The Return of the Kings

From this night and for the days that will follow, the agonizing years that went before those will finally put into bed—but not without reminding the horde of fans the days and nights that fell to disquiet. Fans will be filled by endless and relentless clichés, from referencing movies that suited Ginebra's latest conquest and to realize the fitting end to an era that transcended basketball and trends. This piece is no exception.

Champions!

The Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings at long last!

For the better part of this decade, hardly we thought of the words Ginebra and champion adjoined on the same sentence. With Tim Cone at the helm, we could probably have to get used to it. It took him, the heartbreak kids' Great White Hope, to turn things around for the moribund Kings. Cone has his Messianic touch in full display like the sage in white robe and staff.  But unlike the sagacious Gandalf, Cone need not face death. Uncertainty, however, was the cup of tea for him moving to Ginebra at the start of the season in trying to revitalized a franchise left for dead.

Through heartbreaks and humiliations, for that long 8-year stretch, one would be surprised that they remain to be the league's biggest draw. The Ginebra as the most popular team suffered blow after blow from the fruitless campaigns it had after winning the Fiesta Conference diadem back in 2008. Slowly, other teams are inching closer to challenge the Kings as the darling of the crowd. On a steadfast rate, others became a regular fixture on the biggest stage of the tournament. 

Kangkong.

Bora.

Haters kicked hard when them men were down. They feasted at the team's failure after failure...and more failure like it's the greatest feeling the sporting world has to offer. The laughing stock they became cancelled off whatever significance they meant to the league.

But tonight, destiny has toyed on them more than enough. 

(Video courtesy of TV5, PBA, and the uploader)

Mark Caguioa, Jayjay Helterbrand, LA Tenorio and the rest of the Kings are lords of the rings once more!

 Together, they found their niche. In the elusive quest for their turn at the coronation, their stars shone as their triumvirate put the adage back in their storied careers. They earned their wares and more so ensured a potent winning tradition in the offing by guiding their wonder boy, Scottie Thompson to the biggest test of the youngster's own career. They made sure Scottie saw all of these—the loss, the struggles. And this sweet victory to remind the heir to the throne all of the sacrifices he will eventually have to endure will reap a reward so sweet. 

Perhaps, none of these would have happened if not for the heroics of someone from three months back, we never ever knew existed.

Justin Brownlee grew up idolizing both Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Two of the best that ever did it. Jordan and Bryant both made a career perfectly epitomizing what winning is all about. Both thrived on the testiest of moments basketball has ever imposed. Back in the 90's, a similarly Messianic import in Chris King brought Gordon's Gin (what Ginebra is formerly known of) to promised land. Just like what they did, Brownlee took this defining moment to realize a dream. The waning 5.5 seconds seemed forever to end but perhaps much more longer in the mind of Justin.

He, though, was prepared.

Brownlee, on his Aragorn-esque calm demeanor, took the pass and ensured he's eye to eye with his nemesis—the just crowned best import Allen Durham. He took his dribble on top of the arc, he measured the opponent that followed. But he's all squared up. Durham stabbed, but not enough to distract Justin's will. Again, he's all squared up. When he took the rebound and sued for timeout after a Durham miss, he knew he will take that last shot—regardless how Coach Tim Cone designs it on the play that ensued. 

The sea of flashlights emanating from the cell phones of the fans in attendance held their breath as Brownlee heaved the last shot of the season. It was beautiful...the airborne ball passing through the glimmer of the lights on a perfectly arced shot three pointer glides, kept afloat by the blood, sweat, tears of the players and fans alike. The ball must've gotten a mind of its own it could no longer bear the malady of another losing season if it will not be able to make it. "It must go in!", so thought the basketball. In the sea of Ginebra crowd, the ball rolls off perfect release, off perfectly timed Brownlee shot that scripted its way to the legends of not only that off Ginebra's but off the PBA at large. 

Swooosh!

BAAAAAAANG!

Eruption ensued 8 years in the making.

The long bomb that detonated at the buzzer sent the partisan Ginebra crowd screaming at the top of their lungs. The jubilant Barangay finally back on top! This was a joyous emancipation from the curse. Cursed for being the most loved sans fulfillment of expectations. 

Brownlee arrived in Ginebra's army of the dead and to say that these squad was released from their curse would have been an understatement. Released from their own chains, just how Aragorn did it in the Paths of the Dead. Together,  they reclaimed the throne in such dramatic fashion another lifetime would never be enough to removed this kind of memory etched permanently to the minds of the die hard fans.

It was a fitting end, too, for the longest–running backcourt pair in the PBA spanning 16 years. From the fastest, most furious Helterbrand–Caguioa that we can remember, none of those highlights would trump how they reached the finish line in such winning way. 

Ginebra rode every symphonic symbolism of this championship to the hilt, against a worthy opponent in Meralco equally-deserving of the glory the Kings just romped. Destiny chose Ginebra, however. Perhaps, more than the basketball flare and skills, their story of triumph rekindles the flame once lost in the murky shadows of 8-year drought. 

And for these Kings that wandered in oblivion for a very long while, their crowns remind us that victory awaits no matter how 8 years long. 

"Never Say Die! Never They Did."

The Fast and the Furious!—Their tales, success and struggles...and the last ride together

When their run is no longer fast and fury is only in the mind, the reminiscent past bore the glare of what used to be the greatest scene at the fast break. The dizzying and blitzing to and from that kicked in the heartbeat relentlessly. The grace and ruthlessness combined of their high-octane  offense left their trail ablaze and kept us drowned off the fire it sparked. For as long as one local hoopster could muster, the memories of what was once the best running mates that lorded it over, it's only a matter of time till we will be making poetries and songs for the explosive and exploitative "Fast and the Furious".

Jayjay Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa are all heart and soul. Diminutive yet fleeting. Reckless yet full of grace. The one displays the coolness of ice, the other exudes the breathe of the dragon. Together, they wrecked havoc like no other pair did. They have the swag straight outta Eagle Rock, Los Angeles that thrusted them into the limelight. They're nasty and maangas, it would seem to feel that their confidence runs as fast and furious as they do on the court. They have enamored the millions of basketball fans because they have,  and it was never fate nor byproduct of marketing machinations that catapulted them to it. They became household names and the glitz and the fad they brought akin to that Allen Iverson's hip-hop invasion in the NBA was notably era-defining that drove crazy fans to the filled rafters of each league venue. PBA was never the same again.

Helterbrand and Caguioa are both champions and heartbreak kids of the league and this authenticity made their lore even worthy of exploration. Together, they transcended the league like no other backcourt pair ever achieved. On a regular basis, we see generational players come but they do as an individual. Never seen was a duo that while individually great, a synergetic bond seemed to make them doubly spectacular. Together, they created a harmony in the mold of Simon and Garfunkel. Never in the history of the PBA that a backcourt tandem of 15 years of partnership would take an MVP award for each other while incessantly bucking the changes that beleaguered their team. 

Fans, some of them have grown impatient and seen shifting allegiance. The hardcores, perhaps those that were rooted since the Jaworski era remained—but not without the pain. Not without the cost of frustrated years and humiliation from the ever jeering league minorities. Kangkong, yes the water plant, made it to the Ginebra lore albeit unceremoniously. All these years, the salt rubbed on the wounds of Caguioa and Helterbrand only grew much harder to suck up. Helpless and dazed while father time inching by the day, such insufferable moments brought more questions than answers to their leadership.

But most of the fans remained, mostly waiting for the Kings, for the Fast and Furious to become relevant again. The changing of personnel surrounding the two happened rather quickly and in succession. "Kami na lang natira!" Caguioa exclaimed, much like lamenting that as holdovers, the two find it hard to get the perfect blend that made them successful before. They brought in pieces that they embraced wholeheartedly—even if it meant the realization that this team slowly slips from their cudgels. But both never cared, they wanted to win as a benchwarmer than top score as a bottom-feeder. 

That game 5 decider between Ginebra Gin Kings and the San Miguel Beermen will be best remembered not for its sheer vindication that indeed the crowd-favorite is back to its elite status, but for its touching scene where Caguioa and Helterbrand hugged at midcourt. It was nothing new, at every basket they made during their heydays, hugs and high fives seemed to punctuate the spectacle of their on-court exploits. As the cameras closed in to extract this moving scene shared by the tandem no less, it is pure emotions brimming for explosion any moment and it was best shared with the predominant Ginebra crowd who with them gutted it all out so many fruitless years. In what could be the few remaining instance we will ever see them on the court, flashes of bandanas in the heads, blonde and mohawk speedsters used to run over the competition in utter obliteration. And just so much affection to the dynamic duo that is due for a curtain call.

Caguioa and Helterbrand will vie for the crown—perhaps for the last time together. It may not be theirs to carry it seemed, as new breeds of the Gin Kings already leading them on the regular. But them to be crowned in front of the horde of Ginebra fanatics would touch nerves and emotions again. The crown that eluded them after some successes at the helm. For some, the fast and the furious has stayed too long and it would seem that it hurts us seeing them unable to run at the break like we were pampered to see. But we would weep in the height of emotions nonetheless, to see them pocket another crown at the tail end of their illustrious career.

This Finals duel between the crowd-darlings Barangay Ginebra Kings and the Meralco Bolts will sideshow perhaps the last duel amongst the finest guards of the early 2000's. Caguioa, Helterbrand and Jimmy Alapag all figured prominently during the past decade and it will be an epic scene to see them go at it for the last time. Alapag will be enshrined in the legendary annals of PBA when he decides to hang it up just like his two fierce rivals. Before Alapag stabbed the hearts of the likes of JJ Barea and those Korean sharpshooters in the international scene, one must remember that he had to go through Mark and Jayjay in the PBA. The competition they presented made Alapag such skilled and ruthless playmaker. 

Perhaps, at any part of this championship series we may see the checkpoint for both Caguioa and Helterbrand ala Toretto (Vin Diesel) and O'Conner (Paul Walker) at the end of FF7. The former stayed course while the latter took the other direction. In the momentous revisit of the car chase and mileage, fast breaks and long bombs, the basketball rendition of this movie franchise could never ran out of allegory to share—not even their endings were spared.

"One last ride!" Says Helterbrand, "Just like the movies!" 

And to here, the musn't missed final lap for "The Fast and the Furious" deserves every waning second to be witnessed by all that rode with them.

On GPH – CPP-NPA-NDF pursuit of peace

So it is finally here! 

The delegations for both the GPH and the CPP-NPA-NDF have finally met in Oslo, Norway for the long and outstanding peace talks that shall pave the way for a just and lasting peace. It is with great expectation that both parties will be in painstaking state to craft an antidote to the socio-economic conditions that had prevented the progress of our motherland—which also triggered this decades long, worn out and protracted civil war that already claimed so many lives from both sides.

President Rodrigo Duterte will be represented by negotiators led no less by DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello, many considered him a maverick of peace process and has maintained amiable relationship with the other side of the panel. Duterte choosing Bello to lead the talks for the Philippine Government is indicative of his sincerity to finally put this warring at the countryside to bed. 

On the Reds side of course will be Jose Maria Sison leading a multi-decade core group of cadres that led the revolutionary movement under the banner of CPP-NPA-NDF. Joma or JMS, of course is either the hero or the heel of our political history depending on which side of the political spectrum you are on. Often vilified and demonize for his ideology, yet none of the regimes that sprouted post-Ferdinand Marcos era has figured out to put Joma dead on his tracks. 

JMS is no evil! Only a right-wing, oppressive oligarch with an insatiable tongue to boot lick the imperialist gods can say he is so. JMS for decades now has been the face of the longest–running Maoist revolution. And it would be an understatement that as long as the country is ruled by leaders that had sold their souls to the imperialist gods, we can only expect them to discredit JMS and his ideology furthermore. 

Benito Tiamzon, if the media's claim him to be a high cadre official that he is, then his gesture upon being reunited with JMS for almost three decades in Oslo speaks highly of the revered CPP founder. Tiamzon referred to JMS as the "tanglaw" or the guiding star of the Philippine revolution. That even on exile, Tiamzon implied the contributions made by JMS to the revolutionary cause had made it to what it is today. Still in fighting form, and to borrow Tiamzon's wife, Wilma's own lines, "Hindi matalo-talo!" We are here today in talks of peace because of the continuous exposés made by the Left as to why the status quo remain oppressive and exploitative—or probably a lot worse than it ever was. 

JMS pointed out that the failure of peace talks in the past administrations dating from Cory Aquino to his son Noynoy Aquino had something to do with their insecurities from the military forces. While military must be answerable to the commander-in-chief, their actuations change the second they feel that the government shows warmth and acceptance to the forces of the Left.   In a political way, the military is oriented to be in the side of the rightists and whichever imperial monsters feeding its armament. And this is the reason why these past administrations never took the peace talks with the left seriously. Surprisingly, only Fidel Ramos, a military general before he joined the Philippine political fray, has made such tremendous achievement as far as talking to the Reds are concerned. Only in his term as President where the JASIG (Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees) was created and observed. JMS viewed Ramos as someone confident enough to deflect any coup attempts by the military as he knew how it is being an ex-general himself. Which brings us to how President Duterte acted so strangely the past month regarding with his relationship with the Left. His actions obviously was a way to appease the military that almost to the detriment of the peace talks as the antagonism between him and JMS took the media in frenzy—to the gleeful cheer of the oligarchs and right-wingers who hope that these talks would eventually bog down. 

The impasse on the peace talks of the previous regimes only speak of their political motivation and made a joke out of the supposed serious undertaking. A lot of the ridiculous demands on the government's side, like the JASIG-protected negotiators to surrender first before joining the talks are one of the many preconditions that made it impossible for the process to advance to start with. Also, putting well-known anti-revolutionary personalities to the peace talks of before only made it worse. 

Both sides are poised to turn the tables now! Optimism brew even after the exchanges of tirades of the leaders of both sides may have seemed dampen the warmth seen at the beginning of the preliminary talks. Duterte already reassured NDFP through Satur Ocampo not to mind what he said in the media against JMS and in his own showing of goodwill, JMS still showed reverence to Duterte in his opening speech at the beginning of the peace talks in Oslo. Both leaders looked to bury the hatchet and set their prides aside in order to achieve something no regimes had ever accomplished. 

#RevolutionGo 

Talo Na Naman Ang Ginebra

Umpisa pa lang, ang kabog sa dibdib ko

Ay dinaig pa ang talbog ng bolang wari'y 

Magdudulot ng kumbulsyon

Umpisa pa lang, medyo ramdam ko na

Ang padehadong tagpo na lagi'y daloy 

Ng iyong laro sa liga.

Wala namang masama na sumandig na 

Lamang sa pananalig

Tiim-bagang napapapikit at ngiwi, 

Sa mga galawang hindi ka makapagtimpi

Sa mga nasayang na bola, buslong hindi man

Lang maging puntos

Gaya ng pag-ibig ko sa 'yo, ni ayaw umusad

Ni ayaw tumagos.

Nasayang nga ba ang panahon ko sa 'yo?

Ako nga ba'y kumuha ng batong ipupukpok 

sa ulo ko?

Ang ligalig at pighati sa tuwing mamasdan kang 

Unti-unting nilalampaso, tinatambakan

Hindi ba't sakit lamang sa puso ang

Puede nitong kahinatnan?

Kinse. Bente...minsan pa nga, trenta!

Tambak ka na nga sa puntos, tambak ka pa

Sa Alaska. 

Pero, tangina! Daig mo pa sadista!

Talagang tutok ka pa't kumukuyakoy pa!

Pero bakit laging ganoon? Andoon pa rin ako?

Kahit noong panahon ni Jawo hanggang ngayong era ni Caguioa.

Aasa sa himala, aasa sa panaka-nakang ragasa.

Ang makita kang pumalag at gapangin man lang

Ang di maubus-ubos na lamang.

Marahil gaya ng damdaming iginugupo ng 

Mga hinaing na kailanma'y di ka magiging akin

Magkakasya sa mumunting saya, 

Makukuntento sa panumandaling ligaya.

Hindi mo na iisiping sa huli'y muli'y mabibigo

Ang makita kang lumaba'y mistulang 

Pakunsuwelo de bobo.

O di kaya'y ito talaga ang tagpong 

Ipagpapatayan mo?

Na malanghap ang espiritu ng hindi pagbitaw,

Na danasin ang pagbulusok at pag-angat

Sa nagdedeliryong damdaming walang 

Gatol sa paghiyaw.

Ayan na nga, muli'y talo sa huli

Alumpihit kang tatayo sa upuang

Sumalo lahat ng nerbiyos mo't puwersa

Ang mala tsubibong saksi ng iyong

Lungkot st saya.

Tuwing talo ang Ginebra, ika'y naaalala

Dahil anumang pilit kong habulin ka,

Anumang pilit kong sumubsob at magkumahog

Habang animo'y abot-kamay na kita

Para kang siya, siya na pag nakamtan mo'y

Kampeonato ngang talaga

Ngunit gaya nga ng never-say-die ng Ginebra

Sa paghabol ay masaya, sa pag-asa'y matutulala

Ngunit gaya ng laging ending ng pagragasa

Sa huli'y susukuan ka rin, gaya ng ganap nating dalawa.

The Closer Closes it Out

Purple—represents all your bruises, injuries accumulated over 20 years of basketball.  The quixotic approach to a game that made it as if it's life and death regardless of what’s on the line. The mark of a true warrior. 

Gold—symbolizes your triumph as one of the greatest. Career that's nothing short of greatness and competitiveness. The color of a true winner.

Photo credit to the owner

Today, the world of basketball will be painted Purple and Gold for the last time by the one and only Kobe Bryant. The legend that defined the true meaning of competitiveness and no quit. He is the basketball demigod that ruled the league for the better part of the 21st Century. On his announced coup de grace on the hard court, Bryant will take with him all of what he has meant to the game of basketball. For all the fans of the opposing teams he left heartbroken through the years with his conquests, now they will be enjoined by all Lakers fans around the world that he pampered and walked in absolute pride through his winning ways.

You finally gave in, huh!

Of course!

You finally embraced these all! With you leaving, you've finally let go of the ultra-competitiveness that a lot of the weaker minds and guts getting rubbed the wrong way. The refreshing tone devoid of the scowl and seriousness of a game-faced Kobe reflected his genuine acceptance that this is finally it.

For us fans, Kobe was our generational kid. After the glorious Michael Jordan era, kids my age during the 90's found the continuity of basketball idolatry in Bryant's soul. It persisted when everyone seemed lost at the game's purity amid the shift to the distractive commercialized nature of the NBA.

Photo credit to the owner

Unlike Jordan, Kobe will always be perceived as the brash kid that took his lanky 6'6 frame to the big league. Jordan will forever be the standard. The yardstick to any run for greatness that there is to transpire. But Kobe showed how it is done! Anything short of it does not deserve to be mentioned on the same breath as those two. Kobe, in that respect, validated how difficult the status to be named king of the basketball world. Because self-proclamation and aggrandizement would never win the respect of the world even if one's equipped with such amiability and magnanimity. Those two? They destroyed every living fighting spirit of their oppositions and kicked it at that. That's how their legends had grown.

Kobe's career wasn't predicated to build a legacy outside winning. In turn, it made him unsociable and disconnected in variety of ways.

Media only made matters worse for Kobe—they vilified, demonized and made him look as self-absorbed and self-obsessed. When all what he wanted to be is to be the best of them all. How can one fault him for being obsessed about winning? Wasn't this the purpose of the sport, and any other competition for that matter, to begin with? 

Kobe elevated the league's competitiveness when all other stars are far more concern about their ghetto life at the underground hip-hop scene. While he himself did get a share of this excessiveness, Kobe knew his purpose is more on the basketball side of things and not on the illusory spot light as the result of NBA popularity. He had those—the marketing, the endorsements, the shenanigans of being popular, the controversies—but it sure as hell he made basketball as the number one priority.

The league and the world have honored your greatness all year long with your farewell tour and looking back, it was easy to presume how much the league was itching to get rid of you. But you were right all along. Your drive, your maniacal approach to even games you're not supposed to be hardcore with had all paid off. This is how much the sentiments tilted in your favor—by winning, by giving the best out of yourself—the absolution of the world only reminded all of us that only through winning can we only become legendary. 

Photo credit to the owner

So finally, Kobe's leaving! And at the center of it all is his and ours refusal to let go. This is his basketball that made to become our brand of basketball which is competitive, relentless, and pure. The type that questions lack of integrity, and calls out mediocrity from people that existed to give basketball a bad name. He played through the pain to remind us what basketball meant to a lot of people that there's no room for disgracing it by not giving it all.

Kobe is forever. His basketball is eternal.

Lights out. Mamba out.

The unleashing (of sort) of Calvin Abueva

Photo taken during the 2012 PBA draft where Abueva was selected 2nd overall and eventually winning ROY honors

When Calvin Abueva began eviscerating opponents in the pro league with all of his antics, we knew that there's a limit to such misaction that only the league, in some extent his own team, could ever allow. The Beast is living up to a moniker that leaned towards its more undesirable definition. He taunted the league in such time he’s supposed to pass through rookie initiation when he arrived in 2012 giving a screw you facial to the veteran hardliners. He could get the goat out of everyone else in such fashion you begin to question the amount of respect (or lack thereof) he has to the game. He has that villainous juice spewing from all direction that is poisonous enough to change everyone's perception of basketball. 

And it wasn't like the media, basketball fans, and the league itself took it easy on The Beast. He was loathed in every way he crossed paths with the league's darlings and he thrived on that negativity to fuel himself. He's taken the lead antagonist role to commensurate with the natural God-given physical gifts because it's never going to be enough that he devours you in the game. As you think about what just happened on it, it continues to haunt you all the way to your bed. He's all over you, reminding you of the mental lapse you committed because you let him into your head. For all the  maniacal carnage Abueva freed from restraint, his Alaska Aces team, whom by history is known for strutting a prim and proper and disciplined team, went through leaps and bounds in giving up that identity by loving all the crazy shits by the way of Calvin's onslaught. 

Now it struck everybody else now to realize that an ultimate heel in Abueva is being rewarded a stint in Gilas 3.0 that will unravel this September. Beau Belga almost filled in that role two years ago. But Abueva is in entirely different league.

I imagine Abueva doing his Abueva thing in the international stage with the sole purpose of making his antics as a primary asset to a beleaguered Philippine team. Only two years removed from that triumphant FIBA-Asia held here in our soil but now in dire strait of losing all the momentum because of the foolish politicking in commercial basketball. For a country reeling from a loss with an opportunity to host FIBA-World, the buildup in composing the best possible team also went down the drain with that defeat. Abueva, on one hand, posits an intriguing component with his prospective inclusion on the final line up of Gilas. He is the consummate villain which will spell advantage to a Gilas team searching for identity with the absence of its mainstays.

The corporate rivalry or bickering or simply immature display of power is already costly for this Gilas team before it actually strut its stuff. Holding off vital cogs in joining the Philippine team as if these corporate idiots bought these players’ patriotism in a contract reminded us again of the sad state of commercialized sports. It reminded us that after all the gains Philippine basketball achieved in recent memory, it will amount to nothing now because its financial backing is at the mercy of corporate’s whims. Basketball can’t be held hostage forever and what this Gilas can make do is to extract whatever it is worth juicing from the available talents in the pool. Abueva, and the rest of the new faces might be the wild cards to retool the national team and move on from this debauchery.

We always cringe on the very existence of a Calvin Abueva wreaking all sorts of havoc in a league ironically enamored for its own brand of physicality from decades back. While Abueva as a different kind of beast does skate through the borders of controlled physicality and insanity, that doesn't make his potential impact to a Gilas team will be any less great. "Antagal ng uso ng terminong bida-kontrabida" and Calvin is a shot I personally am willing to take when no one, out of expediency, is out there interested in putting the flag first before their name and the idiot franchise that pays their salary. 

The heel could be our new-age hero after all.

The dawning of the new Ginebra

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. 

Never-say-die will now be never-shall-die

FFUgay

(image copied from google)