Chua brings never-say-die spirit back in Ginebra

MANILA, Philippines – The never-say-die spirit is back for real.

It took a coach, who preaches faith and relies on big heart more than the X’s and O’s to bring that old spirit back.

Before a huge Monday night crowd of 12,764 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, the seventh seed Brgy. Ginebra San Miguel Kings showed what heart is all about when they completed their march to the Final Four of the 2013 PBA Commissioner’s Cup with an improbable conquest of second seed Rain or Shine.

“They underestimated us,” said a triumphant Ginebra coach Alfrancis Chua after the heart-pounding 81-79 victory over the back-to-back PBA finalist. “You can tell that by the way they talked after we beat them. Parang kayang-kaya nila mag-adjust.”

In one stretch during the fourth quarter, it looked like coach Yeng Guiao could back up his talk as his Elasto Painters came back to grab a three-point lead, 79-76, anchored on three straight triples, two coming from their 7-3 import Bruno Sundov.

But the Kings refused to wilt under pressure and repaid Chua’s faith in them by scoring the game’s final five points.

“They underestimated our players because pilay-pilay kami, but nakalimutan nila i-anticipate ‘yung puso ng mga bata,” Chua said. “They forgot it’s a never-say-die team.”

In what could be the biggest moment in his pro career, Sundov’s counterpart Vernon Macklin showed how big his heart is as he turned his Achilles heel to the Kings’ biggest shield against the Elasto Painters’ fourth quarter comeback.

A 47-percent free throw shooter, Macklin showed great confidence when he made two pressure-packed charities in the last 11 seconds that proved to be the game’s biggest difference. The 6-10 Ginebra import preserved his heroics by swatting away Jeff Chan’s potential game-tying layup in the final six seconds.

“I knew he can make his free throws,” Chua said of his import. “Nung dati nagmimintis si Macklin, all of the guys [in the coaching staff] told me to take him out pero hindi ko ginawa. Dati nung si Jackson Vroman ang import at nagmimintis, nilabas kaya nawalan ng kumpiyansa. I told Vernon na I’ll stick with you. If you miss your free throws, you miss your free throws but I trust you.”

It was that same indomitable faith by Chua that kept the Kings from losing hope after a 0-4 start.

Heart over Size

When Chua got his appointment as the new head coach of the Kings at the start of the conference relegating Siot Tanquingcen back to his old post as the team's chief deputy, he did not mind his lineup’s lack of size.

What the comebacking PBA coach, whose last coaching stint was with the defunct Sta. Lucia Realtors way back in 2007, instead, did was to pull the Kings together and form what could be their biggest weapon – their heart.

“Dati kaniya-kaniya ang mga yan sa practice. Pero nung pagdating ko, the first thing I did was to bring them all together. I invited them to my house for dinners,” Chua recalled. “Ngayon kahit magpunta ka sa practice, nasa iisang lugar na lang sila. Buo na sila.”

It was that solidifying presence of Chua which guided the Kings to get this far and nearer to the throne, which they last held in 2008, despite a slow start.

“After that 0-4 start, I got a text from boss Robert (Non). Sabi niya, ‘I will not give up on you. I will not give up on this team.’ Pinabasa ko sa mga bata sa next practice namin and they responded,” said Chua referring to the Ginebra executive, who is this season's PBA Chairman of the Board of Governors.

The Kings would go on to win seven of their next eight games including a six-game winning streak. But another test of character came up when their go-to-guy and reigning MVP Mark Caguioa and Billy Mamaril went down with separate injuries in the middle of that streak.

“Nag-text ulit si boss Robert nun. Sinabi ko ulit sa kanila and the rest is history,” Chua said.

Fist bump of approval

Even Caguioa, who was very vocal in the recent years that the never-say-die spirit is fading, has recognized its return through their new coach.

“Ngayon ramdam mo [ang never-say-die spirit]. Lahat motivated to win. Even without me and Billy, the guys trusted each other that they can make it,” Caguioa, who is expected to be back in the Game 2 or 3 of the semis, told Philstar.com.

“Look at Kerby Raymundo for example. He struggled in the past couple of conferences with his confidence due to lack of playing time. Pero ngayon, the old Kerby is back,” Caguioa went on.

True enough, Raymundo was rejuvenated by Chua’s faith in him as he came up big in the series to help Macklin neutralized Rain or Shine’s advantage down low with the 7-3 Sundov.

Last Saturday, it was their guards who carried the Kings to victory. But last night, it was the turn of their frontliners as Rain or Shine focused their defense in the backcourt limiting LA Tenorio, the Kings’ next important guard after Caguioa, to just two points.

The 32-year old Raymundo has scored in double figures in his last three games starting with their last elimination game against their semifinal opponent Talk n Text. His confidence grew in numbers as he muscled his way to 13 points and 11 boards, his only second double-double this conference, to backstop Macklin’s 24-point, 16-rebound and 6-assist effort in the clincher last night.

Heart vs Heart

“Sabi ko sa kanila sa dugout before this game, ‘Manalo, matalo may practice pa rin tayo bukas,” Chua said. “Kung sa iba, yung corny sasabihin na manalo, matalo mahal ko kayo guys pero sinabi ko yun dahil [alam ko] may laro tayo sa Friday.”

And if there’s one team that can rival the Kings’ heart, it should be their next opponent – the Talk n Text Tropang Texters, whose beauty of their game is the summation of all their members.

If the Kings cut down Rain or Shine’s size in the quarterfinals, they will need to tear the Talk n Text’s big heart apart to march on to the Finals.

The Tropang Texters, who are in the semifinals for the ninth straight time and are looking to win a second straight championship after winning four of the last seven crowns, have risen above adversities like the Kings.

At one point in this conference, they were below .500 with a 2-3 start then they changed their imports twice and lost starting power forward Kelly Williams to his recurring illness (idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura) before winning four of their last five games heading into the semifinals.

“We basically struggled the whole conference so it’s good to see our game pick up when it mattered most,” said Talk ‘n Text coach Norman Black after sweeping rival Petron Blaze in their own quarterfinal series last Sunday despite the poor series of their third reinforcement Jerome Jordan.

Chua remained unfazed with the next challenge for his never-say-die team.

“Manalo man kayo sa amin pero duduguin muna kayo,” Chua said. “Yung morale ng mga bata at yung puso, hindi maalis yun.”


SOURCE: Philstar

“Dati kaniya-kaniya ang mga yan sa practice. Pero nung pagdating ko, the
first thing I did was to bring them all together. I invited them to my
house for dinners,” Chua recalled. “Ngayon kahit magpunta ka sa
practice, nasa iisang lugar na lang sila. Buo na sila.”

Team Work lang ang kelangan sigurado kaya nateng manalo kahit team pa ni LBJ

“Manalo man kayo sa amin pero duduguin muna kayo,” Chua said. “Yung morale ng mga bata at yung puso, hindi maalis yun.”


putek .......... kakatakot ang mga pinagasabi ni coach long hair ...........

si siot ang dapat sisihin

ang anghang ng mga salita ni coach chua