DESPITE being a benchwarmer, veteran Jerwin Gaco has been providing the leadership and inspiration for Go for Gold in their Finals series against Che’Lu Bar and Grill in the 2018 PBA D-League Foundation Cup.
Gaco has been spending most of the time on the bench in the Finals but sharing his experience and guiding his younger teammates has helped the Scratchers grab a 2-1 series lead, moving a win away from bagging the title.
“Parang ako ‘yung kuya dito sa team, halos ako na ‘yung pinakamatanda, sa akin naman gamitin ako o hindi walang problema as long as 'di ba kumbaga may trabaho tayo,” said Gaco, who has averaged 5.92 points, 4.08 rebounds and 1.92 assists with 13:20 minutes per game.
His playing time was reduced in the Finals, but the 37-year-old forward said that there is no hard feelings even though he has been the last resort of head coach Charles Tiu in the frontcourt, giving the younger bigs Chris Porter, Vince Tolentino, Rey Publico, and Matt Salem more playing time.
“So okay lang na ‘yung ibang mga teammates ko is nakukuha ‘yung playing time ko okay lang walang problema,” said Gaco, who last won a championship when the San Mig Coffee Mixers accomplished a grand slam in the 2013-2014 PBA season.
“Sabi ko nga nakalimang championships na ako sa PBA kumbaga alam ko na rin na naglaro na ko sa PBA at dito rin sa (D-League) okay lang sakin walang problema sa akin,” he added.
Gaco only played three minutes and grabbed two rebounds in Game Three but from the bench, he reminded his wards not to give up despite being down by 14 in the second half, 52-38, and even in the last seven minutes of fourth quarter, 80-71.
“Di ba down kami sa first half (nung Game Three), sinabi ko lang talaga na ‘Pare, hayaan natin ‘yung referee, back to zero tayo laruin lang natin yung game natin. Hayaan mo na kung manalo tayo o matalo at least wala kaming sisihan,’” he shared.
With Gaco helping the coaching staff in motivating his teammates, the Scratchers never gave up and completed an amazing 98-96 come-frome-behind win through the heroics of Paul Desiderio, taking Game Three over the Revellers last Thursday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
“Ang sarap sa feeling kasi first time ko rin sa PBA D-league na mag-finals. Hopefully, makuha ‘yung championship,” said the five-time PBA champion.
With a win away from bringing home the championship, Gaco believes that this could be the last run of the current core of Go For Gold as most of his teammates will try their luck in the PBA Draft, while some will be playing for Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League.
The former PBA cager wants to win the Foundation Cup title for a fitting culmination before they part ways as he knows that winning this one would be a huge boost for the careers of his teammates.
“Actually itong team namin ngayon, sabi ko nga sa mga teammates ko parang ngayon na lang din mabubuo ‘to parang after nito siyempre ‘yung iba magpapadraft, ‘yung iba may mga teams sa MPBL,” he expressed. “Di ba magkakanya-kanya na kami so sinabi ko rin na masarap kunin’ yung championship dito sa D-League kasi ‘yung ibang papadraft pa pangkumpiyansa.”
But before they achieve their dream, Gaco is reminding the Scratchers to brace for a tough Game 4 match against the bounce back-seeking Revellers on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
“Siyempre ‘yung Che’Lu hindi naman maglalaro ‘yan ng ibibigay na lang sa amin, kailangan kami ang talagang kumuha. Kumbaga kami ang dapat na mas aggressive sa Game Four,” he said.
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