The Prize Of Being A Ginebra Fran

Final Score : Talk n Text 83 Ginebra 67

And so as it is. Barangay Ginebra falls short again of their quest to capture their 9th crown. Like the hundreds or even thousands of Ginebra fans, I was disheartened seeing my beloved team beaten black and blue by the Texters. Like them also, I can hear myself saying these words again : "BAWI NA LANG NEXT CONFERENCE!"

As a Ginebra fan, it can be easy to loose heart and give up on the team because of their numerous failures. We used to be called "die hard' fans because of the passion and support we give to Ginebra. But as years went by, the number of these so-called "die-hard" fans have dwindled. Who can blame them? 17 conferences without a title. That's tough for a fan.

As expected, all over the social media you can see trash talking between Ginebra fans and their so-called haters. From being "die-hards," fans of other teams have now labelled us as KANGKONATICS (referring to fans of a team who has always fallen short of winning a championship). It makes me want to think : Is this the prize of being a Ginebra fan? Being branded as one.

Ginebra fans are one of the most passionate in the league. You see them trooping to the venues to watch the game. Whenever there is a Ginebra game, expect it to be a sellout. For this reason, Ginebra owns some of the records in terms of crowd attendance. Even though the team is falling behind big, Ginebra fans would stay in the venue anticipating a comeback. It is this "never say die" spirit of the Kings that has endeared them to their throngs of fans.

I have been a Ginebra fan since the days of Robert Jaworski. I have been a witness to their ups and downs. I don't watch them live on the venue but whenever I watch them on television, I can't help but admire the way they hustle and grab the loose balls, I cheer for every  buzzer beaters that they make, and of course celebrate with them whenever they win championships. Futility is nothing new to them. Ginebra is a team with a history of coming back from the grave. Who can forget the acrobatic Rudy Distrito shot that brought Ginebra from a 3-1 deficit to win the championship against Shell? How about winning 4 straight games against San Miguel to win the All-Filipino championship? It only goes to show that Ginebra can come back.

Some people say that the Ginebra of today is different from the old. They are playing a different game since the Jaworski days. Others claim that you do not see the "never say die" spirit in the Ginebra team of today. Unlike before, you do not see them dive for loose balls, hustle all over the court, and others. I guess this is the reason some die-hard Ginebra fans have decided to throw their support to other teams. Others, on the other hand, have opted to go for a "wait and see" attitude.

Yes, the number of die-hard Ginebra fans are numbered. I for myself have been asked "Why Ginebra?" There are other teams out there. Why cheer for a team that cannot win a championship? Honestly speaking, I really do not know why. I could have followed the other fans who have already switched their allegiance to another team or chose to remain silent. But then again, I did not.

But one thing is for sure. While there are those fans who have already given up on Ginebra, there are still a multitude who believes that the time will come when the Kings will rise to the throne again and win a title. It is this ray of hope that makes them hold on to their passion and support for Ginebra. As one fan commented in one fan page, there is no such thing as FOREVER.

Yes, die-hard Ginebra fans are a dying breed but there are still a lot of them who will defend the team at all cost. Their passion has not waned and will continue to fire up. Ginebra is Ginebra. They are not the most popular team in the PBA for nothing. Die-hard fans will keep supporting the team. They will keep on waiting until that 9th crown is won.

But for now they will have to endure the constant bashing and trash talking of fans from other teams. Call them Kangkonatics as long as you want. Call Ginebra as Boracay champs as long as you want. These fans will never quit and surrender in supporting Barangay Ginebra. I guess this is the prize they have to pay for supporting a team as popular as Ginebra.

And The Quest Continues

And the 9th title remains elusive for my beloved Barangay Ginebra!

After disposing of Global Port in the first phase of the quarterfinals, Barangay Ginebra dropped an 83-67 loss to Talk n Text in the second phase of the quarterfinals. A win could have put them into a semifinal encounter with sister team San Miguel. But it was not meant to be. The Texters showed their championship poise denying a Sister Act and prolonging Ginebra's quest for its 9th title and ending its six-year title drought. It's now 17 straight conferences without a championship.

As usual, there were different reactions here and there. Demand for coaching change. Trades and others. and the blaming game begins.

When Ginebra drafted Greg Slaughter last year, fans had high hopes that Ginebra would finally end their title drought. The Kings also had Japeth Aguilar that time giving them perhaps the tallest frontline in the league if you add Jay-R Reyes and Billy Mamaril to the mix.

Line-up wise, Ginebra has one of the deepest and most talented bench. With guys like Mac Barracael, Chris Ellis, Joseph Yeo, LA Tenorio, Jayjay Helterbrand, and Mark Caguioa, the Kings had the material to win a championship.

With the injection of Coach Jeffrey  Cariaso, Ginebra switched to the triangle offense, a winning system not only in the PBA but also in the NBA. This system gave the Chicago Bulls, Alaska, and San Mig Coffee multiple championships. Ginebra is a team loaded with wing players and a 7-footer who, experts say, is the perfect anchor for the triangle.

With a talented roster and a winning system, I believe that there is one more thing missing for Barangay Ginebra to finally win its 9th title and that is CHEMISTRY. Mark Caguioa, Jayjay Helterbrand, and Billy Mamaril are the only remnants of the team that won for Ginebra its last title in 2008. This is an entirely new team, a young one at that.  You cannot build chemistry if players keep coming and going. You need to keep the roster intact to work on that.

With Ginebra eliminated already, Coach Jeff has more time to perfect the new system he wants to instill in the team as well as work on building the chemistry. The next conference does not start until January 27. So until then GOODBYE GINEBRA and see you again next conference.

Through The Eye of the Needle

Once again. Ginebra is through the playoffs. After another fine start at the beginning of the season, the Kings went sputtering again in the homestretch of the eliminations. If not for their huge win against the Aces, Ginebra would have been in a deeper hole. Luckily, they find themselves with a twice-to-beat advantage in the first round of the playoffs against Global Port Batang Pier.

One win is all the Gins need to advance to the next stage of the quarterfinals where they will be facing the Talk n Text Tropang Texters. Ginebra defeated the Texters in the opening game of the season but it will be a different game this time around. Aside from that, the Texters ended the eliminations with a bang beating the Aces and the Beermen in succession to finish as the fourth seed.

So it looks like Ginebra is going to have to do it the hard way once again. It's the King's 23rd consecutive playoffs appearance. If I am not mistaken, they have beaten the record of the legendary Crispa Redmanizers in terms of playoff appearances. Throughout that streak, they have made it to the Finals only once during the 2013 Commissioner's Cup where they were swept by the Alaska Aces. During that year, they had to endure two do-or-die games. The most memorable one was when they climbed from a twice-to-beat disadvantage against Rain or Shine.

The road to their 9th title is indeed going to be tough for Ginebra. Should they manage to hurdle both the Batang Pier and the Texters, standing in their way is sister team San Miguel Beer, who is the conference top seed. San Miguel themselves is hungry for a title after years of futility. So if that series should happen, it's really going to be a war.

But if there is one team who can overcome tremendous odds, it's Barangay Ginebra. Millions of fans have been witnesses to numerous come back wins by the Kings. Who would ever forget the acrobatic shot of Rudy Distrito in 1991 that sealed the comeback win of Ginebra? How about the fight back of Barangay Ginebra in 2001 against San Miguel? Down 0-2 in the series, the gritty crew of the Kings led by Mark Caguioa, Jayjay Helterbrand and Eric Menk stormed through the next four games to win the series 4-2.