A rewarding 2013 season for Pingris

MARC Pingris, the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals MVP, finally got the much-needed rest his battle-weary body  needed.

You don’t even have to ask him if 2013 was the most grueling year in his career.

His most likely answer would be, “Yes it is,” quickly followed by, “and the most rewarding too.”

Of course, the period of rest in-between the end of the third conference and the opening of PBA season 39 is too short to give Ping’s body ample time to heal and recover, but his rewards will more than make up for that.

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Like most of his teammates in Gilas Pilipinas, Ping had to divide his time  and effort between his mother team in the PBA and the national squad. Training for the Fiba-Asia Men’s Championship took a lot of traveling around the globe, which was a big sacrifice on his part because he was not used to being separated from wife Danica and kids for long periods of time.

While most of his Gilas teammates were unable to perform creditably when they returned to play in the PBA third conference, Ping managed to keep his head above water and even excelled.

What can you say about this guy who played hurt at a time when his services mattered most?

“He’s all heart,” said his coach, Tim Cone. Both Tim and Gilas coach Chot Reyes were all praises for the brave warrior from Pozorrubio, Pangasinan.

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Season 38 was a banner year for the PBA in terms of gate attendance, gate receipts and TV ratings.

“And with three different teams, Talk ‘N Text, Alaska and San Mig Coffee, taking a title each in the three conferences of the season, the competitive balance of the league has also been underscored,” said PBA commissioner Chito Salud.

What proved interesting to most was the fact that Manny V. Pangilinan’s PLDT came on board as a title sponsor of the Governors’ Cup Finals, although corporate his rivals were playing in the series.

Obviously it was a show of support for the league and for TV5, coveror of the PBA games.

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“What you  don’t know is that the PBA has boosted the ratings of the Kapatid network,” said Peachy Guioguio, TV5 PR head.

“Ratings for the whole series fared better than last season’s Governors’ Cup series. Game 7 ratings were impressive, with an average of nearly 2.9 million viewers tuning in to the much-awaited finals which packed the Smart Araneta Coliseum with over 22,000 fans.”

Peachy said congratulations are definitely in order for commissioner Salud and outgoing PBA chair Robert Non for their all-out efforts  to achieve the banner feat.