No more monkey on Sol’s back

MANILA, Philippines - On his eighth PBA season with his sixth team, Barangay Ginebra guard Sol Mercado finally nailed a championship and took the monkey off his back. Last Wednesday, Ginebra brought down Meralco, 91-88, in Game 6 of the Governors Cup Finals and ended an eight-year title drought with Mercado coming along for the ride.

“It was surreal, the best feeling ever,” said Mercado yesterday. “It didn’t even hit me at first. I had my doubters, guys who thought I’d never win a championship, who questioned my ability, who pointed out that after I got traded, teams would win championships without me. But instead of that talk dragging me down, I took it as motivation to work harder. It can’t get any better than winning my first championship with Ginebra.”

What made the ascent to the throne more special was his mother Rosalie Rayos’ presence. She flew in from Los Angeles last week and was able to watch Games 5 and 6. His mother left last night to go back to her work at the University of California-Davis. Mercado said his brother-in-law Tony texted from Los Angeles to remind him of how proud his late father Aaron must be up in heaven. Mercado’s father, who was Puerto Rican, died of a heart attack in 2012 at the age of 51.

“My dad never got to watch me play in the PBA,” said Mercado. “Tony told me Papa must be bragging up there, proud of me. After we won, I saw my mom crying. I tried my best not to cry, not to get too emotional. But I just kept thinking about my dad and how happy I was that my mom was with me at that moment.” Mercado’s two older sisters and a younger half-brother all live in the US.

Mercado, 32, said his Ginebra contract is expiring and with management’s blessings, he hopes to stay. He met with coach Tim Cone for the customary season-exit interview yesterday to talk about his performance and what to work on looking forward. “I’m taking Justin (Brownlee) and his family to Boracay then I’ll go to Hawaii to celebrate my cousin’s 40th birthday,” he said. “When I come back, I guess that’s when we’ll start talking about my contract.”

Mercado said Cone has been a blessing in his career. He’s been coached by Caloy Garcia at Rain Or Shine, Ryan Gregorio at Meralco, Junel Baculi and Richie Ticzon at GlobalPort, Todd Purves and Leo Austria at San Miguel Beer, Koy Banal at Barako Bull and Frankie Lim at Ginebra but there’s no one quite like Cone. “With no disrespect to my former coaches from whom I’ve learned a lot, I think coach Tim is the best coach I’ve ever played for and that includes my coaches in the US,” he said. “He’s a great teacher on and off the court. He teaches you things you can apply in life. His attention to detail is awesome. He saw my potential to become a total player and that’s what I’m working on. I feel like a rookie all over again, trying to develop into a complete player, to be there for my teammates not just as a scorer or a guy who drives the ball but as someone who can defend, read where my teammates are, pass, rebound and play team ball.”

Mercado said Cone taught him that a player doesn’t need to score big numbers to make an impact in a game. “With Ginebra, the key is playing for each other, not for ourselves,” he said. “Look at our conference stats, we led the league in assists (24.2) and defense. We had our ups and downs but we stuck together. I don’t know how we guys were put together but God had a purpose for us being here.”

During the Finals, Mercado said defending Meralco import Allen Durham was a challenge. “After Durham scored 46 points in Game 1, I told (assistant) coach Richard (del Rosario) to give me a crack at defending the guy,” he said. “Coach Richard told me coach Tim and he already talked about it. So I went out there to try to deny Durham, limit his touches and I was on him from start to finish in Game 2 which we won. But (Meralco) coach Norman (Black) made adjustments. They started running high-lows. Coach Tim knew defending Durham would be a collective effort. We wanted to give him different looks so Justin, Japeth (Aguilar) and I took turns defending him.”

Mercado started in nine of 23 games during the conference but five of his starts were in the Finals. “Coach Tim played small ball with L. A. (Tenorio), Scottie (Thompson) and me as starters,” he said. “We could do that since Scottie’s a great rebounder. But because Meralco used a lot of size, coach Tim adjusted by putting Joe (DeVance) in as a starter. With a small lineup, we tended to play up and down. But coach Tim wanted us to play playoff basketball, grind-it-out, slow down the tempo and win with defense. That’s what happened.”

Mercado said Brownlee’s his best import teammate ever. “I’ve played with some great imports like Earl Barron, Champ Oguchi, Paul Harris and Markeith Cummings but Justin’s all about team effort and winning,” he said. “Some imports come around with a chip on their shoulder and a bad attitude. Justin’s not just a great player but also a great teammate.”

As for his break-up with actress Denise Laurel, Mercado said they’re now just friends. “It wasn’t a bad break-up,” he said. “We’ve actually not been together the whole conference. I just wanted to focus on basketball and give each other some space. God has a plan for everything. Right now, we’re working on trying to just be friends and take it from there. She’s been very supportive of me throughout the conference, especially in the Finals, and I’m grateful. I don’t know what will happen in the end but let’s see where our friendship leads us.”