New dress code gives Ginebra staff a 'professional look' under coach Cariaso

Ginebra's longtime liaison officer Crispin Tiamson and chief therapist Bong Basilio in their new look. Snow Badua

THE winds of change at Ginebra has affected not just the players and the team's system.

Count in the Gin Kings staff, too.

With the arrival of new coach Jeffrey Cariaso also came a new dress code for the entire team staff, who, from the assistant coaches down to the statistician, were all told to wear the long sleeves and ties to games just as Cariaso has become used to during his time at San Mig.

The wardrobe change has given Cariaso's staff, headed by assistants Olsen Racela, Ato Agustin, and Jorge Gallent, a more professional look, but still felt odd for some of the old-timers in the team like liason officer Crispin Tiamson.

For one, Tiamson bared he pleaded several times to Cariaso to spare the non-coaching members of the staff from the new dress code.

“Oo, ilang beses akong nakiusap. Kasi hindi naman kami uupo sa bench. Okay lang kung 'yung coaching staff kasi andun sila sa loob,” said the man known to Ginebra fans as plain ‘Manong Crispin.'

“Kung kailan nga kami kako nagsitanda, saka pa kako kami nagsuot nito,” said Tiamson before bursting into laughter.

According to team officials, one member of the Ginebra staff took almost an hour trying to put his tie in place inside the dugout.

Only the ballboys were spared from the corporate look as they were allowed to wear jogging pants and the team’s usual warmers during games.

No wonder members of Ginebra’s staff immediately caught the attention of rival players.

“O, ano 'yan? Hindi ako sanay ng ganyan itsura niyo?” shouted Globalport forward Jondan Salvador to a blushing Ginebra statistician Rey Barron.

Barron later bared how he had to dig up an old long-sleeve shirts from his cabinet and even asked his wife to buy him extra ties just to comply with the team’s new dress code.

“(Laughing) Hinalukay ko na ang baul,” said Barron. “Last time ako nagsuot ng ganito hindi ko na maalala, pag may okasyon lang."

Ginebra governor Alfrancis Chua, who wore his patented white floral long sleeves minus the tie, told Spin.ph that they respected the call of their new coach.

“Okay naman sa mga coaching staff 'yang bagong dress code. Wala naman talagang nagreklamo. Yung nadidinig niyo, biro lang nung mga staff 'yun,” he said.

Manong Crispin also saw positives in the new dress scheme.

“Mainam na rin 'yan, kasi kahit sa uniporme namin makikita ang disiplina,” he said. “Alangan namang kontrahin mo si Jeff, coach mo 'yun.”

Ginebra is the third franchise in the PBA to implement a corporate look for coaches and staffers after Cone’s former team Alaska and the San Mig Coffee Mixers.