(Editor’s Note: Rebanse’s PBA@50 is a series dedicated to a retelling of some of the PBA’s most unforgettable games. standout personalities, spectacular performances, and seminal moments—all to commemorate the Golden Season of Asia’s first pay-for-play league. This installment is particularly timely as it is about a team that will be playing on Christmas Day this year.)
Believe it or not, Tim Cone wasn’t always calling the shots for Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. He was once at the helm of the Magnolia Hotshots, or the San Mig Coffee Mixers (or the BMEG Llamados), as they were known then. Cone’s time with the franchise was ultra-successful, as he led the team to five titles—in succession—and a PBA Grand Slam in 2014.
But, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, and that was the case with the Cone–San Mig marriage. The powers-that-be in San Miguel Corporation pulled Cone out of San Mig Coffee and transferred him to sister team Ginebra prior to the 2015 PBA Season (Season 41), ostensibly to help the league’s most popular ballclub break out of what was then a seven-year title drought.
Star Deals Cone Losing Debut
As fate would have it—or by design, most likely—Cone would make his Ginebra debut against—who else?—the Star Hotshots. It was Manila Clasico with a new slant: the new coach meeting his old team in a rivalry game, no less. Star, led by James Yap and now coached by Jason Webb, showed it didn’t miss a beat without their mentor, frustrating Ginebra, 86–78, and reminding Cone why the crowd darlings haven’t won a championship in a while.
Cone and Ginebra lost again in their second game, this time against the Barako Bull Energy. A win over the Alaska Aces, Cone’s original team in the PBA, provided a measure of relief, only for Ginebra to suffer a third loss (to the San Miguel Beermen this time) in four games.
A 1–3 start probably wasn’t what the powers-that-be in SMC envisioned when they reassigned Cone to Ginebra. But team and mentor eventually settled down, with a win over the Meralco Bolts paving the way for a 6–1 finish to the eliminations. That strong finish allowed Ginebra to hike its record to 7–4, which was good enough to get one of the four win-once incentives reserved for seeds 2 through 6. The top two finishers—Alaska and San Miguel—got outright semis berths for topping the elimination round.
Star, on the other hand, went 3–7 after that opening-day win against their former coach’s new team. The Hotshots’ struggles in the eliminations pushed them all the way to ninth and, as if destined by fate, it also sealed a quarterfinals showdown with—yes, that’s right!—Cone and Ginebra.
Manila Clasico on Christmas Day
Needless to say, Ginebra and Star’s second collision in the latter’s post-Cone era had higher stakes. For Ginebra, a win would send them to the do-or-die second phase of the quarterfinals. For Star, a victory meant survival, the chance to send the match-up to a do-or-die battle. Fittingly enough, this all-important Manila Clasico was scheduled on Christmas Day in 2015. Predictably, fans came in droves—more than 21,000 to be exact—and filled the Mall of Asia Arena in what is still the highest attendance in a PBA Christmas Day game
Ginebra struck first, winning the first quarter, 21–18, before taking a slim 38–37 lead into intermission. It was a Tim Cone-type of half—low-scoring, defense-oriented. But Star made its move after halftime, with James Yap, Mark Barroca, and PJ Simon torching Ginebra and staking the Hotshots to a 62–54 lead behind 25 third-quarter points. Star poured it on in the early minutes of the fourth, extending their lead to 74–56 with just under nine minutes left in regulation.
The Hotshots were cooking. Ginebra, on the other hand, looked dead in the water, like a team already thinking of the next battle ahead.
Ginebra and the Christmas Day Miracle
Just as it seemed like Star was on its way to going 2–0 against Cone, Team NSD began showing some of that fabled never-say-die spirit. But the Hotshots seemingly had an answer for every Ginebra rally, and Webb and his wards were, in fact, still ahead, 76–65, with time down to 1:26. A win was imminent. A do-or-die clash was all but guaranteed.
That is, until Ginebra went full NSD.
Sol Mercado went coast-to-coast for a quick and-1 to trim Star’s lead to 76–68. A Rafi Reavis turnover then led to a Scottie Thompson split from the charity stripe that made it 76–69. Justin Melton answered with a split of his own, followed by a booming Mercado triple to move Ginebra closer, 77–72, with 34 ticks remaining.
But time wasn’t on Ginebra’s side anymore.
Another Star split from the line, this time by Yap of all people, left the door slightly ajar for Japeth Aguilar to knock on it loudly with his own triple off a setup job by Mercado. Two freebies from Mark Barroca looked like the proverbial nails on the coffin, as they gave the Hotshots an 80–75 lead—only for the Sol Train to hit another booming three to nudge Ginebra to within two points of Star, 80–78. Then, in the ensuing possession, Tenorio knocked the ball loose from Barroca, leading to a Thompson lay-in on the other end to knot the count at 80 with four ticks left.
Nearly the same thing happened in Star’s final possession, with Mercado this time poking the ball away from Yap. The Sol Train, full steam ahead, recovered the loose ball and made a beeline for the basket—all alone and not a Hotshot in sight.
He muffed what would’ve been the game-winner.
But Ginebra had a new lease on life. The dead had risen. Manila Clasico was going to OT.
It’s Raining Threes
Perhaps fittingly, this Christmastime Manila Clasico was headed to overtime. And, on cue, the two teams delivered high drama, exchanging booming triples throughout extra time in a cardiac finish that ended right at the final buzzer.
Barroca for three, right corner, Hotshots up, 83–80.
Tenorio for three, right corner, game tied at 83.
Barroca for three, straightaway, Star ahead, 86–83.
Mercado for three, right up the middle, game tied again at 86.
Alex Mallari for three, dead center, Hotshots go in front, 89–86.
Mercado for three, top of the key, game tied once more at 89.
Defensive stops on both ends gave Ginebra possession with 15 seconds left in OT and the chance to win it. A preemptive foul by Barroca gave the Gin Kings four seconds to go for the win, and it was all the time they needed. Tenorio inbounded to Mercado, his pass barely escaping the fingertips of Mallari, who had gambled for the steal. Barroca, who was guarding Tinyente on the inbound, was left no choice but to switch to the red-hot Sol Train, who then bounced a pass to a wide-open Tenorio.
No. 5 let it fly—and fans not only of the two franchises, but also of the PBA for sure know what happened next.
Comeback completed. Christmas Day miracle in the books.
(P.S. Ginebra couldn’t quite carry the momentum of that riveting win in the second phase of the quarterfinals, where Team NSD lost to the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 84–83. Ginebra also faltered in the Commissioner’s Cup that season before finally breaking through in the Governors’ Cup, thanks to a certain Justin Brownlee coming to town.)
