Kuwento ng pagkakaisa

Ang kahanga-hangang pag-akyat ng Harbour Centre sa rurok ng PBL ay may maraming nakatagong kuwento. Nang magsimula sila sa apat na sunod na pagkatalo, marami ang nagsabing wala na silang pag-asa. At ang problema ay ang pinagmulan ng mga players.

"We just had to come together," paggunita ni team owner Mikee Romero. "You could see it in practice. You had the Ateneo players on one side, the La Salle players on another side, and the rest of the players. And we couldn’t force them to be together. It just had to happen on its own."

Umabot pa sa punto na, sa isang matinding praktis, nagsuntukan ang dalawa sa kanilanbg malalaking player. Sinuntok ng isa sa mata ang kakampi, at ginantihan naman siya ng karate chop sa lalamunan.

"All of us on the coaching staff were rugged players, too," tawa ni team manager Rafa Dinglasan, isang dating De La Salle Green Archer. "So we let them go at it, get it out of their system. They weren’t going to kill each other."

Nang magkabati ang dalawa, naisip ng team na, kung pare-pareho sila ng pagnanasang manalo, hindi malayong mabuo na sila, at mapalagay sa isa-t isa.

"With superstars like LA Tenorio and Joseph Yeo, we knew it was just a matter of time," dagdag ni Romero. "It was going to happen. We just had to give them the right mindset, one game at a time."

Inisa-isa nila ang mga laro, wala na munang nag-isip ng pangmatagalan. Nahirapan ang head coach nilang si Jorge Gallent, isang kababata ni Romero.

"He (Gallent) was very down," lahad ni Romero. "I was in the States, and we spoke. I told him, just give me what you can. You can do it."

Isa sa mga kinailangan nilang gawin - lalo na ang mga nagmula sa PBA, ay tanggapin ang pisikal na uri ng laro sa PBL.

"I remember Gec Chia, when he first came over, was getting bumped a lot, and it hurt his game," sabi ni Romero. "But he came alive in the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. he really helped."

Para umabot sa kampeonato, kinailangan ng Port-Masters na makasampa sa quarterfinals, at talunin ang dalawang pinakamalakas na team sa liga: ang Montaña Jewels at Toyota Otis.

"We realized that, when you spread the ball around, you win," paliwanag ni Dinglasan. "Now, they were purposely looking for each other. And even when we had smaller players, they were outrebounding the other teams."

Si Tenorio, Yeo, Robbie Reyes, Mark Isip at Chico Lanete ay aakyat na sa PBA Draft, kaya ang hamon ay manatiling kampeon sa pagbuo ng isang bagong grupo para sa susunod na season sa Oktubre.

"I like that challenge," pag-amin ni Romero. "I think that would be fun. We have to scout players really well. But I think we can do it."

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Abangan ang PBL Unity Cup Finals sa programang The Basketball Show, alas-2 ng hapon sa RPN 9.