Personal Musings: Tim Cone With Ginebra
Over the years, while I’ve expressed
strong opinions on certain topics dealing with the league, I intentionally
approached these from the vantage point of a neutral basketball follower. This time around though, please allow me some
latitude as I make my point from another view – that of a former team fan, in
particular, Ginebra.
From 1986 to 1998, I’d like to believe I
was the most ardent Ginebra fan you can ever find. There was nothing wrong with
the team for me – I rationalized their actions, whether right or wrong. Friends
ribbed me for becoming a “traitor,” as I originally cheered for the Crispa
Redmanizers. To root for someone who was considered Crispa’s biggest “enemy”
back then – Robert Jaworski, Sr. – was the last thing they’d expect from this
basketball follower. But I did, triggered by Coach Jaworski’s hiring of former
Crispa super import Billy Ray Bates in the 1986 Open Conference.
THE SWEET TASTE OF VICTORY
I shared the glory and heartaches of every
Ginebra fan back then. When the team ran roughshod of Manila Beer in that same
1986 conference, I still see vignettes of the games played – how Billy Ray
Bates stormed from court-to-court with 5 seconds left with the game tied at 133
to score a buzzer-beating slam that gave the Gins a 1-0 lead in their best of
seven encounter. Or the heroism of
