GINEBRA revived the never-say-die-spirit of the era of playing coach Robert Jaworski in an epic comeback win over the NLEX Warriors, 91-90, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday before wildly cheering fans of the crowd darlings.
Down by 22 points going into the final quarter, Ginebra mounted a fierce rally behind the heroics of rookie star Scottie Thompson, seldom-used Dave Marcelo, Chris Ellis and veterans JayJay Helterbrand Joe Devance.
Two triples by Ellis, who this conference has concentrated on defense and hardly takes three-point shots, which he has the ability to bury, and masterful back-to-back treys by Scottie Thompson, saw the fans up on their feet erupting in a frenzy, with Jaworski praising Thompson as a really good player.
I did nothing. The fans carried Ginebra on their shoulders. They are amazing, multi-titled coach Tim Cone told The Standard after the game.
The charismatic Jaworski, who himself benefited from incredible fan support through the years, said the Ginebra spirit suddenly came alive and the players should be ashamed at the way the people are supporting them, in spite of their inconsistency and lackadaisical attitude at times.
There was one point late in the third quarter when Cone pulled out Greg Slaughter after he failed to grab what looked like an easy rebound and team manager Alfrancis Chua berated him for his failure.
But when Cone sent him back in during the endgame as Marcelo was visibly exhausted, Slaughter pulled off two spectacular blocks to help preserve the victory.
Cone sent in seldom-used Marcelo and veteran Helterbrand, who quickly delivered and when Thompson converted back-to-back triples, the fans erupted as the deficit was cut to 10 points and the amazing run was on.
Jaworski believes that Cone used a tactic of creating confusion in the NLEX ranks by unexpectedly sending in Marcelo and Helterbrand, which Jaworski suggested could be streamlined a little for the future.
In praising the fans of Ginebra, Jaworski, who benefited immeasurably from fan support during his time said that with the kind of energy shown by the fans, the players have a responsibility to respond, as they did on Sunday.
With the win, Ginebra earned a twice-to-beat advantage, which should once again see the venues filled to capacity whenever they play.