Pingoy Rule: Never give up.

Jerie Pingoy is not a disappointment.

He is disappointed in himself, no doubt about that, but he is not a disappointment.

Not just yet, so he says.

"Di ako susuko na makapag-PBA. I still want to prove to everyone na kaya ko pang makipagsabayan," he said, full of confidence, in a phone interview. "Kasi nakikita ko pa sa sarili kong kaya ko pa, as in, kaya ko pa. Sana, sana mabigyan ako ng chance to prove na I'm still worthy."

Many dream of playing in the PBA, but only a few get to do so.

Even fewer get to do so after going missing in action for more than a year.

The last time we saw the 5-foot-9 point guard, he and Adamson University were at the wrong end of the University of the Philippines' breakthrough in 2018.

No, that's not right. The last time we actually saw Pingoy was in the now-suspended 2020 PBA D-League Aspirants Cup where he played two games with Karate Kid-Centro Escolar University.

"Sa ngayon, I'm trying to come back. Since bata ako, gusto ko mag-PBA, pero sa ngayon, sa nakikita ko sa sarili ko, kailangan ko magdoble-kayod para dun," he said. "Ang hirap pa ngayon, nawala ako ng (higit isang) taon kaya mas lalong dapat ipakita kong worthy akong mapunta dun."

In between his last game as a Soaring Falcon and his first one with the Scorpions, indeed, it seemed as if the 25-year-old just went off the grid -- something that would have been thought to be impossible years ago when he was still the toast of high school basketball and a hoped-for contributor in collegiate hoops.

Good old days

"One of the best players I've ever seen. He was the complete package," Mike Oliver, Pingoy's head coach at Far Eastern University-Diliman, answered when asked to look back at his former ward.

Oliver would be one of the few people who would have a good grasp of the top talents at the high school level as he was a champion coach there as well as mentor of Batang Gilas.

"It was a transition from coach Norman [Black] to coach Bo [Perasol] and we were trying to rebuild the program. He was one of the first recruits talaga that coach Bo wanted," Kiefer Ravena, Pingoy's teammate in Ateneo de Manila University, answered when asked to recall one of the prized prospects he helped recruit.

Ravena would be one of the people who would know a thing or two about the Blue Eagles' recruitment plans in the early '10s as, of course, playing with him would have been one of the reasons why a player would want to wear blue and white.

"We're just scratching the surface of what he can do right now. If he will just follow what we're trying to teach him, he will be a better all-around player," Franz Pumaren, shot-caller at Adamson University where Pingoy transferred to, said right after one of the better games he had in college.

Pumaren would be one of the few people who would have the power to make somebody believe that his system leads to wins and championships, and the power to judge the potential of a player.

New year, new me

After two years in Adamson, though, Pingoy decided against playing his fifth and final playing year in the UAAP and decided to instead nurse his troublesome left foot back to full strength.

Along with that, for the good of his mind, he decided to stay away from all the noise.

And so, for more than a year, not much was heard from Pingoy nor did he hear anything from anyone.

That was until Karate Kid-CEU came calling by getting him in the 2020 PBA D-League Draft.

With his up-and-down collegiate career a thing of the past, Pingoy was nothing but grateful for yet another shot. "I'm so thakful sa CEU kasi sobrang inaalagaan nila ako. Sina Coach Jeff [Napa] pati mga boss dun, tinutulungan talaga nila akong mabalik yung career ko," he said.

So much was he grateful that he wasted no time in returning their trust in him.

In fact, in just a month, he was able to shed off excess fat, something he has been known to be unable to get away from in his last years in college and shape up. "After practices, may workout pa ako and dahil du'n, from 250 lbs., naging 211 lbs. na lang ako nu'ng may D-League pa. Ngayon, tuloy-tuloy pa rin and 197 lbs. na lang ako," he was glad to report.

He added, "Kailangan nasa 170 lbs. Sana makuha."

Here we go again

Just when it looked like all was finally coming together for Pingoy, however, COVID-19 turned into a pandemic and forced the D-League, as well as all other sporting events, to be postponed.

And with the crisis continuing, it is yet to be determined when the developmental league would resume. Or if it would even resume considering that all but one of its 11 participating teams are college-based.

This is just the latest challenge in a young career that has already been through several starts and stops.

Start with back-to-back UAAP juniors MVPs, as well as a championship in FEU-Diliman. Stop with brand new residency rules from high school to college.

Start with the starting point guard position in your first game in Ateneo. Stop with a logjam of point guards and then academic deficiencies.

Start with a long-awaited breakout as a two-way player for Adamson. Stop with a foot injury that failed to fully heal.

Start with Karate Kid-CEU taking a chance on you. Stop with COVID-19 shutting down anything and everything.

Still, Pingoy chooses to see the silver linings. "I think it's God's plan. Hindi 'yung virus ha," he shared with a laugh.

He then continued: "For me, sinasabing bago ka maglaro ulit, kailangang fit na fit ka. Dapat, di na ganun kataba. Dapat, ipakita sa CEU na kahit walang training, ready pa rin."

For sure, his future is yet to be written. And only his hand is holding the pen.

Still, it could not be argued that after all those starts and stops, the very first one remains to have left the biggest mark.

NEXT ON BEST-OF-5 SERIES: THE PINGOY RULES: "Nasasayangan ako sa years na 'di ako nakapaglaro. Kung nakapaglaro ako nung mga yun, mag-iiba yung takbo ng panahon."

Follow this writer on Twitter, @riegogogo.

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