IT was a huge win for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel cagers against the Bay Area Dragons last Sunday and naturally fans from different walks of life from this basketball crazy archipelago were all in to help push the team to win it all.
Well in case you were struck by a huge coconut in the head while resting under a tree, here are the things you might have missed during the PBA Commissioner’s cup finals.
The tale of the Chinese and US ambassadors
Chinese ambassador Huang Xylian was given the honors of doing the opening tip-off ceremonies at the start of game 7 of the PBA Commissioner’s cup final as one of the finalists, the Bay Area Dragons are based in Hong Kong, a territory of China. The team is composed of two former NBA players, Canadian Andrew Nicholson, American Myles Powell and a majority Chinese contingent that features 7 ‘5 center Lui Chuanxing also known as “Big Liu”.
Naturally some are quick to point out that this game has become a source for friendly ribbing between two geo-political rivals China and the United States as the US ambassador, MaryKay Carlson, publicly announced her support for the Gin Kings in a cute tweet where she can be found wearing the jersey of Ginebra’s best import, American player Justin Brownlee.
Senator Bong Go and his awkward fist-sign photo with Leni Robredo supporter Daniel Padilla
The elections have long been over and people generally have moved on with their lives and are more preoccupied thinking about how they can go without outrageously priced onions in their cooking than think about whether they like red or pink. However, in this one instance people might benefit to remember that heated rivals in this town are not exactly lifetime enemies. They’ll occasionally bump into a basketball game and say hello to each other.
A Senator becoming a source of amusement for netizens
There have been a few people who did a double-take on this photo of Senator Francis Tolentino looking like a deadringer of a former Congressman and Mayor Lito Atienza in his floral button down polo. You’d think Atienza took some youth elixir and did a show and tell at the game.
A record 56,500 PBA fans showed up at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan to support Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and all went home happy and got a little more in Philippine basketball’s biggest night.
Photos Courtesy PBA, Ambassador MaryKay Carlson Twitter and Bong Go FB
