Gi-ne-bra! Gi-ne-bra!

"Grabe!"said my wife who was still somehow in a state of shock.

"I know," was all that I could initially say.

We just got off from the parking lot along Roxas Boulevard near the Cuneta Astrodome. My wife and I just witnessed the fiercely contested basketball game between Ginebra and Red Bull for the second semifinals berth in the PBA. Ginebra won.

"And I thought the jeering during the Ateneo – La Salle ballgames were mean enough."

"Apparently, these Ginebra fans can take jeering to another level."

"Did you hear what they called Valenzuela of Red Bull?" she asked me.

"Yup, they called him Diego." I answered her.

"Uh-huh. I didn’t get it at first. That’s why I had to ask the fan beside me. And it turned out it was in reference to that pambansang bading dude from Bubble Gang," she explained.

"But nothing would beat their shouts whenever Torion would get the ball. The whole gallery would yell ‘Adik! Adik! Adik!’ (addict). That was really mean and below the belt," I told her.

"I know. The guy behind me was one of those shouting his voice hoarse. I wanted to tell him, ‘Look who’s talking’. He looks more like a solvent sniffing addict than Torion does."

"I know. But the Red Bull fans wouldn’t go without a fight. Do you remember when Caguioa was taking free throws? They shouted ‘Caguioa pango! Caguioa pango!’ But Caguioa would just play along with them and even point to his nose after making the free throw. That was funny."

"Grabe! Those Ginebra die-hards are the most loyal, most fierceful, most vocal, and most fearsome group of fans I’ve seen," she related.

While the game was definitely an exciting one to watch, it was the sidelights which stuck to our memories deeper.

The best part of it was that we were able to watch everything live from the lower box for free. Thanks to my wife’s friend, Inna, and her connections.

The worst part of it, however, was that we are not sure if we want to do it again. Even if it were for free. The shock of being in the same coliseum with those Ginebra fans was just too much.