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Pingoy Rule: Never back down.

Jerie Pingoy enjoyed his time at Ateneo de Manila University.

Actually, perhaps, he enjoyed too much.

After a so-so rookie year as a Blue Eagle, the 5-foot-11 point guard then struggled with his grades.

That put him -- along with John Apacible, Hubert Cani, Kemark Carino, Clint Doliguez, CJ Perez, and Arvin Tolentino -- in danger of being sidelined for UAAP 79 as the Katipunan-based school is famously strict with its academic requirements for student-athletes.

Years later, Pingoy made it clear, though, that he just barely missed out on the cut. "Di ako bagsak. Probi (probationary) lang ako kasi nagkulang lang ako ng 0.1 na QPI (quality point index)," he recalled, through chuckles, in a phone interview.

Indeed, Spin.ph's Reuben Terrado reported then that "Perez and Pingoy could take summer classes in order to meet Ateneo's QPI and become eligible to play."

Whatever it was, the now-25-year-old had another problem on his hands not that long after finally putting behind him the complications his college commitment brought about.

Talking about the two-year residency put on the shoulders of Pingoy, then-Ateneo head coach Bo Perasol said, "The time he needed to mature and adjust also affected his studies."

The situation he found himself in may have been remedied, but the fact of the matter is that he didn't do enough to go over the academic bar the Blue Eagles set. "Simply put, he didn't meet the required QPI, or grade requirements, for that year," Epok Quimpo, team manager from then to now, said.

New name

And it's not as if what was happening on-court was that much better.

After a standout stint in high school, Pingoy averaged 3.5 points and 2.8 assists in his first and ultimately last year at Ateneo.

Not only that, he found himself, more often than not, the one chasing the tail of fellow point guard Matt Nieto.

Pingoy was actually the starter in his first game, officially, as a Blue Eagle in UAAP 78.

As the season rolled along, however, the Blue and White grew to have more trust in Nieto, who would come to be known as "Matty Ice," or when push came to shove just put Kiefer Ravena at point.

Make no mistake, though, Pingoy was never a bad teammate. "Di ko iniisip na kakompetensya ko sina Cani o Matt. Iniisip namin talaga na one as a team kami," he said.

He then continued, "Kung sino nandu'n sa court, we support. Lagi nga naming sinasabi ni Cani, kung si Matt nasa loob, cheer lang kami."

In the end, the Cebuano failed to fulfill for Ateneo the promise he once had as a one-time champion and back-to-back UAAP juniors MVP. "Sayang lang na we weren't given an opportunity to prove ourselves na kaya naming makipagsabayan. Kulang kami sa playing time, sa totoo lang, but still, it was a good run for me, 'yung sa Ateneo," he said.

And so, sooner than later, the on-court struggles came to a head with the off-court struggles.

In 2016, Pingoy decided to leave the school he decided to leave Far Eastern University-Diliman for. "Nagsisialisan na mga kasama ko so naisip ko, wala na akong kasama," he said, referring to the transfers of Cani and Tolentino to FEU, Carino and Doliguez to San Beda University, and Perez to Lyceum of the Philippines University.

He then continued, "That time, tinatawagan na rin ako ng Adamson. Sabi ko, what if dito ko makuha 'yung chance na ma-prove ulit na ito na ako?"

New nest

Pingoy got to try and answer that question as he transferred to Adamson.

"I needed a change. Gusto kong mag-iba ako. Nag-decide akong ibang Jerie Pingoy naman," he said. "Siyempre, Franz Pumaren din 'yun. Alam kong nakakapagod 'yung practice, pero sabi ko kakayanin ko 'to."

Of course, with his transfer, Pingoy had to undergo another year of residency, this adding to the two he had to serve out of high school.

Once he was finally eligible for the Soaring Falcons, though, Pingoy wasted no time showing glimpses of the player many believed he was or was going to be.

In UAAP 80, he posted per game counts of 7.1 points, 5.1 assists, 2.6 steals, and 2.5 rebounds and was a key cog as Adamson yet again made it to the final four.

Finally, he was having fun and playing fun. "Adamson, it's a nice school. 'Yung Falcons, we had a good team. Naging masaya ako sa Adamson," he said.

As it turned out, however, another storm was on the horizon.

New nightmare

In the final frame of the last game of the UAAP 80 elimination round, Pingoy landed on the foot of FEU's Jasper Parker and had to be helped off the floor.

Initial diagnosis had him with a sprained left foot.

It was much more than that, apparently, as the sprain only opened the floodgates on the bone spurs that had long been building up inside his left foot.

And so, right after Adamson bowed out of contention, he decided to have surgery to take care of all the bone spurs. "Inoperahan ako nu'ng December 2017 sa Pampanga and pagkatapos, I was thinking na all good na siya. Kaya lang, the following months, nu'ng January or February 2018, nafi-feel kong di pala siya OK," he shared and added that he went outside Manila because the operation would be cheaper there.

He then continued, "Ang sakit pa rin ng paa ko. Di ako maka-practice o makalaro nang todo kasi tumatakbo akong parang naka-tiptoe 'yung kaliwa ko."

Pingoy went on to practice and play through the pain all the way to UAAP 81 where it became clear that he wasn't the player he was just a year ago and only normed 3.3 points, 2.1 assists, and 1.9 rebounds. "Sobrang frustrating kasi 'yung last year ko sa Adamson, di talaga ako fit nu'n. 'Yung laro ko, medyo bitin," he said.

He then continued, "Di naman ganu'n laro ko. Ang laking factor na naoperahan akong hindi successful."

Yes, ultimately, it was concluded that the surgery he had was a failure.

After that season, Pingoy had his left foot checked on by famed sports doctor Raul Canlas and what the latter told the former was nothing but a punch to the gut. "Sabi niya, bakit daw hindi inoperahan 'yung mismong may bone spurs," he said.

Canlas was only willing to make it right, but of course there was the matter of payment and, unfortunately, Pingoy was forced to pay out of his pocket as, by then, he had already decided to forgo his fifth and final playing year with Adamson.

"Pagtapos ng season, sabi ko na sa kanilang di na ako tutuloy kasi nahihirapan ako sa paa ko. Baka ano pang mangyari sa akin kung pinilit ko," he said.

Once a highly recruited player, Pingoy, right then and there, had no one to turn to but himself.

NEXT ON BEST-OF-5 SERIES: THE PINGOY RULES: "Sila yung nagbibigay ng inspirasyon sa akin. Iniisip ko, para sa mga anak ko 'to, para sa kinabukasan nila."

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