FEW THINGS :

• Jay didn't play. But his energy on the sidelines is sOOOOO contagious. hahaha. That made me really HYPER too, the whole night. :)
• I'm HAPPY. just like the others. I may not be on the venue, but my PRAYERS and HEART are with them. TAMA si Kuya Paul. PUSONG NEVER SAY DIE 'TO EH. PUSO NA LANG TALAGA kaya nakakayanan parin ng team kahit na ang daming injured. AND SO, WE ARE PROUD OF THEM! LOVE 'EM SO MUCH! :) 22,000+ peeps came out to support the team on the venue. It was a record-breaking gate attendance eversince Crispa-Toyota days. WOW. YEAH. haha.
• After the game, I'm relieved. OH MY GOD. My heart's pounding especially on the 4th quarter. Aba eh parang nasa venue eh no? haha. Tensed. But I managed to relax. WHOOHOO! We've won, would you believe that? Jay's out. Mark, Paul, our import Chris are playing hurt. They're not on their 100%. Junthy got injured as the game occur. But, with much effort and love for the fans and for the game itself, and because of the NEVER SAY DIE ATTITUDE THAT WE HAD FROM THE START OF THE CONFERENCE.. THE ATTITUDE THAT'S KEEPIN US GOIN EVERSINCE... THEY DID IT. aw. Touching. I REALLY LOVE IT.
• INTERVIEW TIME!! hahaha. Eric Menk and Ronald Tubid are named as Co-MVPs. They deserve it, really. Um, but i actually thought that Paul could be another co-MVP awardee. He, too, deserve it. Anyway, individual awards don't actually matter. What matter is that WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS. YEAH, BABY. haha. (as what Jay has already mentioned on some of his interviews.) Oh, and speaking of interviews, I actually have recorded his post-game interview with Eric Reyes. haha. Ang kulit n'ya dun. And what about that sweet smack on the cheeks for Pacana?? haha. aw. Pinapakinggan ko yung interview bago ako matulog. Pang-kondisyon ba, haha, pampahyper, ganun. :D
• Lastly, here's the write-up from pba.ph about THE ROYAL CORONATION. THIS RECOGNITION SURELY IS FOR US, FOR OUR MOST LOVED TEAM. AUGUST 20, 2008 is our MARKed DATE. :)

***

BARANGAY GINEBRA BACK ON THE THRONE 

Record crowd of 22,902 witness Kings’ coronation; Menk & Tubid Finals MVP 

Wednesday, 20 August 2008 

Rising above tough challenge and extreme adversities, the Barangay Ginebra Kings are back on the throne, once again reigning supreme in the import-reinforced PBA tourney.

Ginebra completed an epic triumph while handicapped by injuries, waylaying Air21, 97-84, Wednesday night to bag the 2007-08 Smart Fiesta Conference before a delirious record-breaking crowd of 22,902 at the Araneta Coliseum.

The walking wounded of coach Jong Uichico survived an acid test, overcoming a 2-3 deficit in the best-of-seven series to reclaim the crown they won in 2004.

It's Ginebra's eighth championship in all but this one should rank among the best, considering the trials and adversities gone through by coach Jong Uichico and the brave Ginebra gang.

"Every championship means a lot whether it's your first, second, third or what. But this one is really special. It's hard to explain how we won the series with all the injuries and tough challenges we faced," said Uichico, winning a second crown in four conferences with the ball club before a crowd never seen since the glory days of Crispa and Toyota in the league’s early years.

"The players deserve all the credit for not giving up. We could have easily given up when we lost Jayjay (Helterbrand). We could have easily given up when Mark Caguioa got injured. And we could have easily given up when the others also got hurt. But the players didn't," Uichico also said.

With practically everybody already playing with aches and pains, Tubid and Menk seized the moment and led the team to the epic win. The two were rewarded by being named Finals co-MVPs.

"Eric (Menk) has just redeemed himself. Tubid, meanwhile, really showed a big fighting heart as he returned to play in the series straight from injury. Bumalik sya noong kailangang-kailangan namin siya. Bumalik sya ng walang practice," said Uichico.

Menk, defying Father Time, and Tubid, sidelined for six weeks by a dislocated ankle, combined for 43 points and 17 rebounds in the winner-take-all contest.

Chris Alexander, the tournament Best Import, was saddled by early fouls but still played a key role, finishing the contest with 19 rebounds, 16 points, four blocks, one assist and one steal.

"It was a gamble on my part to keep him on the game despite five fouls. What I wanted was for him to make it tougher for Steve Thomas to score. Kung locals, madaling-madali para kay Thomas umiskor," said Uichico.

As it turned out, the Kings held the entire Air21 team scoreless in the last 4:27 of play.

"My players have matured. Still, they were not yet ready to face the impact of what the Ginebra crowd brought to the game," said Air21 coach Bo Perasol.

The injury bug hit Ginebra up to the final game of the series with Junthy Valenzuela hurting his left leg in the third quarter.

Valenzuela wasn't able to return but the Kings didn't waver.

Earlier, the Kings pounced on the Express at the posts with Alexander and Menk combining for 18 points as Ginebra took the half at 49-46.

The Ginebra gang could have established full control right in the opening half if not for an atrocious 12-of-23 free-throw shooting against Air21's 4-of-4 perfect clip.

Though badly beaten in rebounding, the Express kept the game close also with a better three-point shooting. Gary David, Arwind Santos, Nino Canaleta, Ranidel De Ocampo and Marvin Cruz combined for six triples with the Kings accounting for only three.

After the Kings built their biggest lead in the first half at 28-21, De Ocampo and Santos fired a three-pointer each in an 11-4 salvo that tied the count at 32-all midway through the second period.

The two teams engaged in a fiery exchange until Valenzuela beat the buzzer with a floater, giving the Kings a three-point lead at the turn.

Tubid was the lone Ginebra player who did well from the charity lane in the first half, knocking in all of his five charities. He provided Ginebra instant offense coming off the bench, leading the team with 12 points in the first 24 minutes of play.

Santos led all scorers with 13 points in the opening half marred by three technical infractions.

Getting possession after the opening tip, Caguioa quickly brought the ball down court and dished off an assist to Paul Artadi for the first basket of the contest. (NC)

The scores:

Ginebra 97 – Tubid 22, Menk 21, Alexander 16, Caguioa 13, Valenzuela 10, Artadi 8, Crisano 4, Pacana 3, Mamaril 0, Salvacion 0, Reavis 0.

Air21 84 – Thomas 24, Santos 19, David 18, Canaleta 8, Billones 6, De Ocampo 5, Cruz 3, Arboleda 1, Kramer 0, Intal 0, Espinas 0, Sotto 0, Se 0.

Quarterscores: 26-21, 49-46, 72-63, 97-84.

*pril*

***

"The Best You Never Had"

This interview is really nice. :) Credits to Sports Radio, Hooptalk and Ate Ria, thanks for allowing me to jot this down on my blog. Hope you guys, "real" (as how Jay coined it.) Ginebra and Jayjay fans would love this, too. (just as how i have loved it. :D)

Enjoy!

****

About Ginebra's journey to the finals.

Jay: Well, honestly, at the beginning of the conference, I really thought that we wouldn't have a chance. Um, but once we had a new import by the name of Chris Alexander parang.. ano eh.. we got.. um, reincarnated. He brings so much in the table and i think he's the reason, one of the main reasons why we're in the Finals right now.

****

About the improvement on his game.

Jay: Well, being one of the leaders in the team, you know, I have to be the.. I got to really get everybody going. Um, so when Mark got his injury, I really had to do more than of what is that was expected of me. I had to like uh, take more of the scoring load. I had to be like the defensive stopper. Um, as well as run the team, uh, do the assist. So basically I had to change up my whole game. And um, you know, it was just a blessing that I was able to hit most of my side and it's been going on the whole conference and hopefully it'll keep continuing until the end of the Finals.

****

About eventually losing the momentum (because of the long rest before the finals).

Jay: No, I'm not worried about that at all. We know that we're do for a loss but once again, the team's character is um, once you get knock down, well we'll gonna get back up, regardless how many wins we have, how many losses we have, we'll always gonna come back and this is the finals, ain't no time for excuses. We will just go out there, play our game and not worry about any of the records, the MVP, the Best Player of the Conference and all that. Our goal is to win the championship.

*****

On describing their opponent, Air21.

Jay: Air21 is a very talented team. Obviously, they wouldn't be here (if they aren't.) Um, they have a good import. They have their wing guards,one of the best in the league. They're all very athletic. They're all tall. They can all shoot. And they all really play hard. So, we'll gonna get out to match everything they do and more and hopefully, the best team come out on top.

*****

Advantages of Ginebra.. (aside from the championship experience, the crowd.)

Jay: The only thing I can think of is hunger. 

*****

(Hungrier even though it's Air21's first appearance on the finals?)

Jay: They don't matter, they give you their first appearance, their other appearance.. We want the championship. We want it bad. And for me, you only get to the finals so many times in your career, so for me, it's like the first time everytime so I'm not gonna let this opportunity slip away.

*****

About winning the MVP Award.

Jay: Whoever gets it, gets it. If I don't get it, you know, the other person can be called the MVP as long as at the end of the conference, you call me and my team as the champions and I'm good with that. :D

*****

Ever talked to Mark regarding the BPC Award?

Jay: Honestly, we don't even mention it. Like I said, that's not our focus. If you get it, then it's a great honor, but if you don't... like i said our main focus is getting this championship ring.

*****

Message to the fans.

Jay: To all the fans, the real fans. The fans who stuck with this through the 0-5, the 1 and 7 start, until now, we just like to say, Thank you very much and um, see you guys at the games and it's gonna be a very, very, very entertaining series so come on and support us. Thank you.

-end-

** 

aw, LOOOVE IT! GO GINEBRA! :) 

No matter what.. (may ganon? haha.)

what d'ya guys think? :)

*pril*