Purefoods, Cinderella and her Fairy Godmother

The Purefoods Chunkee Giants might just be the Cinderella Story of the PBA this season!

Here's how.

After winning the 2002 Governors Cup, the franchise went on to register what seemed to be 3 years of futility. Despite the acquisition of amateur standout James Yap and veteran Jun Limpot, the Giants found themselves languishing at the bottom of the standings. Several conferences ended up in disappointments.

Back then mentor Ryan Gregorio admitted that he’s never had a healthy line-up in all those years. Richard Yee, Eddie Laure, Rey Evangelista are some of the guys who have suffered an assortment of injuries. He added that since his team is still undergoing the rebuilding process, it was expected to go through several challenges and “growing pains.”

This season however, was a totally different story.

Purefoods slowly crept its way back into the basketball spotlight. It all started in the draft. Armed with the 4th over-all pick, the Giants drafted rookie Jondan Salvador out of Montaña Jewelers in the PBL.

Then, they consummated a deal with Air21, which brought them 6’4” Jean Marc Pringris and Egay Billones to beef up the forward and point guard position respectively.

And as if things fell to the right place, the Giants acquired combo-guard, Roger Yap from the disbanded Shell franchise and hired the services of Marquin Chandler as its reinforcement in the first conference.

The timely “face-lift” worked wonders for the Purefoods Hormel franchise. After it won against Red Bull in October, the Giants went on a roll topping the classification round and getting an automatic semis berth.

The Giants went on to defeat Air21 in 6 games of the best-of-7 semi-final series.

For me, it was already a great achievement for a team that was ranked nowhere near the top 5. But Gregorio’s boys were determined to take things into the next level: The Finals versus Red Bull Barako.

The Giants made a great account of themselves in the finals by coming back from a 2-to-nil deficit to level the series at 2-2. The momentum in Game 5 was clearly on their side, but due to the lack of championship experience, they succumbed to the Barakos in Games 5 and 6 and finished as Fiesta Cup’s 1st Runner-up. Hence, it was still a great learning experience for Gregorio’s young wards.

But Cinderella might’ve not been able find her good fortune without any help. So, to whom do we attribute the Chunkees’ newfound success insofar as the season is concerned?

Honestly, I would have to commend the management for it.
After 3 futile years, you say? Some bosses could’ve easily given up. If it were the NBA, Gregorio would’ve been fired in less than a month. But they stuck with the plan and understood the rebuilding process by heart. Now they are reaping dividends. Gregorio is a lucky man.

But not to take anything away from him, Gregorio has matured immensely. He has come to his own. It is evident on the type of rotation he uses every game. He also never fails to pullout a rabbit from his hat just when his boys are beginning to falter. Ryan has also given back a lot of confidence to his second unit like Richard Yee, Noy Castillo and Jun Limpot. Hence, all of them have become unsung heroes is some of their previous games. Overall, Ryan has finally found the system that works with the type of line-up that he has. This formula, coupled with their newly discovered defensive spunk, will prove to be the Giants main weapon now and in the future conferences.

And speaking of defensive spunk, we couldn’t help but take our hats-off to the guy from FEU: Koy Banal.

Banal’s inclusion in the coaching staff is a work of a genius. Since Gregorio is more of an offense-oriented coach, Banal’s arrival is a perfect complement to his style. It has given Gregorio more time to focus on figuring out how to maximize his players’ talents while Banal is drawing his signature defensive patterns. From zone to man-to-man defense, Banal has slowly infused a certain no-mercy attitude in the Giants system. As a result, the Giants are now the number 1 defensive team in the PBA.

Again, it all boils down to one: “the management.” They’ve invested to make the Gregorio-Banal partnership work. Since day one, they were never wrong!

Aside from what was mentioned, Purefoods has also made great pick-ups in the off-season. It looks like Gov. Rene Pardo and company has developed a knack for turning things into gold.

Pingris and Salvador are great addition to the frontline. It seems Raymundo couldn’t be happier. Their entry has allowed him to have more freedom attacking the hoops. Why not, when he knows he has someone watching his back? For your information, Raymundo is one of the prime candidates for the Best Player of the Conference Award. He’ll sure have a good fighting chance of capping it.

Roger Yap and Eugene Tejada have both resurrected their careers in the Purefoods’ camp. Yap, out from disbanded Shell is now enjoying major minutes playing the point. He’s even won games for the Giants in the semis. Equally commendable is journeyman Tejada who has had a back-to-back career game in the current Philippine Cup. Since having picked-up, these gentlemen have contributed a lot.

So you see how good it is to have a smart brain-thrust up your penthouse? It could work wonders. Looking at the Giants, you might think there is no way they could hold a candle against TNT or San Miguel. But because of the management’s effort and sacrifice, the Giants are now fast becoming a team they envisioned it to be.

Now, we know how Cinderella’s story goes. She came from an unforgettable beginning and ended up in the arms of his Prince and their enormous fortune.

‘Might be that the Giants are heading to that same destiny. If they sustain their energy, great defense, and chemistry, there’s no doubt they’ll become the PBA’s own version of Cinderella.

And who is her fairy Godmother? The management, who else?

Now, you know they’ll live happily ever after!