Has Simon Enciso hushed the critics?
If you ask him, he certainly believes so.
The 31-year-old couldn’t be any prouder to have silenced the non-believers now that he’s finally won a PBA championship following San Miguel’s conquest of the 2022 Philippine Cup by overthrowing rival TNT from its rule.
“All my life, I’ve been doubted,” he said moments after the Beermen’s Game Seven win at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
“To rise above all the naysayers and haters, it’s a blessing. I’m a champion now, they can’t tell me shit!”
Enciso was traded to SMB back in November of last year. And his arrival to the league’s winningest ball club came with questions, as he was acquired in exchange for no less than Alex Cabagnot in a one-for-one deal.
The 39-year-old was a big part of the famous ‘Death Five’ that brought the Beermen eight titles from 2015-19, thus the shock of many when the team began its rebuild by letting go of one of its best players to Terrafirma.
The one he was traded for, on the other hand, was still in search of his maiden PBA title then — a search that has turned him into a journeyman as he’s played for numerous teams since being drafted by NLEX in 2015.
Reaching the Finals, though, is nothing new to Enciso. He’s been there twice — first with Alaska in 2018, and another with the Tropang Giga two years later in the Clark bubble. He fell short, however, in both of those times.
Aside from those heartbreaks, he’s felt how it’s like to hit rock bottom as well. He never tasted a single win during his entire stint with Blackwater in the 2021 Philippine Cup as they lost all of their 11 games in the conference.
That is why no one can blame the 5-foot-11 gunner for being filled with extreme elation when his quest for a championship finally came to an end on Sunday night — at the expense of, coincidentally, his former team.
“It’s big-time, man,” said Enciso, who contributed 12 points in the 119-97 victory. “It is my first championship … I’ve been to the finals twice, it’s my third time. To win it is just a blessing. There are no words that can explain.
“I’m a champ now, so they can’t tell me nothin’.”
Now, he hopes to win more.
“That’s the goal.”
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
