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.