Hunger marks Ginebra’s quest

It’s been seven long years since the Ginebra San Miguel franchise captured a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) championship. The last title came in the 1997 Commissioner’s Cup when the team was still known as Gordon’s Gin and coached by Robert Jaworski.

Ginebra made it to the 2001 All-Filipino Finals but was thwarted by San Miguel Beer in six games of a best-of-7 series. Dating back to that close call, Ginebra hasn’t qualified to play in the semifinals of the last eight conferences.

The woeful title drought has been the primary motivation for the Kings to beat Red Bull in the Fiesta Cup Finals. Whether it’s the hunger or frustration factor, Ginebra is itching to end the excruciating wait of the Barangay multitude.

Only point guard Bal David remains from the 1997 championship squad and he hasn’t played a game in the Finals against the Barakos. David, 31, has sat out the last 10 outings because of a groin injury.

Coach Siot Tanquingcen said David has been cleared to play by doctors. But chemistry is at risk if he’s brought back in the rotation after a month’s absence. If David is reactivated, Tanquingcen said he’ll play a backup role.

Among David’s 1997 teammates, only Marlou Aquino and Wilmer Ong are still on PBA rosters. Others in the lineup were import Chris King, Jayvee Gayoso, Vince Hizon, Pido Jarencio, Terry Saldana, Noli Locsin, Benny Cheng, Mike Orquillas, Dodot Jaworski and the former senator himself. In the Finals, Gordon’s Gin roared to a 3-0 series start then lost two in a row to Alaska before clinching in six.

David also played in the 1996 Governors Cup and 2001 All-Filipino Finals.

Rodney Santos, 31, is the Ginebra player with the most Finals experience. He’s an eight-year pro like David. They were both picked in the 1996 draft where Tanquingcen was ignored.

Santos has played in nine Finals, eight for Alaska and one for Purefoods. He saw action on Alaska’s title squads in the 1997 Governors Cup, 1998 All-Filipino, 1998 Commissioner’s Cup and 2000 All-Filipino.

In a twist of fate, Santos and David squared off in the 1997 Commissioner’s Cup Finals. Santos, however, played sparingly in the conference, reporting for duty in only six of 24 games and two of the six Finals contests. In the Game 6 clincher which Gordon’s Gin won via a 105-79 rout, David scored four points and Santos, seven.

Migs Noble, Alaska’s first round and sixth overall pick in the 2002 draft, is another Ginebra cager with championship experience. He has played in three Finals for Alaska and was on the Aces’ title team in last year’s Invitationals. But alas, Noble is now in Ginebra’s injured list.

Andy Seigle, 32, also has Finals experience although he’s never reached the top. He played for Purefoods in losing causes in the All-Filipino and Governors Cup Finals in 2000.

Estong Ballesteros was on Coca-Cola’s injured list when the Tigers won the 2002 Governors Cup. So he joins teammates Aris Dimaunahan, Sunday Salvacion, Romel Adducul and Kim Valenzuela as the only Kings without Finals experience.

Eric Menk, 29, played in the Finals in his debut conference but Tanduay lost to Shell in the 1999 All-Filipino title series. This is his first Finals appearance since his rookie season in the pros.

David, Mark Caguioa, Jay-Jay Helter-brand, Banjo Calpito and Alex Crisano are holdovers from the 2001 squad that figured in the All-Filipino Finals. Crisano, like David, is in the injured list.

David, Santos and Noble are the only Ginebra players who’ve played on a championship squad. That means Menk, Adducul, Seigle, Caguioa, Helterbrand and six others are still in search of the elusive ring. Not even import Torraye Braggs, who suited up in the National Basketball Association this past season, knows what playing on a title team is like.

No wonder the Kings, deprived of a throne for seven years, are hungry for a crown.