THE PBA 50th Season Philippine Cup quarterfinal series between Barangay Ginebra and Converge saw a late-game incident that gave birth to the 'Mr. Never Heard' moniker of Gin Kings benchwarmer Raymond Aguilar.
The nickname was unintentionally given by Converge rookie Juan Gomez de Liano during the hard-fought series that saw the Gin Kings overcoming a twice-to-win disadvantage to oust the FiberXers and advance to the semifinals.
It all started when Gomez de Liano did a gesture after a made basket in overtime after Converge looked headed for a comfortable lead in overtime against Barangay Ginebra during the knockout game of that quarterfinal series that also caught the ire of the Gin Kings fans.
READ Juan GdL trolled as late-game gesture backfires in OT thriller
The celebration proved to be premature as Barangay Ginebra mounted a comeback capped by Stephen Holt draining a buzzer-beating three for a 99-98 win.
Shortly after the win, a video inside the Ginebra locker room saw Aguilar making fun of Gomez de Liano's celebration. The scene later spread online prompting netizens to ask for Gomez de Liano's reaction to Aguilar's act, to which the young star responded with the words ‘never heard of him,’ drawing even more negative reactions.
When asked about the incident recently, Gomez de Liano brushed off the incident, saying that he was not offended in any way by Aguilar trolling him.
“Nothing personal,” said Gomez de Liano. “I want to meet him honestly. Seems like a really nice guy. It was just nothing, honestly. Hindi naman ako naaasar.”
“He copied my celebration. It was emotions. Pero wala. Nothing personal,” Juan GDL continued.
Gomez de Liano said he is even happy that Aguilar ran with the ‘never heard of him' reply by proclaiming himself as ‘Mr. Never Heard,’ even making shirts embracing the nickname.
At the end of the day, Gomez de Liano said that these exchanges between players will also benefit the PBA.
“Seems like a chill dude and I looked him up, been in the league, won a couple of championships, and I have respect for him. Nothing serious,” said Gomez de Liano.
“It's funny though. Okay nga na sinakyan niya. He got his own merch. And it adds more thrill to the PBA. Having that rivalry. I feel like Converge-Ginebra, a rivalry will be a thing now, and hopefully, in the coming conferences, we (Converge and Ginebra) will see each other,” said Gomez de Liano.
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