The Gregorio connection

Did you know that San Mig Coffee star P. J. Simon once pleaded to be given a chance to play in the PBA for as low as P30,000 monthly? He didn’t even mind being a benchwarmer. All Simon dreamed of was to play in the PBA, to be given a chance to show what he can do on the court.

That was in 2003. Two years before, his name was entered in the PBA draft without his knowledge. Someone submitted his name and Sta. Lucia Realty picked him on the fifth round as the 43rd overall selection. Simon was in his fourth year at the University of Mindanao in Davao and had no plans of quitting school to play hoops for a living. After graduation, Simon played for the Davao Eagles in the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association.

Simon happened to be in a bar in Davao City that fateful day when Davao Insular Hotel general manager Patrick (Pato) Gregorio met up with Coca-Cola manager Jimmy Ledesma for a few drinks. Gregorio was assigned in Davao for about four years and regularly played basketball with a group of friends, mainly businessmen, who love the game. Ledesma was one of his hoop buddies.

“Jimmy introduced me to this young player,” said Gregorio, now Maynilad Water senior vice president and Talk ‘N’ Text alternate governor in the PBA Board. “The player turned out to be P. J. and asked if I could introduce him to my brother Ryan who was then Purefoods coach. He told me he was a free agent, willing to play for P30,000 a month even as a benchwarmer. He just wanted to earn to help out his family.” A few years before, Simon’s mother Cristina passed away of cancer. Simon is the youngest of three.

Gregorio then phoned his friend PBA Commissioner Jun Bernardino to check on Simon’s status. Bernardino, now deceased, verified the records and said Simon was drafted in 2001 but since he was unsigned, had become a free agent. “Next, I spoke with Ryan,” he said. “He suggested for P. J. to play in the PBL and if he did well, he promised to sign him up.” As it turned out, Simon played for two PBL championship teams with Hapee and won MVP honors. He never forgot the Gregorio brothers so that when the opportunity came to jump to the PBA, the only team he considered was Purefoods. Simon joined the Purefoods free agent tryouts, convinced Ryan – now Meralco coach – he deserved a slot and broke into the PBA on the same season as James Yap in 2004-05.

“Some people wondered how P. J. got into Ryan’s radar,” said Pato. “It was actually through the Davao connection. P. J.’s story is very inspiring. Who would’ve imagined that this young player nearly begging for a chance to play in the PBA is now a star with five PBA championships?”

* * * *

Rain Or Shine’s partial walkout in Game 6 of the recent PBA Philippine Cup finals drew a fine of P2 Million. Under the rules, a team that walks out and doesn’t return to the court after 90 seconds is given a delay of game warning. After another 90 seconds, the team is given a technical foul. In the Elasto Painters’ case, the team trooped back to the floor after 1:45 from the point when Commissioner Chito Salud signalled the clock to start.

It is the Commissioner’s call when the clock will start. If a team doesn’t return after 15 minutes, it is considered a total walkout with a fine of P10 Million. A total walkout also carries a penalty of suspension for the coach and if it happens during a playoff series, forfeiture.

The quirk in the rules is that a partial walkout of less than three minutes is just a delay of game warning with no technical foul. So when coach Yeng Guiao did the partial walkout in the second quarter, San Mig Coffee wasn’t even awarded a technical free throw. Mixers coach Tim Cone couldn’t believe the penalty was just a warning but that’s how it is according to the rulebook.

Apparently, Guiao didn’t know that the penalty for a partial walkout was a P2 Million fine. He presumably knew the penalty would only be a warning – which is likely why he gambled in pulling the stunt. It was a clever way of breaking San Mig Coffee’s momentum without even sacrificing a technical foul. Cone said in the future, there would be no stopping a coach to call for a partial walkout with his team down by one, only a few seconds left and no timeout remaining.

Perhaps, the PBA might consider penalizing a partial walkout of less than three minutes with an automatic ejection of the coach, two technical free throws and ball possession for the other team. Of course, the fine of P2 Million will remain to further discourage a repeat of the trick.

* * * *

Three-time world boxing champion Nonito Donaire, Jr. hurriedly flew out of Las Vegas for Tokyo the other day when he was informed of the death of his Japanese godfather Dr. Osamu Kato. Donaire took the flight alone and will attend Dr. Kato’s cremation. He’s expected back in Las Vegas within a week.

Dr. Kato, a pioneer in invitro fertilization, has been a staunch supporter of Filipino fighters, particularly Donaire. He was bed-ridden with a debilitating ailment for years and Donaire made it a point to always visit whenever he could. Because he could not travel to watch Donaire’s fights, Dr. Kato would send 10 to 20 of his representatives to attend instead as a show of support. Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera have also been Dr. Kato’s guests in Tokyo.

“Dr. Kato is well-known all over the world with invitro fertilization clinics in New York and Los Angeles,” said a source close to Donaire. “He also has a stem-cell clinic in Makati. He loved boxing. He’s a big loss to the sport.” The source said contracts are now being finalized for WBA/IBO featherweight champion Simpiwe Vetyeka’s defense against Donaire at the Cotai Arena in the Venetian Resort Macau on May 31.