Hundreds of miles away, old ‘Destroyer’ rejoices over Ginebra’s tribute game
Former Ginebra stalwart Rudy Distrito, who is now living a simple life in his hometown in Bacolod City, happily returned the compliment to the team and its millions of loyal followers.
“Maligayang-maligaya ako sa inyong pag-alala sa maligayang mga araw ng Ginebra, especially sa time naming with coach Sonny (Jaworski). Malaki ang utang na loob namin sa inyo at sa aming mga fans,” said Distrito during an interview with Winning Time over DZME.
It was few hours before Ginebra’s game against Meralco where the Gin Kings donned a replica of the 1991 Ginebra jersey in paying tribute to the Jaworski-led crew that came back from 1-3 finals deficit to win a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
When told about the scheme, Distrito said he felt so excited and would definitely watch the game on TV and even advised the players to stay focused.
“Basta laro lang sila and walang pressure,” said the 59-year-old former Ginebra guard who was the main man in that fateful night when he hit the winning basket that completed the miraculous comeback from 16-points down in the final minutes of Game 7 and stole the 1991 First Conference title over Shell Rimula X.
The modern day heroes of Ginebra did not disappoint as they barely survived the gritty Meralco Bolts on the way to a 90-89 win at the Ynares Center in Antipolo and bolstered their bid for a twice-to-beat edge in the quarterfinals of the PBA Commissioner's Cup.
In this tribute game, small man like Distrito in LA Tenorio also shone brightest, finishing with 22 points, the same output of import Justin Brownlee, to lead the Gin Kings to their eight win in 10 games. They are now tied with tournament leader Start Hotshots.
The scores:
Ginebra 90 – Tenorio 22, Brownlee 22, Mercado 14, Aguilar 11, Thompson 9, Devance 6, Ferrer 2, Mariano 2, Ellis 2, Caguioa 0, Marcelo 0, Taha 0
Meralco 89 – Amer 21, Stepheson 18, Dillinger 15, Newsome 13, Hodge 13, Nabong 4, Daquioag 3, Chua 2, Yeo 0, Uyloan 0, Hugnatan 0
Quarterscores: 22-24, 42-48, 74-69, 90-89