Ginebra: Started from the bottom, now they're here

Urbiztondo gets a ride to the semis;
thanks BaRajko

What a series!

Forget about the rankings for a minute (because the great sports writers of this generation would undoubtedly, unabashedly and shamefully milk the whole "7th seed upsetting a 2nd seed dry" anyway), this PBA Commissioner's Cup Playoffs between the Rain or Shine Elastopainters and the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel should go down as a classic.

Anytime Ginebra goes up against a Yeng Guiao-coached team, we find ourselves rather torn. We're loyal to old school basketball, which what the name "Ginebra" is all about, we love Mark Caguioa and think that he is the best Filipino basketball player ever second only to the great 4x PBA MVP Ramon Fernandez (with another 4x PBA MVP Alvin Patrimonio as 3rd best) but we just love the gritty stand that Guiao teams always play with.

They're a nameless bunch, Gabe Norwood is an attraction if only he's a 6"5 Fil-Am point guard who has played in the US NCAA (his game is lacking though). Paul Lee  is good but lacks consistency and staying power (due to injuries) and Jeffrei Chan doesn't quite strike fear into anyone's hearts as much as a Gary David would (although they are both snipers from beyond the arc).

In back to back games, Ginebra was able to overcome an Elastopainters squad that was healthy, playing sound basketball and appeared to be ready for another deep run.

Ginebra on the other hand, lost reigning PBA MVP Caguioa to injury (he's expected to return some time in the semifinals), brought in trigger-happy point guard Josh Urbiztondo (it was quite obvious that he's not fully settled in Ginebra's offense yet) and was just winning behind L.A. Tenorio almost to a fault.

So yeah, Ginebra was supposed to lose.

But don't tell them that.

Tenorio was playing like Tenorio, although the Elastopainters' beefier guards were able to bottle him up somewhat. Rudy Hatfield had his moments crashing the board like he was wearing a Pop Cola jersey. Kerby Raymundo, the guy we all thought to be either over-the-hill or just out of wack in Ginebra's system, shone brightest and played with the same fire he did when he was robbed of an MVP award in 2006 (by then teammate James Yap).

And Ginebra's first win came by way of a huge throwback game from JJ Helterbrand. Dude went so vintage, he was ballin' like Lamberto Vicente, Jr.

Then there were also young bloods Chris Ellis and Mac Baracael. Ellis was a joy to watch, playing like the young stud that led NLEX and Sinag Pilipinas to big wins in the amateurs. Baracael made a very good account of himself by being that stretch four for Ginebra and pretty much doing everything from scoring, rebounding to even guarding Ginebra Killer Paul Lee (who we've grown to love calling/ tweeting as PoLee).

While 6"5 Norwood couldn't do squat offensively versus 5"9 Tenorio, 6"3 Baracael was abusing and putting 6"1 Lee to work in the paint every time they cross-matched.

And finally, and arguably the biggest reason behind Ginebra's upset, is import Vernon Macklin. Macklin further provided evidence that "white" imports such as Elastopainters' Bruno Sundov, when push comes to shove, well, just isn't what is needed to win big in the PBA. Macklin displayed strength, agility and even when it looked as though he was running on fumes mid 4th quarter, found it in himself to finish strong (capped off by those clutch free throws and that emphatic block on Chan's lazy lay-up).

Series could've gone either way, although we did say that if the Elastopainters lost Saturday, they'll lose this series eventually-- which they did. (

Hats off to Ginebra, now comes the hard part- facing a team that plays similar to the Elastopainters only a lot better: Talk 'n' Text.