THE spirit was willing.
There is no questioning Ginebra’s desire to win, but you have to consider that its opponent in the knockout quarterfinals last Sunday, the Globalport Batang Pier, had plenty of the same desire and willingness to make it to the next phase of the Smart Bro-PBA Philippine Cup.
The result was Batang Pier winning by the slimmest of margins, 84-83, to advance to the semis, although the Gin Kings had a valid reason to contest the result because of what coach Tim Cone and the rest of Ginebra fanatics claimed was a non-call on Stanley Prngle’s violation.
Pringle held on to the ball for quite a few seconds after he was hemmed in by a swarm of Ginebra defenders off an inbound play. Cone protested the non-call, claiming that the Batang Pier guard committed a five-second violation, which should have been called if a player held on to the ball five seconds or more without dribbling, passing or shooting the ball.
PBA Commissioner Chito Narvasa had already said that he would summon the four referees who worked the game, but added that the Batang Pier is officially the winner of the match. The last I heard, Ginebra decided not to file a protest, making Batang Pier’s entry to the semis official.
But sadly, last Sunday’s game illustrated that the team’s never-say-die spirit died a little death.
Sure, the Kings hammered an improbable 92-89 comeback win against Star, but the real test came in the knockout game against the Batang Pier, a scrappy team which refuses to quit against huge odds.
One can also argue that GlobalPort may have inherited some of that never-say-die spirit from Ginebra, because one, coach Pido Jarencio was a former key player of Ginebra during its glory days, and two, because they have on their fold another former player in Billy Mamaril, who incidentally, is the son of former Ginebra beanpole Romulo Mamaril.
But in my humble five-cent (again!) rendering, Ginebra lost because it was already at a disadvantage against Batang Pier at the guard position.
GlobalPort played the better quarterbacked-game because it has the luxury of alternating three top guards in Stanley Pringle, Terrence Romeo and Joseph Yeo, who are all explosive scorers.
Ginebra, of course, has LA Tenorio, Mark Caguiao and Solomon Mercado and rookie Scottie Thompson, but only Tenorio played big in the endgame.
In contrast, Romeo and Pringle wrought havoc on Ginebra’s defense and finished with 20 points apiece, while Yeo hit a couple of floaters in the fourth quarter that kept Batang Pier in the fight.
Ginebra’s bigs were also a disappointment, although Greg Slaughter did enough against Batang Pier’s gang-rebounding big men.
And there’s the point. The never-say-die spirit should infuse everyone on the team from every position, at every single moment. The desire to win should be a consistent, living thing. And in last Sunday’s game, it was the Batang Pier who displayed the qualities of an old Ginebra spirit.
Happy New Year to all!