Bago pa ideklarang si Rodrigo Roa Duterte na ang bagong presidente ng Pilipinas noong 2016 ay isang anino na tila may dalang takot at kaba na ang bumalot sa buong bansa. Hindi kaila sa mga Pilipino ang reputasyon ng isang Rodrigo Duterte – tinaguriang Dirty Harry at The Punisher ng ilan sa mga international press, marami sa ating mga kababayan ang nagbunyi sa kanyang pagkapanalo dahil sa kanyang tila sinserong hangarin at kampanya para sa tunay na pagbabago na matagal nang inaasam ng isang bayang uhaw sa hustisya. Ngunit may ilan din nangamba at natakot sa maaaring idulot ng ‘pagbabagong’ ito.

Hindi pa man ang kanyang pagpapasinaya noong Hunyo 30 ay may may lumitaw nang balita ng mga biktima ng extrajudicial killings na may kaugnayan sa droga. Habang tumatagal ay pataas ng pataas ang bilang ng mga namamatay sa kamay ng mga death squads, ng pulis, at ng mga vigilante. Dahil dito ay kinailangang magsalita ng Simbang Katolika laban sa lantarang pang-aabusong hinahayaang mangyari ng administrasyon laban sa karapatang pantao ng maraming Pilipino, karamihan sa mga ito ay mga mahihirap.

Noong Hulyo 2016 ay naglunsad ang Simbahang Katolika ng kampanya upang matigil ang extrajudicial killings sa bansa na pinamagatang “Huwag Kang Papatay” na may layuning lipunin ang mga pamilya ng mga biktim ng karahasang lumalaganap sa bansa. Pinamunuan ito ng misa ng Archdiocese of Manila noong Hunyo 25 ng nakaraang taon.

Bukod dito ay patuloy ang pagiging aktibo ng simbahan sa pagsulong ng karapatang pantao ng mga mahihirap na madalas na biktima ng karahasan na kumitil na ng mahigit-kumulang 7,600 na buhay mula pa noong isang taon. Isang matinding kritisismo sa operasyong ito ng administrasyon ay ang pagiging anti-poor nito dahil karamihan sa mga biktima ng mga pagpatay ay nasa ilalim ng sinasabing poverty line – mga drug addicts at tinatawag na mga petty criminals.

Marahil marami sa ating ang nagsasabi na mabuti ang hangarin ng pangulo, upang tuluyang malinis ang mga kalye ng mga masasamang-loob, ngunit hindi ang pagpatay sa kanila ang dapat na solusyon. Lahat ng tao ay may likas na karapatan sa makatarungang paglilitis. Hindi ninanais ng Simbahang Katolika na mabigo ang administrasyon sa layon nitong makamit ang pagbabago para sa bansa – ngunit magiging pabaya ang simbahan kung maituturing kung mananatili itong tahimik sa gitna ng karahasang dinaranas ng karamihan sa ating mga kababayan.

Ang tunay na pagbabago at ang katarungang hinahangad ng mga Pilipino ay hindi madaling makamit – lalung-lalo na sa paraang madugo at nauugat sa pagkitil ng buhay ng ibang tao. Ang ikalimang utos ang dapat pa rin manaig at pagtibayin – huwag kang papatay.

Jessica Racquel Santillan
A published written article in Katiwala, the official newsletter of San Roque Parish Church.

The crowd goes wild, and the stands, the bleachers, and the roof all thunder with constant cheering. Amidst the cacophony of cheers and screaming, you can make out three distinct syllables being chanted by the thousands of people in the coliseum – GI-NE-BRA!

It’s been about seven years now since I first became a Barangay Ginebra fan. My uncle accidentally got me into it, and I think it secretly annoyed my dad because he was the only person in the house who was a San Miguel Beerman fan back then; the fact that his eldest daughter was a Ginebra fan was about the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard. But my thirteen-year old self back then thought that those guys running around the court shooting the ball, diving for it, and hitting clutch shots were the coolest guys.

I’m part of the Fast and the Furious era – the times when Jayjay Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa were kings of the court then. What drew me in was their run and gun style of play, added with the never-say-die spirit that other fans talk about endlessly, which at that time I didn’t really understand.

That never-say-die spirit has apparently been passed on from generation to generation, finding its roots from arguably the most popular basketball figure in Philippines sports history, Robert Jaworski.

Numerous documentaries have been made featuring Ginebra, and its mysterious allure to thousands of legions of fans, and although I cannot say that I’ve watched all of them, I have watched a fair few. One thing that has constantly been presented in all of these attempts to figure out what it is that makes Ginebra the most popular ball club in Philippine basketball, is the presence of Robert Jaworski.

In a semifinals game against the Northern Consolidated Corporation (NCC) in the 1985 Reinforced Conference, Jaworski led his Ginebra team to victory alongside their import Michael Hackett. But he did not escape that game without injury – in the second period of the game, Jaworski’s lip ran smack into Jeff Moore’s elbow. It was an injury that sent him to the hospital, and left his team trailing in the game. That cut required seven stitches.

Fans at the ULTRA were dismayed at the loss of Ginebra’s playing coach. But much to their surprise (and to the apparent chagrin of NCC), Jaworski returned to the bench, sporting a cut upper lip. He checked himself back into the game with just eight minutes left. This sparked his teammates, and eventually led to them winning the game.

And thus, Never Say Die was born.

As a country that has overcome countless hurdles, and thriving in the midst of adversity, the tendency is to always gun for the underdogs. Ginebra has always been the team that people consider as underdogs – they didn’t have the most talented players and theirs was a rag-tag of a lineup. But they made it work and they won games and that was what attracted people to them.

Although back then, some spectators would jeer at some of the Ginebra players’ dirty of playing – unnecessary elbows, arms haphazardly thrown into faces – but this did not deter fans from supporting the team.

Then again, I don’t know that much about Jaworski’s glory days as a Ginebra player. After all, I’ve only heard stories from fond grandfathers, grandmothers, and uncles, and aunties about Ginebra’s golden era.

Because after Jaworski’s reign, then came Bal David and Marlou Aquino’s turn under the limelight. This new generation of Ginebra players upped the ante and drove fans even wilder with their clutch three pointers and breathtaking game winning shots. I’ve seen videos that features their half-court shots that would go through the hoop seamlessly and even if I knew they were going to win, I still held my breath at them.

And with Bal David comes the memory of that unforgettable 1999 game against the Talk ‘N Text Phone Pals. Bal David made an off-balance game winner against Asi Taulava in the game that would be the biggest upset in the history of the PBA.

And then, there was Mark Caguioa. Or rather, there was, and there still is. That virtual unknown to most of the loyal Ginebra fans when he first came into the PBA. People were doubtful and skeptical as to what it was that this seemingly rogue Fil-Am rookie could possibly bring to the table. In a few short years, Mark Caguioa brought a championship to the table.

In 2004, Mark Caguioa, alongside his backcourt partner Jayjay Helterbrand, led Ginebra to back to back championships and brought glory back to the Kings. The one who was once doubted for his ability to run the court and provide a much needed spark was hence named The Furious, and his partner, Helterbrand, aptly nicknamed The Fast.

When I first watched them play in the Finals of the 2008 Fiesta Conference, I was mystified by the way they executed their plays. Jayjay would be the one positioned in the corner because if left wide open, he could take the threes, while Mark would drive to the basket and try to disintegrate the inside defense of the opposing team. That teamwork was what made them so cool in my eyes.

There’s charisma, there’s charm, and there’s grace in the way these players move inside the court and the way they run the ball.

And now that there is a new generation of Barangay Ginebra players who are younger, fiercer, and hungrier for a championship title that has evaded the franchise for five years now, the crowd’s expectations are much higher than before.

But given the way the players have been playing, a lot of die-hard Ginebra fans have been saying that this is not the team they once were – not the team that fought neck-and-neck for a championship, not the same team that rubbed hard elbows for the crown, and definitely not the same strong-willed team that once were King of the Courts.

But I believe that the time will come for this new team of young bloods. Even if Mark and Jayjay are no longer the superstars they were once hailed to be, they will always be there to support these fresh athletes who are more than willing to bring home the bacon to its thousands of fans. Even if naysayers constantly jeer and taunt, say that the Never Say Die culture of Barangay Ginebra is not as strong anymore, I’m sure they’ll find their way back up to the top soon.

If you ask me now why I choose to be a fan of Barangay Ginebra, I still wouldn’t be able to give a straight answer to that. Why do you like dipping your fries in your sundae? It’s not that easy. Perhaps it’s an acquired taste. But I can probably tell you that because I grew up in a household that’s always fully supported Ginebra from the beginning, I got swept up in the tide. It’s quite difficult to deviate from that.

I haven’t had the chance to watch their games live during the most crucial times of the season, but I don’t need to know that their supporters will always be behind their backs, cheering them on with each loud ring of the syllabic chant of GI-NE-BRA.

Ginebra Magic, they call it. It’s not easy to explain. Just ask the endless list of people who tried to but came up with nothing concrete.

The only way to understand is to put yourself in the shoes of every Mang Juan, or Manang Lita, or the Kuya Dodong, and Aling Nena who have a long way to prove time and time again that Ginebra is still the most beloved basketball team in the Philippines.

Try to come up with a reason of your own, and maybe you can tell me more about it one day.

Dugong Ginebra, Lahing Ginebra.

Hook, line, and sinker.

Jessica Racquel Santillan
A written school exercise on Sports Opinion for Electronic Newsroom, 2014.