PBA: PJ Ramos and the daunting challenge of silencing the Ginebra crowd

On the eve of Valentines' Day, Kia import Peter John Ramos tried to silence the passionate Barangay Ginebra crowd with a finger upon his lips, much like what Alaska forward Calvin Abueva did in the finals of the 2013 Commissioners' Cup.

Perhaps it was a combination of the holiday of hearts, and the fact that the Gin Kings' opponent was the lowly Carnival - a team at the bottom of the standings last conference - that the Ginebra faithful on Friday night were not as solid as they usually are.

The famous Ginebra chant did not echo in the walls of Araneta Coliseum, for even though the fan favorites seem to be the more talented team on paper, they were barely leading 46-45 at halftime.

"Dapat tambak na 'yan e," a Ginebra fan commented somewhere in the stands.

Kia, an expansion franchise which only started competing in the PBA this season, seemed to have been underestimated by league observers due to their neophyte status and their humble 1-10 record last conference.

What some people failed to account for, however, was the presence of the behemoth Ramos, who has been dominant so far averaging 36.3 points and 20.3 rebounds in his first three games for the Carnival.

It was a fact that Mark Caguioa had been aware of.

"What are you gonna do with a guy that's 7'4", 7'3"?" the veteran guard said. "We can't really stop him."

Ramos finished with a whopping 37 points and 22 rebounds that night. Ginebra's bigs, Greg Slaughter, Japeth Aguilar, Billy Mamaril, and import Michael Dunigan had all been hard-pressed to guard him, but the veteran center held his ground even with heavy 43 minutes on the floor.

Come third quarter, when Ramos was putting on a show, some frustrated fans waged their own battle the only way they can: taunting the Puerto Rican import.

It started when Ramos missed the hoop completely on a free throw - a violation mired with shame. The Ginebra crowd exploded into laughter, which turned into boos as the Kia center prepared to hit his second charity.

The ball swished into the net, and that was when Ramos put a finger on his lips, taunting back the crowd which had grown silent as Kia erased another Ginebra lead to close the third at 70-all.

"I try to have fun with the fans and everybody," said the former Washington Wizards player. "It was just part of the game, it's nothing personal."

Ramos would repeat the gesture every time he went to the charity stripe, but when the buzzer sounded signalling the end of the game, the last laugh belonged to Ginebra and their legions of fans. - RAF, GMA News