Ginebra’s Sol Mercado. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
It wasn’t just Ginebra who had to wait eight years for this championship.
It was also Sol Mercado’s first time to win it in his PBA career.
“It feels amazing. It’s the best feeling ever. All glory to God,” he said after the Gin Kings’ dramatic 91-88 Game 6 conquest on Wednesday.
Drafted fifth in 2008, Mercado had been through a roller coaster ride throughout his career but that ride had never seen him ascend to the top, until now.
Coming to the league as an exciting slasher, he hit it off quickly with fellow rookie Gabe Norwood, the two formed an exciting tandem which put Rain or Shine in the map and led the franchise to as far as the semifinals back in the 2009 Fiesta Conference.
But as the Elasto Painters entered a new chapter with coach Yeng Guiao’s hiring in 2010, Mercado was shipped to Meralco before he bounced around from one team to another.
The 6-foot-1 guard’s next best chance for a title came when he went to San Miguel in 2014, but his first two conferences saw the Beermen eliminated in the quarterfinals in humiliating fashion.
Motivated to finally win the big one, Mercado linked it up with fellow Fil-Am guard Chris Ross in the 2015 Philippine Cup, helping San Miguel snare the top seed at the end of the eliminations. But in a cruel twist, he was traded to Barako Bull for the returning Alex Cabagnot, before being shipped back to GlobalPort just before the start of the playoffs. San Miguel would go on and win the championship that conference.
Before the 2015 season ended, Mercado found his way to Ginebra where he split time with fellow guards LA Tenorio, Jayjay Helterbrand, Mark Caguioa, former Gin Kings Josh Urbiztondo and Emman Monfort, and later on, rookie Scottie Thompson.
As he watched his close friends Ross and Norwood celebrate championship wins after every conference, the 32-year-old kept his hopes up and honed his game further in trying to help Ginebra end its eight-year title drought.
Mercado improved his long range sniping, hitting a career-best 32-percent clip from three this season, while also reinventing himself as a reliable on-ball defender as coach Tim Cone usually fielded him in the Gin Kings’ famed three-guard lineups.
“It sounds so cliche, but hard work pays off. I had to work hard, get in the gym, work on my weaknesses for me to help my team,” he said.
And on Wednesday, Mercado’s long wait finally came to an end.
“I knew God had a purpose. I know me waiting eight years and going through this process, going through trades, finally getting here, finding a home – this is a sweet feeling,” he said. “Even Jayjay and Mark said that this is the sweetest championship they had.”
“It’s all worth it to wait for this one right here.”