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Pingoy Rule: Never lose hope.

For the second time in two years, Jerie Pingoy had to have surgery done on his left foot.

In November 2017, he injured his left foot in the final frame of the last game of the elimination round of the UAAP.

In December 2017, the 5-foot-11 guard went to Pampanga to rid his left foot of bone spurs.

Fast forward to June 2019 and his left foot was yet to be fully healed.

A failed surgery and playing through pain worsened the bone spurs that had long been building up in Pingoy's left foot and he had no other choice but to go to famed sports doctor Raul Canlas.

"Nu'ng pinatingin namin kay Doc Canlas, sabi niya bakit daw hindi inoperahan 'yung mismong may bone spurs?" he shared in a phone interview. "Ako, wala naman akong kaalam-alam. Tapos na 'yun, wala na akong magagawa. Alangan namang habulin ko pa 'yung doktor dati."

As the now-25-year-old was no longer with Adamson University, he had to pay for the new surgery out of his own pocket.

Fortunately, he had his girlfriend not only help him raise funds, but also to find a way to decrease the amount. " 'Yung girlfriend ko, nagwo-work sa Maxicare (a health maintenance organization) so 'yun, nag-apply kami ng health card. Buti naman, na-approve," he said.

With that, Pingoy went under the knife for the second time in two years.

And as it turns out, it was an outpatient operation. "Ang kasama ko lang nu'n girlfriend ko. Pasok kami Sunday, labas ng Monday kasi wala naman kaming ipon. Binayad na namin lahat ng meron kami sa opera," he said.

The good news is that at long last, his left foot is all well and good. As he put it, "At least, ngayon, OK na OK na."

Not alone

That’s just one of the reasons why Pingoy believes he already has his life partner beside him. Talking about girlfriend Dixie Soberano, he said, full of love, "Through all the darkness na nangyari sa akin, she stayed with me. Alam niya kung gaano ka-struggle 'yung nangyari sa akin, pero nag-stay siya."

He then continued, "Sobrang nagpapasalamat ako sa kaniya kasi nandito siya, di niya ako iniwan. Siya pa nga laging nagpapaalala sa aking magpakundisyon ka, magpapayat ka para sa future natin."

Not only that, Soberano was also how Pingoy received the biggest blessings in his life.

In 1-year, 3-month-old Kaeden Jared and 2-month-old Jaeden Keith, the Cebuano has even more will to go on and prove that his career is far from finished. "Sila 'yung nagbibigay ng inspirasyon sa akin. Ang practice namin sa CEU, alas-6 ng umaga, pero gumigising ako ng alas-4 kasi iniisip ko, para sa anak ko 'to, para sa kinabukasan nila 'to," he said.

He leaves home motivated and comes home even more motivated, as he has a brand new dream to go alongside the one of him playing in the PBA. "Every time umuuwi ako, naiisip kong sana soon, yayaman ako at pag-uwi ko, sasabihan ko mga anak kong, 'Magbihis kayo, kakain tayo sa labas,'" he said.

He then continued, "Tapos makikita ko kung gaano sila ka-excited. Talagang nagbago na buhay ko dahil sa kanila."

Not the end

Before COVID-19 shut down anything and everything, Pingoy looked like he was doing all in his power to put his career back on track.

Just a month after Karate Kid-CEU took a chance on him, he proved diligent and disciplined in his extra work and trimmed down from 250 lbs. to just 197 lbs.

Of course, having a life partner and two children, as well as his parents, relying on him is more than enough fuel to the fire. "Mahirap walang income. Nu'ng isang taong nawala ako, as in walang income talaga. Kaya ngayon, kailangang magtulungan kami as a family," he said.

Fortunately, the Scorpions have Pingoy's back as he claws out and climbs the mountain once more. "Everybody deserves a second chance. Sakto kailangan ko rin ng point guard na leader para ma-guide 'yung mga bata namin," head coach Jeff Napa said.

And there remains more than a few who have not lost faith. "If Koko can be given a chance and the confidence, he can still realize the potential that he has," Bo Perasol, the head coach who recruited and then mentored him in Ateneo de Manila University, said.

For Napa, team manager Johnny Yap and all of Karate Kid-CEU, Pingoy has another shot, as long as he keeps at it. "Maganda pa rin naman ang future ng batang 'yan basta mag-work hard lang siya nang todo at bumalik 'yung game shape niya. 'Yung talent at basketball sense kasi, meron na siya," his new mentor said.

Forget me not

However, it is yet to be determined when the 2020 PBA D-League Aspirants Cup would resume action or if it would even resume action.

With COVID-19 posing more questions than answers, hope is all that Pingoy has for his career that has seen more starts and stops than rush hour traffic in EDSA.

Still, hope is what he has been holding on to all throughout, the reason he still stands even after having seen half of his collegiate career go to waste because of residency.

Back-to-back UAAP juniors MVP seasons were followed by two years in a row of residency.

A rookie year in Ateneo was followed by another season on the sidelines after transferring to Adamson.

Two years as a Soaring Falcon was followed by a year out of the grid.

Now, Jerie Pingoy, once thought to be special, just wants to have a shot at normal.

This, even though what he has been through in his young life is already ripe for the pickings for a TV drama. "Sa lahat ng nangyari, parang gusto ko na ngang magpa-MMK," he kidded.

And who, if ever, would portray him on "Maalala Mo Kaya?" The answer to that is pretty clear in his eyes. "Si Gerald Anderson. Sakto pareho kaming Bisaya, pareho kaming gwapo."

Without a doubt, after all that happened to him, the sense of humor is still there with Jerie Pingoy.

Hopefully, the game that once made him a promising prospect is still there, too.

Follow this writer on Twitter, @riegogogo.

(For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website).