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THE
way he sounded during the postgame interview, it was as
if Jong Uichico is making his first finals appearance.
“This
is very emotional for me,” the Ginebra coach told
sportswriters who swarmed him Sunday night following
Ginebra’s 98-89 conquest of the Talk ’N Text Phone Pals
in Game Six of their semifinal showdown that landed
Uichico and his Kings in the finals of the Philippine
Basketball Association’s centerpiece event.
Noticeably, Uichico was trying to hold back his tears.
It seemed what he had just accomplished was the defining
moment of his coaching career.
“I
have my personal reason,” he said, but didn’t elaborate.
There
is a strong suspicion that the mild-mannered tactician
still feels bad about being “traded” from San Miguel to
Ginebra.
Uichico, who became a full pledge PBA coach in 1999, has
masterfully guided San Miguel to nine finals appearances
in 17 conferences and has won six championships.
“If I
get emotional it’s because you try your best to get to
the championship. My first goal is to really get to the
championship. Now, you have a great possibility of
playing your former team,” said the ex-San Miguel coach.
Uichico said he is excited by the thought of playing the
San Miguel Beermen in the best-of-seven titular series
for the Talk ’N Text-Philippine Basketball Association
Philippine Cup.
San
Miguel and Ginebra arranged a championship showdown in
this same conference in 2001 with the Beermen winning in
six games.
“What
I’m afraid of is that we might have lost so much emotion
to win this series, we might not have much left for the
finals,” said Uichico,
He
need not worry though. The Kings have enough time to
rest and reenergize while waiting for the finals
opponent. And it may not be the Beermen.
The
Red Bull Barakos beat the Beermen, 104-100, in the other
semifinal series Sunday to force a deciding Game Seven
tomorrow. |
