A case of right timing for that funny moment between Pinoy Sakuragi and Boy Sukat

That funny moment between PBA player Marc Pingris & team staff Jun Rillo during the Governor’s Cup finale between the San Mig Coffee Mixers and Rain or Shine Elasto Painters

Beaufort County, South Carolina - With Marc Pingris announcing his retirement, one of the most-talked photo on social media nowadays was with the team’s utility staff, Jun Rillo. 

This funny incident happened during Game 5 of the 2014 Governor’s Cup Best-of-5 Finals between San Mig Coffee Mixers and Rain or Shine Elasto Painters at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

 

(If you’re wondering why the season-ending conference took that long to wind down its season after the league made changes to its to accommodate the participation of PBA players at the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship)

 

It was all hands on deck for the Sports5 team and especially the media covering this game. This included the PBA photographers. So, courtside spots for photographers were already full by the time I got to the venue. 

 

The regular Sports5 photographers like Paul Ryan Tan, Paolo Papa and Pranz Billones were all on hand to take photos of the game. 

 

I had just arrived at the venue coming from Bonifacio Global City (where TV5 Corporate offices were located) so it was really hard to find a spot.

 

The venue was filled to the rafters with about 23,234 people excited to watch the penultimate game and finding a spot to take photos presented a real challenge. Yes, even the General Admission section was full.

 

For a Wednesday game, the Coliseum was really brimming where even the aisle had people standing up to catch a view of the action. So, I ended up finding a corner spot up in the Lower Box area of the Coliseum.

 

A case of good timing is what I would attribute to taking this memorable photo as I was able to find the right place to capture the moment that happened in the first half of the game.

 

The venue was roaring to laughter when Jun Rillo pulled up to the baseline to help Marc Pingris emphasize a point of the referee’s call. Coach Tim Cone immediately pulled away ‘Mang Jun’ back to the sidelines. Unfortunately for them, the Mixers were called for a technical foul for the funny incident. The Mixers did not get the possession go their way. However, it ended with a championship for the Mixers at the end of the evening. It also capped a Grand Slam for the franchise and the fourth straight PBA championship for the Mixers.

 

Mang Jun gained his 15-minutes of fame for the incident as he was interviewed the following day on TV5’s morning show and News5 segments, where he gained the infamous nickname of ‘Boy Sukat.’ 

 

And from what his daughter, Vanessa (who also works at Sports5) told me, that memorable photo is prominently placed in their household. And, Mang Jun gave tribute to the PBA and Gilas Pilipinas stalwart in a Facebook post just this past couple of days.