Postmortem: PBA Fiesta Conference Tamang timpla ang nagpanalo sa paboritong team ni Tanquincen

Noong kabataan ni Siot Tanquingcen, paborito niyang team ang Ginebra.

Sinong mag-aakalang magiging coach siya ng team na ito at maihahatid niya ito sa kampeonato.

Ni sa kanyang hinagap ay di sumagi na mangyayari ito ngunit nagkaroon ito ng kaganapan nang tanghaling kampeon ang Gin Kings ng PBA Gran Matador Fiesta Conference mata-pos talunin ang mapanga-nib na Red Bull sa best-of-five championship series, 3-1 kamakalawa.

"When I was in elementary, my favorite team is Ginebra. And now, I’m the coach and Ginebra won the championship. It’s really unbelievable," wika ng batam-batang coach ng Ginebra na si Siot Tanquingcen, 32-gulang, na nagsubi ng kanyang unang titulo sa kanyang rookie year at ikalima para sa La Tondeña franchise.

Pitong taong naghintay ang Ginebra bago nakuha ang tamang timpla para makatikim ng kampeonato. Ilang players na ang pinakawalan ng Ginebra matapos makopo ang huling titulo noong 1997 Commissioner’s Cup ilang coach na rin ang dumaan ngunit ngayon lamang nadiskubre ng Gin Kings ang pormula.

Hindi sapat ang talento ng players, hindi sapat ang talino ng isang coach, ‘Teamwork at sacrifice‚ ang kailangan.’

"I could honestly say that probably If I was not in this position right now, they’d still be celebrating with coach Allan (Caidic na tumatayo na ngayong team manager ng koponan) and it’s a testament to the players maturity and their willingness to make sacrifices for the good of the whole team," wika ni Tanquingcen.

"The players deserve all the credit that are due them. They were put in a difficult situation in the middle of the conference when I came in. They really try to absorb every inputs we try to put in and it all came together at the right time. The character of the team is personified by Eric Menk," sabi pa ng Gin Kings coach.

Hindi nakalimutang pasalamatan ni Tanquingcen ang mga taong nakatulong sa kanya para magtagumpay. "I’d like to thank Ron Jacobs (ang dating San Miguel coach at consultant). For sure he has a hand on this, he was the one who put me on this track. I saw him before the Finals started and I could say that he’s always there for us. I owe everything to him, my coaching career and even when I’m still playing for San Miguel. To Mr. Henry Cojuangco (team owner) who believed in me and all the people whom I worked with before I got this job. Coach Jong and even the players because I learned a lot from them."