By Jan Carlo Anolin
‘Gi-neb-ra! ‘Gi-neb-ra! ‘Gi-neb-ra!’
The classic roaring chant starts to rock every court where the Kings stand, whether the odds are against them or not. From red and white banners, shirts and letters spelled out ‘G-I-N-E-B-R-A’ and lifting huge face props, win or lose, the fans have their backs.
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s LA Tenorio, right, with Kings import Justin Brownlee. (MB Photo / Rio Deluvio, File)
The ‘Never day die’ or ‘NSD’ mentality goes a long way with no less than the ‘Living Legend’ Robert Jaworski starting it all and passed it down from one generation of fans to the next until the present.
Robert Jaworski, (MB photo / Kevin Espiritu, File)
Now that the Kings are back in the Finals and will take on the Meralco Bolts for the third time in the PBA Governors’ Cup, Ginebra owes it to their fans to fuel the ‘Never say die’ spirit.
“Hindi nagbabayad o hindi nag-iipon ang mga fans na manood ng game natin para lang maglaro tayo nang ganito,” veteran guard Mark Caguioa once castigated his teammates after a lackluster game, as recalled by LA Tenorio.
‘Never say die,’ in general, means giving an all-out performance in the court and getting back up no matter what. For Ginebra, the saying goes beyond basketball because it is also a way of reaching out to the fans.
“For us, ‘Never say die’ is playing our hearts out every game not only for ourselves but most importantly for the fans,” Tenorio said. “‘Yun ang importante sa akin.”
Caguioa, Tenorio said, has always been the sparkplug for the Kings.
“Mga players, minsan siempre nagre-relax. Dumarating sa point na nagre-relax so every time Mark reminds us, ‘yun ‘yung purpose namin kaya kami naglalaro so I think ayun talaga ‘yung meaning ng ‘Never say die’ for me and for the team.”
The tandem of Caguioa and backcourt parter Jayjay Helterbrand, dubbed as ‘The Fast and The Furious’, marked a new era for Ginebra in the early 2000s.
Ginebra’s backcourt partners Mark Caguioa, right and Jayjay Helterbrand (Waylon Galvez, File Photo)
The rest of the Kings agree with Tenorio.
“Una, sabi nga ni kuya LA, ibibigay namin ‘yung best namin kasi ‘yung mga fans, para sa kanila talaga halos every game namin kasi ‘yung suporta nila sa amin talagang ‘Never say die’ din,” Ginebra guard Scottie Thompson said.
Even Meralco players are familiar with the ‘NSD’ spirit after losing twice to Ginebra in the Governors’ Cup Finals.
Meralco guard-forward Chris Newsome said both teams have always showed that mentality ever since, especially for the Bolts which seek to conquer the season-ending conference this time. “That’s kind of stuck with everybody in the Meralco Bolts.”
Justin Brownlee of Ginebra guarded by Chris Newsome of Meralco. (PBA Images)
“Here we are again for the third time so I think that’s a true testament of this organization. We’re gonna pick ourselves and we’re gonna keep moving forward.
“Regardless of the result, when it comes in this series, whether we win or lose, we’re gonna get back to it. We’re gonna pick ourselves up and keep working better to get to the next round.”
Focusing the matter in Game 1, Newsome said: “We’re gonna try our best. We’ve done a really good in preparing — the coaching staff and all the players have really been locked in to get to this point.”
Source: Manila Bulletin
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