flair and the nightly supply of Jaworski antics that none of the current crop of coaches could ever exude—they are the crowd darlings without the actual winning tradition. They are the benchmark of popular idolatry while fielding bench quality of players. Bal David, the gangling playmaker they call The Flash was one of their superstars. A year before he entered the PBA, he was drafted on the third round and was even left unsigned. But David, and like the rest of the unheralded pro ballers, all they ever needed was to don the Ginebra colors and let the infectious Jaworski fighting spirit catapult them to greatness.
Ginebra as a brand is linked to the underdog tag and has totally predefined its magnetic appeal from the masses. In a done to death way, the masses would always love their very own—always on the side of the underdog that is expected to lose—but it's expected to fight nonetheless before they are to eventually succumb. And it worked that way! Fans loved the scriptwriting for the resident heartbreak kid no matter the failed results. Sure, it could tease on occasional instances on championships. But it sure as hell that every crown they'll win goes down on the most memorable championship series PBA will ever collect. The Rudy Distrito off balance that put the 1-3 disadvantaged Ginebra to the best ever comeback in the history of basketball championship. The Chris King–less Gordon's Gin that won it all led by a red hot Pido Jarencio and grizzly Terry Saldaña were all basketball memories that solidified the faith of the mammoth fanbase of Ginebra that carried over to the next generation of the never-say-die stalwarts. See these former Ginebra players wouldn't even need to crack the PBA's greatest, but what they can always boast that not most members of PBA's greatest could ever be is them belonging to that great Ginebra lore.
The never-say-die mantra was created on the mere act of defiance, of standing up to the insurmountable challenge, and for mustering the limited strength and talent to mount a fighting comeback on a regular basis. It wasn't rocket science—there wasn't any science at all! Some may call it desperation, but isn't character is best defined when faced with great adversity? That memorable Jaworski comeback after getting elbowed in the lip led a furious comeback against Northern Consolidated Cement back in the early 80's couldn't best exemplified it more to say what never-say-die was really all about.
Through the years, Ginebra has grown accustomed as the premier attraction of the league bar none. Even after Jaworski's departure, Ginebra has grown enough on its own that the name recall will always amount to something 'palaban'. There seemed to be that undying mystique that a player may want to give it all on a regular basis despite the odds they're up against. It is as if that the player that you are amounts to nothing if by playing as a Ginebra, the only thing that mattered to you is never-say-die.
Just as Mark Zuckerberg turned Facebook as the social media platform that changed the mass media, and so did fans's approach and understanding of the game. Fans would now have a venue to vent their frustrations in every losing night. They will have people sharing the same frustrations and they will breed bashers that would compound the said frustration. It has grown into a tiring endeavor to defend the never-say-die when it's already dead when dying is just about to take place. It became hard to be rambunctious, it became hard to show swag when all we've seen was the figurative relegation to the 'kangkungan'. Suddenly, you started to question things—a lot of those that are not even worth questioning just because as the loses keep piling up, the ridicule and bashing seemed only gotten harsher and bolder for each and every season.
For each fruitless season Ginebra has gone through since winning its last championship way back 2008, the scapegoat for the failures is always the coach—or the coaching staff at large. In theory, the reasoning of the failed campaigns are attributed to the system implemented by the coach at the helm, thus, it is being replaced as soon as it fails. At the very beginning, they had Jong Uichico ang Siot Tangquincen—both are proven champions but found themselves at the mercy of experimentation of the management. There was a time when they were designated as co-coaches of Ginebra, which accounted to the confusing dynamics of team leadership because while they are protégés of the same brilliant tactician in Ron Jacobs, they are seen with differing styles and approaches to the game. It was just a matter of time before things had fallen apart and the inevitable departure of Uichico and Tangquincen set the tone for the 'rigodon' of succeeding coaches that more seemed viewed to be coach OJT-ers. Ginebra became the haven (or graveyard) of aspiring coaches for a hit or miss gig. They were expected to lay the team's philosophy and then get undercut for another one to be installed.
Entering the PBA's 41st season, the San Miguel Corporation teams are given expectations based on a general consensus of their past season's performance. San Miguel Beer, the conglomerate's flagship franchise is being challenged to have their second grand slam in their fabled history after winning two titles in the just-concluded season. Purefoods Star Hotshots is a team that is expected to rebound after coming up short after winning a grand slam of their own two seasons ago. And Ginebra? Well they just did the unexpected.
Citing the fans's clamor for a turnaround, Ramon Ang ordered the transfer of Tim Cone to Ginebra in hope to bring Cone's unscathed winning ways to the Gin Kings. The man responsible to many of the Ginebra heart breaks. The dominant winner that made the crowd darlings always the underdog challenger. The forever foil to every success road map of Ginebra is set to become the head in its helm.
Earl Timothy Cone, an American that grew up in the Philippine soil was a basketball fanatic of its truest of sense. He is a self-proclaimed Jaworski fanatic growing up. And when he was old enough, he became a self–taught bench tactician of the highest order. He was one diligent student of the game. But unlike his idol Jaworski, Cone relied on the burgeoning scientific approach to game during his formative years as a coach that's being drumbeat all throughout the sporting world. His twitter account description reads: Tex Winter protégé, True Triangle guy. The success of the Chicago Bulls in the 90's and the LA Lakers in the new millennium only emboldened Cone to make the triangle offense as the anti–thesis for all the fun and excitement the run-and-gun and most of the offenses that relied on on-court smarts. For him, passion and resiliency isn't enough. For him, being a great motivator can help you start things but never to finish it off. For him, high basketball IQ won't translate to wins. For him, there's always a systematic way in assembling a winning offensive and dismantling an opponent's defense.
Yet Cone understood that his genius is under appreciated. No matter how he piles up on the championship trophies being the winningest coach in the PBA, he understood that winning more won't be the zenith to reach for his illustrious career. It's understandable that the transfer to Ginebra has brought him a different level of achievement. A satisfaction to be for once, he gets the cheer of the crowd instead of the jeer. The victories and critical acclaim all but enshrined him to the levels only enjoyed by few because the backing of the masses eluded him. He will win, and this time around, it won't be against popular acclaim. And this is his one great chance to rewrite the legacy of his career that despite of the accolades, it felt to be in need of more things. In the NBA, you will see great players transfer to competitive teams even if it meant lesser contract value or playing time just to get a shot at an elusive championship. In Cone's case, what's elusive on him was the backing of the majority, the support of a barangay that gratified to no end a lot of accomplished coaches–even if none of them has the amount of titles Cone has ever won all throughout. Cone understood all of these, that's why even if he's done a great deal of success with the second most popular team in Purefoods, the greatest coaching stint will always be the chance to lead Ginebra.
But how he will turn things around to this moribund, insufferable Ginebra?
He will.
He will and change will be conspicuous it will reshape the entire Ginebra brand. He will put winning as a staple requirement not just as a lip service. He will make the aggression a 'controlled aggression' ones. He will make you listen to just one voice, not like the customary multiple voices a player hears in a usual Ginebra timeout as if suffering from hallucination. He will reformat the overly loaded and crowded coaching dynamics that did more harm than good.
He will, but not overnight.
Because the entire Ginebra organization is a huge mess that it'll probably need a dozen of Tim Cones to get it stabilized. Ginebra were winners in the Jaworski era even if it looked like a bunch of players on the minimum wages. The Ginebra of today is a collection of stars that doesn't align on a constellation. With an ensemble of coaching staff that butt heads more often, they change systems more frequent than Kim Kardashian change sex partners.
Will Ginebra utter never-say-die yet again?
Well the question really is, is Ginebra going to be a never-say-die team again? With Cone at the helm, it's hard to imagine a team under his watch become a restless, disorganized crew that would allow a situation for them to run wild and scamper. The Ginebra era will unfold on our very eyes–rebirth with an entirely different identity. A complete transformation will allow us to ponder if the Ginebra fans are ready to move on and shed off the underdog tag. Ginebra isn't exactly your league's whipping boy, but opponents like Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao couldn't put it more succinctly by saying, "They (Ginebra) will become scary again." And that's how he and together with the rest of the league have perceived the crowd darlings.
What affronts Ginebra now is the change for the better. They will shed off the old ways which could leave a lot of fans with bitter after taste. But they will win. And when you win, you'll soon forget how the change was hard to process at the beginning. They will win and soon enough the throng of fans that seemed disillusioned for the past seasons will assume that Ginebra pride once again—then as a fighter, now as a winner. Like a hermit in hiatus, they will come out once again to fill the rafters of the coliseum that they temporarily abandoned in sending this message to the Ginebra management. Soon enough, it will put a new dimension to the derision of being a 'Kangkong' as something remolded into a fine dish that is ought to be. This past PBA season proved that where Ginebra becomes irrelevant, the league suffers. A dip in attendance and TV ratings only goes to show that Ginebra owes it to all of Filipino basketball fans to become significant again. Cone understood all of these, and to understand all of these takes such cerebral skills to take this challenge and knowingly recognize that to complete his evolution as a coach. As for Ginebra, this transformation is long overdue and if it's wary of the fans reacting to the change, it must figure a way first to accept it within because their resolve, adaptability and reception will usher the new Ginebra to unlimited possibilities with a winner like Cone leading and shaping it.
FFUgay
(image copied from google)
