One piece of trivia brings hope for Ginebra after abysmal debut with Hill

DUG up two interesting trivia about Barangay Ginebra going into its second game in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup against Globalport on Friday.

No, it has nothing to do with its 21-point output in the first half of its 74-70 loss to Air21 last Sunday which equalled an all-time franchise low output for a half.

Nor does it have something to do with the Kings’ 28.4 percent shooting from the field in that game against the Express which is actually the lowest in a game by any team this season.

What I found out is the fact that this is actually the first time in the last seven import-spiced conferences that Barangay Ginebra has lost its opening game.

And the last time the Kings lost their first game in a import-laced conference was actually the last time they won a championship – in the 2008 Fiesta Conference with Chris Alexander as reinforcement.

Barangay Ginebra even began that conference with a 0-5 slate but still went on to win the championship, which was helped by an all-time franchise-best 13-game win streak spanning the elims and Finals.

The second trivia is about the Kings’ new head coach Alfrancis Chua.

Did you know that in his two previous head-coaching stints in the PBA – with Tanduay starting in 1999 and with Sta. Lucia starting in 2003 – his teams always started 0-2 under him?

In the 1999 All-Filipino Cup, Tanduay and Chua first suffered defeats to Mobiline, 90-64, on season-opening day on a February 7 and to San Miguel Beer, 89-79, a week later before notching a first-ever win in the pros curiously against Barangay Ginebra 94-85 in overtime on February 19.

In the 2003 All-Filipino Cup, the Realtors and Chua also lost their first two games – against Alaska 91-82 also in a season-opening game on February 23 and to Barangay Ginebra 89-82 in Baguio City on a March 1 – before barging into the win column with an 81-71 decision over FedEx on March 7.

Will Chua’s 0-2 start trend continue? Or since we noticed it already, chances are it won't continue.

Like it almost always happens, right?

Follow the writer on Twitter: @thepbaologist

source: spin.ph

Yung kay CA44 nalang