SOL Mercado has now raised the ante for Barangay Ginebra to welcome new acquisition Jared Dillinger with open arms.
It will definitely cost the veteran forward, that’s for sure.
Mercado disclosed Dillinger has to take the whole team for a buffet and make a public apology as a form of initiation in his entry to the PBA’s most popular ballclub.
Teammate and close pal Joe Devance earlier tweeted that Dillinger needs to apologize and buy the team some pizza before the former Meralco standout comes on board to the team shortly after the Kings acquired the Fil-Am guard from the unrestricted free agent list on Friday.
Just a day after, the price Dillinger has to pay for once saying he can’t stand those guys (Kings),’ has just been raised.
“He has to take us out to buffet the whole team, and apologize, public apology to the fans before we accept him,” said Mercado following the Kings’ thrilling 73-70 win over NorthPort Batang Pier on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
On second thought, it should be two buffets, added Mercado.
“Maybe two buffets at the Heat (Shangri-La) and the Spiral (Sofitel). If he does that and make a public apology to all the fans, then we’ll accept him.”
Ginebra fans though, should not take the words as it were as Mercado made it clear that he, Devance, and Dillinger are all friends.
“But we’re serious about him having to take us out on buffet and making a public apology,” stressed Mercado.
The stocky Ginebra guard also understood that Dillinger only uttered those words two years ago during the season-ending Governors Cup out of his fierce competitiveness.
“It’s hard to like a team that continues to beat you. It’s just like he wants to see us lose, just like everyone wants to see Golden State lose. In this league, people want to see San Miguel lose because they’re winning,” said Mercado.
“So it’s not any different. We continue to beat his team. I think that’s where it came from. It’s just him not liking us.”
There’s no doubt however, on the tangibles Dillinger can bring to the table once he’s fully healthy to play again.
“He’s definitely got to get healthy but the chores that he could bring to our team the versatility, defensively and offensively, he could definitely help us,” added Mercado.
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