Puso. Pride. Palaban.
Those were the three P’s inculcated by former University of Santo Tomas head coach and ex-Ginebra star Pido Jarencio to his troops when he had still been the mentor of the Growling Tigers. Those three P’s are also the essence of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s battle cry: Never Say Die.
Thursday evening, reports surfaced that former King Tiger Kevin Ferrer is set to be drafted by the 2016 PBA Governors Cup Champions Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. Once he had heard of this development, the 23-year-old small forward was more than elated by the possibility of joining the PBA’s crowd darlings.
“Sobrang saya ko at excited kasi Ginebra nga yun, fan favorite,” said Ferrer during the 2016 SLAM Draft Suite. “Pero rumors pa lang naman eh, ready kahit anong mangyari.”
“Favorite team ko din yung Ginebra, si coach Tim [Cone] favorite coach ko din, gusto ko talaga maging coach siya. Sobrang excited ako.”
Ferrer believes that he can equal the passion, the same “Never Say Die” mentality that this batch of Gin Kings had displayed last season.
“Kasi yun din naman turo samin. Sa UST palang talaga ‘Never Say Die’ pa rin. Huwag kang hihinto basta laro lang,” the UST player said.
“Gusto ko rin talaga mag-champion sa PBA, sana mabigyan ko ng maraming championship, matulungan ko ulit yung Ginebra makabalik sa championship at makuha din yung title.”
If drafted by Ginebra, it will also mark a reunion of three generations of King Tigers, as former UAAP MVP Jervy Cruz and Aljon Mariano are also in the roster. This will help his transition to the pros easier, according to him.
“Reunion ng King Tigers yun ah. Sabi nga nila ‘once a Tiger always a Tiger’, sobrang saya din kasi nandun yung mga higher batch ko.
“Sa tingin ko madali naman mag-adjust eh, kahit ano basta readly lang talaga ako ibigay 100 percent ko,” the Gilas Cadet said.
