WHETHER you're a rival fan or a diehard Barangay Ginebra supporter, PBA fans can't help but root for the Kings as they take on the Bay Area Dragons in the best-of-seven finals of the 2022 Commissioner's Cup.
So far, the Kings have been standing their ground against the powerhouse guest team from Hong Kong, impressing not a few fans.
[READ: Vernon Macklin among RJ Abarrientos' coaches in Korea]
Count former Ginebra import Vernon Macklin among those impressed.
"I’ve been keeping up, that’s awesome," Macklin, who suited for the Kings in the 2013 Commissioner’s Cup where he led the team to a runner-up finish under former coach now team governor Alfrancis Chua, said.
"I've seen my guy LA had a huge game," he shared with SPIN.ph, referring to LA Tenorio's 22-point conference-high performance in Game One.
Now an assistant coach in Ulsan Hyundai Mobis in KBL, Macklin bared he's still in touch with his former teammates at Ginebra to this day.
"We be in contact on Instagram," he said.
"And the best thing I remember is in general playing in the Philippines, after my first season in Turkey I thought overseas basketball was going to be extremely tough for me due to the situation there. So mentally I didn’t want to go back overseas," he bared.
"But when I got to the PBA, everyone was so nice, and [they] helped me feel comfortable being in a different country, the fans where amazing, my teammates showed so much love my coaching staff as well!"
The Georgetown native returned to the country in the 2018 Commissioner's Cup to play for the Magnolia Hotshots before he took his talent to the KBL.
Looking back on his brief stint, Macklin said he'll never forget the fans and the team's #NSD mentality.
"I remember the never-say-die mentality that Ginebra always played with no matter what, that was amazing to be a part of," Macklin said.
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