WINNING a championship from 1-3 down in a best-of-seven finale had been unheard of in the PBA until Barangay Ginebra, with import Jervis Cole, did the trick in the 1991 First Conference.
Easily remembered when this epic Ginebra championship is talked about is Rudy Distrito and his celebrated fall-away shot in the dying seconds to win the winner-take-all match for the Kings, 104-102, on that fateful night at the Ultra (now PhilSports Arena).
But then there's their mercurial import - Cole - that started it all, sparking the celebrated fightback that further underscored Ginebra's status as the league's undisputed never-say-die team.
From the brink, the Kings fought back to claim their second to last of four titles under legendary playing coach Robert Jaworski.
Remembering their historic tale, Cole said one big key in their comeback triumph was an awards ceremony the league held with the tourney not yet over (as always been the case).
Sponsored content:
"I think they started giving away like the MVP for the import in Game 5 before the game even started. It was spoken in Tagalog. I had no clue what was going on. So I'm asking my teammates what they're doing right now?
Then they started giving Bobby (Parks) the top American award or something and that irritated me. So I told them this is a total B-Ass," Cole recalled in his guesting in the ClutchPoint podcast of veteran sportswriter Rey Joble.
"I thought it was totally a slap on the face and disrespect to give out awards like the series is over. So we just talked on the bench 'let's just go, men. Give me the ball and when I pass it back, shoot it! Let's just go,'" added Cole.
Incensed, Cole powered Ginebra to a 116-90 victory in Game Five highlighted by a mind-boggling 32-0 run from an 80-85 deficit. The following game, Cole erupted for 51 points as Ginebra scored a 123-119 victory to send the series to a do-or-die situation.
To cap his great PBA ride, Cole collected 32 points and 19 rebounds, helping Ginebra into the situation where Distrito came through with his heroic act as the Kings pulled off one of the most memorable championships.
Sponsored content:
And pandemonium broke loose, with Cole experiencing being in an atmosphere he'd never been in all his basketball life.
"It was tremendous. It was phenomenal," said Cole, actually awed by the Ginebra fame and the fans' passion throughout his stay in the country.
"I'd played around the world. In Fresno State, we had 20,000 people watching us every time we stepped in there. But when I got there (Manila), it's different. It's like the Chicago Bulls and the Lakers in the NBA," said Cole.
And he said nothing beats the feeling of his PBA championship with the Gin Kings.
"It wasn't easy. It took us a lot of fortitude, a lot of desire and a lot of luck to get back from 1-3 down," he said. (SB)
