CHICAGO - If an average person utters 130 words a minute, as research indicated, then the four-man panel and fan guest who joined yesterday's 77-minute episode of SPIN POV must have blurted out more or less 50,050 words.
In the morning after that spirited, fun-soaked session that dug deep into the ongoing PBA Governor's Cup semifinals, two words kept roaring back to me like a chanty, melodic ear worm.
Paul Lee.
What a beautiful, disyllabic name, one that's destined for greatness and rolls off the tongue smoothly like butter.
But Paul Lee is also a name shrouded in mystery and intrigue.
After a star turn at the University of the East, he joined the PBA in 2011 and brought with him the potential of becoming one of the most outstanding achievers the league has ever seen.
A former Elasto Painter turned Hotshot, Paul is a three-time champion, an eight-time All-Star, and a Finals MVP in 2016.
But like the alluring scent of Dolce and Gabbana, doubts continue to trail the 33-year old gunner.
Those doubts have been reinforced by his sub-par performance in an ongoing semifinal series where Meralco is mounting Magnolia with a 2-1 lead.
Through three games in this contentious best-of-five affair, Paul has been held to a scandalous 28 points on 4-of-22 shooting from 3 and 10-of-37 from the field overall.
Magnolia is fighting for survival. Paul Lee is fighting for his legacy.
Can he rescue the Hotshots from the clutches of elimination at the hands of the sizzling Bolts?
WHICH PAUL LEE WILL SHOW UP TONIGHT?
And will big-game Paul finally shed this impostor Magnolia fans derisively call as "Pandemic Paul," his supposed alter ego with a penchant for shrinking under the bright lights?
All these questions compelled tri-media sensation and SPIN POV moderator Snow Badua to make an impassioned plea on behalf of thousands of extremely nervous Magnolia fans.
"Ikaw ang driver ng Magnolia ngayon. Ikaw ang tumayong lider. Ikaw ang mag pasimuno sa atake," said Badua, a highly controversial yet fiercely unflappable social media giant.
Will Paul Lee answer the bell?
I have my reservations. Only because he has a bad left ankle that is swollen as a narcissist's ego. A pre-game cortisone shot, assuming he avails of this medical relief, can only do so much to blunt the pain and free his limitations.
Our editor-in-chief Dodo Catacutan, a confessed sucker for "comeback stories" and a believer in the mettle of the human spirit asserts otherwise. He thinks Magnolia will win Games 4 and 5.
I hope Dodo is right. Magnolia head coach, Chito Victolero, is a friend and constant textmate. I wish him well.
In the end, though, it's all up to Paul Lee. All up to him. All up to that 6 feet and 200 pounds of Tondo grit.
As he sits in the purgatory of a passing storm, the Paul Lee saga could only end two ways.
In the heaven of redemption.
Or the hell of broken promises.
We find out tonight when Game 4 rages at the Araneta Coliseum.
Let's get this party started.
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