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9 reasons why Ginebra fans will live and die with their Gin Kings
In the eyes of a follower of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) franchise currently called Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings, there are only two kinds of basketball fans: those who root for Ginebra and those who root for everybody else.
Ginebra fans are rabid, fiercely loyal, sharp-tongued, and emotional. They’re angry in defeat, and ecstatic in victory.
Not winning the championship doesn’t necessarily dampen their spirit. Winning’s awesome, sure, but being a Gin Kings fan is not all about hoisting trophies and dousing courtside reporters with beer at the championship interview in the dugout.
Being a Ginebra fan means subscribing to a certain set of ideals — a code, if you will. They’re a set of things that fuel the Barangay. We’ll lay them down one by one below, and hopefully they’ll explain all those times Gin King fans shouted and booed at you.
For new converts who just recently found the basketball church that Jaworski built, prove that you’re not just a bandwagon fan by learning the Ginebra way.
1. We are the People’s Team. Who doesn’t have a buddy who makes impossible shots like Noli Locsin? We’ve all had a teammate who looks pudgy but can really ball a la Chito Loyzaga. And then there’s the Dudut — or the Dodot —Jaworskis, that tropa of yours who joins the team even if he’s unforgivingly bano and will most likely ride the bench for most of the game. His rare baskets whoop us into a frenzy akin to water-drunk San Juan residents celebrating the Wattah Wattah Festival.
We know these players. They’re the same dudes we grew up balling with on makeshift courts at street corners. Only they got way better at basketball and grew a few inches taller.
2. We never say die, ever. Down by five with only 20 seconds to go? Ghosted for the nth time when all you really want is to share all the love inside your heart? Stuck in EDSA while the Avengers: Infinity War showing you’re going to is only a handful of minutes away? Don’t give up, that’s what the Gin Kings taught us.
Get aggressive and play with your heart and your smarts, and those shots will fall in. Wait for the “The One” instead of going at “Everyone.” We are our own miracle worker.
3. We believe in miracles—we’ve seen them happen. Some diehards might even say that God is with us. They will likely point to Bal David and his collection of buzzer-beating heaves for proof.
4. We outwork and outhustle. The team’s history has been fraught with individuals who would literally risk life and limb for a victory. In the late ’80s to early ’90s, we had the likes of Dante Gonzalgo and Rudy Distrito.
Mid-’90s stars Vince Hizon and Pido Jarencio epitomized another Ginebra mantra: “makipagpalitan ng mukha para sa bola.” In today’s iteration, we have L.A. Tenorio and Scottie Thompson.
They’re all crazy talented, yes, but it’s their grit and guts that have endeared them to fans of all ages.
5. We will fight, scratch, and claw. The players’ monikers say it all: The Destroyer, Major Pain, The Fast & The Furious, Sgt. Elbow (this one’s made up, but you get the point).
The Gin Kings play physical basketball, and physical basketball is Pinoy basketball. After all, the franchise’s biggest star, the man who started it all, is credited for arguably the greatest description/quote about the way our country loves playing the game: “Kung ayaw mong masaktan, wag kang mag-basketball, mag-chess ka!”
6. We have Jaworski. He’s not Pinoy hoops’ G.O.A.T. He doesn’t own many records. He didn’t win a lot of championships. Some say he dribbled too much. Some say he gave himself too many minutes on the court. But, man, we just love the Big J!
Robert Jaworski played with the kind of heart that would be perfect for a feel-good underdog sports movie. Only he didn’t always win, and that’s okay. It’s the journey, and the way he elbowed and kneed his way through it, that we appreciate. Ginebra’s Grand Papi #NSD played with #PUSO, and none of us will ever forget it.
7. We know winning, but we also know "kangkong-ing." In the 38 years Ginebra has been competing in the PBA, they’ve only won nine championships. They’ve lost more finals series than they’ve won (9-for-23). They’ve also had lulls of six, seven, and eight years in between titles.
Yes, we have suffered so much; got ridiculed many times. But we’ve persevered. Why? Because the long wait just makes the winning even sweeter. Winning erases all the insults, “nganga” gestures (We’re looking at you, Calvin Abueva!), and “kang-kong” & “Bo-ra” chants we’ve had to endure during dark times. And when you win your first championship in almost a decade with a buzzer-beating three-point shot in Game Seven? Heaven!
8. We like tormenting our opponents.
GI-NEB-RA! GI-NEB-RA! GI-NEB-RA! If that doesn’t give you chills, whether you’re a Ka-Barangay or the sorry sacks of sad rooting for the other team, then your life is probably devoid of pleasure.
9. We have our own freaking song. Thank you, Gary Granada for the greatest basketball song ever written! And thank you, Ginebra, for inspiring and entertaining us throughout the years! To more victories! — LA/KVD, GMA News
