There are two sides to this of course: Either you’re in the Barangay or not. You cheer for Ginebra or you don’t. It’s plain and simple like choosing either Nora or Vilma, Claudine or Juday, Gary or Martin, Lakers or Celtics.

Other PBA teams have their loyal followers, but not in the same noisy numbers as the Barangay.

Inside the coliseum they chant “Ginebra! Ginebra!” as one, like a dizzying spell that often startles opponents.

Outside, win or lose, they are quick to proclaim that they are Ginebra fans while other PBA fans vacillate and can’t really commit an allegiance to a team.

Ginebra opponents have learned to accept this over the years—from the Robert Jaworski era, where the loyalty most definitely began, to the present crop of Mark Caguioa, Jayjay Helterbrand and Ronald Tubid.

Opposing coaches are one in strategy that to stop Ginebra you’ve got to take their crowd out of the game. Don’t let them start their fastbreak or give them chances to score emotion-laden three pointers.

Jaworski’s legacy to the team was his own brand of play that team loyalists adored and which detractors have dismissed. It was aggressive on both ends of the floor and spiced by lively entertaining theatrics.

The product’s marketing has used this as a fulcrum to continuously connect to the Filipino working man and woman who must face another day of making a living.

Ginebra also invested heavily through the years by bringing their teams to the provinces for meet-and-greet sessions. When the team would be eliminated from the playoffs, it did not break its connection with its fans and still visited far-flung places.

It is therefore not too difficult to understand why the loyalty to the team has remained long after Jaworski said adieu to the PBA.

Given their huge following, there is definite pressure on the present team to deliver a finals spot for the fans.

Ginebra is now down 1-3 in the series and will need everything it has left to scrape out of the hole it’s in. The pressure was so evident in Game 4, when Ginebra had all the chances to win in regulation but failed.

On the other hand, San Miguel Beer showed the gritty resolve to win the game, whether in regulation or in any number of overtime periods. The Beermen were poised and collected while Ginebra fumbled its chances.

There was a cloak of gloom in the Barangay after Game 4. It will now take the gutsy tradition of the Barangay and the united voices of its fans to chip away at this lead and stretch it to a seventh game.

Sev Sarmenta, Phil. Daily Inquirer