PBA: Can red-haired Ronald Tubid be Sakuragi for struggling SMB?

 

At the start of the Commissioner's Cup, veteran guard Ronald Tubid dyed his hair red akin to Hanamichi Sakuragi, the protagonist of the popular manga and anime series "Slam Dunk."

 

It perhaps was a fitting image for the high-leaping 6-foot-1 guard, who grabbed the crucial rebound helped the San Miguel Beermen clinch their first All-Filipino title in 14 years when they won the Philippine Cup last month.

 

Tubid said he was not consciously trying to emulate Shohoku's resident red-haired rebounder from the series, which has been airing on GMA-7 since the late '90s.

 

"Before pa naman ako nagpupula ng hair. It just happened na pula lang siguro," the guard told GMA News Online.

 

In the PBA, Purefoods' Marc Pingris has been christened with the nickname "Sakuragi" for his strong rebounding game similar to the Japanese fictional character. Tubid is more of a long-range shooter, a skill that is absent from Sakuragi's arsenal.

 

Red-haired or not, however, Tubid certainly emulates Sakuragi's spirit when it comes to basketball philosophy, especially now that SMB absorbed its third consecutive loss in the conference.

 

"This team has a lot of talent, pero you know what will happen if talent doesn't work hard," said Tubid, who grabbed four rebounds in 19 minutes of play against Blackwater in the Commissioner's Cup.

 

In Slam Dunk, other teams such as Kainan, Shoyo, and Ryonan are far more talented compared to Sakuragi's Shohoku, but the team persevered and worked hard in order to beat stronger opponents.

 

San Miguel, in contrast, seems to have fallen into the trap of getting overconfident because of their recent championship conquest and their status as the most talented team in the league with a lineup boasting of two Most Valuable Players Arwind Santos and June Mar Fajardo. Two of the team's three losses in the tournament have come against expansion teams.

 

"We don't even think na because we are the champion team, all teams want to beat us," said Tubid.

 

Despite the ominous start, however, Tubid rallied his teammates and encouraged them to start working hard in practice and remember the effort that won them the most coveted trophy in the PBA.

 

"Sinabi ko sa kanila we'll do it again, we're not gonna promise, just work hard and play," he said. —JST, GMA News