Just when almost a whole nation is solidly chanting all but one name, one team stood strong and tried their best not to get fazed by the heavy mantra demanding them to fall and lose by the more popular opponent.
Just when almost the entire archipelago was rooting for a team who holds the banner of the “Never Say Die” spirit, one team stood against them and strongly imposed their will triumphantly.
And during the sweep of the Alaska Aces over Barangay Ginebra for the PBA Commissioners Cup 2013 title, the Aces showed that a republic – the Gatas Republik is always stronger than a barangay – even if Barangay Ginebra really means the whole nation in actuality.
So how did the Milkmen do it? The answer is hunger for redemption.
While it may look like the crowd favorite Barangay Ginebra was heavily favored to have the momentum in the championship after surviving a do-or-die war with top team Talk ‘n Text during the semifinals, seeing top caliber performances from star point guard L.A. Tenorio and muscular import Vernon Macklin hulking his way to the basket at will, fans were surely hoping that their return to the Finals after missing out for three years would not be wasted.
Just like the common hero stories, they were supposed to be the team to hold the worst win-loss record, get the chance to get through the eliminations, and drop the more powerful teams on their feet en route to win it all. But sadly, there was no fairy tale ending waiting for them when the final buzzer sounded.
Their strong momentum faded when they got heavily outscored during Game One, and by the second half of Game Three, it dwindled to zero. Just gone.
And Alaska? This was simply their time. They’d been waiting and planning for this, and not just for the season. If Ginebra was wishing for a fairy tale story, Alaska was plotting a novel. Just ask their Coach Luigi Trillo.
Alaska is best remembered as one of the proudest teams in PBA history, especially under ace mentor Tim Cone who delivered them championships after championships after championships. But those days are long gone, Cone has gone over to the star-studded San Mig Coffee Mixers, and Alaska decided to hire a replacement and put the future of the team in the hands of then-coach Joel Banal, who after one season, stepped down in favor Luigi Trillo – the son of Alaska manager Joaqui Trillo.
This move raised a lot of curiosity in the PBA community, raising it as more of a personal move, rather than a smarter and a sounder shift – especially when Trillo had an awful track record in terms of coaching.
Trillo was the infamous head coach of the Adamson Falcons when they got back-to-back nightmare winless seasons. And all of the sudden, he was expected to lead a professional basketball team back to its winning ways.
It must have been a big joke to some that, after years of polished basketball coaching under championship coaches Cone and Banal, the Alaska franchise was in the hands of a coach whose only historical basketball achievement was posting an embarrassing 0-28 win-loss carta.
They also let their best players jump ship and move to other PBA teams. They gave an early Christmas gift to Barangay Ginebra when they traded L.A. Tenorio over the less-effective but high-flying scorer in Cyrus Baguio. And they weren’t done. The following moves raised more eyebrows doubting what Alaska is really doing with their roster. They traded Jay-R Reyes for Gabby Espinas, gave away Eric Salamat and a second rounder for shooter RJ Jazul.
They also acquired Dondon Hontiveros along with Jvee Casio. And when the smoke from all the trading cleared, the question the dwindled Gatas Republik was asking was: Is Luigi Trillo capable of bringing us championship? Or are we bound to see the lottery yet again?
After a season, the proud answer is yes.
The first cornerstone of the 14th championship of the Aces was on its building process as early as the 2012-13 Philippine Cup, during their semifinals match against the much talented Talk ‘N Text. While they fell short after a bruising seven-game series against TnT, the Gatas Republik finally saw a glimmer of hope.
Unlike in past conferences where they always getting pushed, this time, they’d be the ones doing the shoving.
True enough, when the Commissioner’s Cup started, the Aces went hot, topping the conference for weeks, quickly eliminating pesky Air 21 Express to set-up a much-awaited clash with James Yap and the San Mig Coffee Mixers. It also set up a match between the Alaska’s previous sage mentor Cone and Trillo, the apprentice trying to prove himself to the world.
It was an emotional series for the Gatas Republik. Mixers import Denzel Bowles and star shooter James Yap as they were constantly annoyed by the Aces’ defense, a clever defensive scheme courtesy of the head coach and his team of assistant coaches.
Only to find out that it was only the tip of the defensive iceberg. And that same defensive iceberg would turn Barangay Ginebra into the Titanic.
When the crowd and the number of stars outnumbered them on the wooden court during the PBA Finals, the Aces turned to their coach who had been through the darkest days of a basketball career and was now only three wins away from success.
He had imagined this before, he had waited for this to come for quite a long time, and he knew that he’d be the last person to let it go. He also knew how to break that “Never Say Die” spirit, and he proved it when the crowd favorites finally threw in the white towel in Game Three as they dribbled the clock down in the onto its dying seconds.
Maybe Tenorio’s revenge over the franchise that traded him can wait. It’s clearly Luigi Trillo’s time now to smile over the people who doubted him at first.
He did not fight for a season’s grudge worth, he fought for the redemption of his whole career. And when people remember the time when he got all zeros, he can now happily reply that “I did have one.”
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Photo: Alaska Aces Facebook Page
