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In career twilight, ex PBA vets Espinas, Juntilla find second life in VisMin Cup

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Rey Joble

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Gabby Espinas, 40, is past his playing prime, but he has found a new basketball purpose as mentor to VisMin Cup young guns. PBA Media Bureau/file" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/sports/03/14/20220314-gabby-espinas.jpg"/><figcaption>Gabby Espinas, 40, is past his playing prime, but he has found a new basketball purpose as mentor to VisMin Cup young guns. PBA Media Bureau/file</figcaption></figure></div>There was a time when Gabby Espinas and Reed Juntilla were considered as 2 of the best players not playing in the PBA.Espinas made history by becoming the first rookie-MVP of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the oldest collegiate league in the country, as he along with Jayson Castro and Beau Belga powered the Philippine Christian University Dolphins to their first and only championship in 2004.A 6-time PBA champion, Espinas has been away playing in Asia&#x27;s pioneering professional basketball league, but continued to pursue playing the game he loves.He has been playing in the MPBL the past few years, then lately saw action in the inaugural season of the VisMin Cup and the FilBasket League.This season, the lefty forward will bring his wealth of experience playing for the OCCCI Ormoc Sheer Masters to team up front with former Ateneo import Ikeh Chibueze and several other notable players.For Espinas, the itch to play remains and that serves as a motivation for his 40-year-old body to continue endure the pounding and compete against younger, faster, more mobile and probably more promising players.&quot; ’Yung basketball kasi buhay natin,&quot; Espinas told ABS-CBN News. &quot;Iba ’yung competition sa PBA before, pero dito sa VisMin matuturuan natin ’yung mga bata. Hindi ’yung puro tayo lang. Hindi naman ito about the imports lang. Kailangan mo rin kasi ang tulong ng locals.&quot;Espinas will join former PBA player Paul Sanga and veteran forward Pari Llagas and Mark Guillen in guiding the homegrown talents of Ormoc. Over the past few years during the height of the pandemic, when competitions in the National Capital Region were stopped, Espinas looked for opportunities elsewhere where he can continue to play and make a living. &quot;Nasanay na ako ng ganitong klaseng buhay na panay out-of-town, nu’ng nag-pandemic,&quot; said Espinas. &quot;Pero ito lang maipapangako ko, hindi ako magpupunta sa Zamboanga para makipagkaibigan. Andito ako para tulungan ’yung team ko na manalo. Imagine mo pupunta ka sa malayo, siyempre ang gusto mo manalo.&quot; Meanwhile, Juntilla was a former MVP of the Philippine Basketball League, a semi-pro league that served as breeding ground of future stars for many years. Like Espinas, Juntilla is among the elder statesmen being looked up to by younger players in the South.Regarded as one of the finest cagers produced in the Visayas, Juntilla was a part of the 6-peat champion squad of Harbour Centre in the defunct PBL.He also won a title playing for Montana Pawnshop while also being recognized as the MVP in the PBL dual meet of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao and citation as the league&#x27;s Instant Impact player during their title series against the Welcoat Paintmasters. Juntilla&#x27;s life still revolves around basketball and for the former PBA player, he continues to give his body a push at the age of 37 and carry on playing at a high level.Three years ago, when the MPBL was making its expansion in the South, Juntilla was among those given opportunities. He was contented playing ligang labas tournaments in different provinces, but he got a call-up to join the Zamboanga Valientes. He got traded to the Bataan Risers until the pandemic sidelined all events, including professional contact team sports.Last year, Juntilla played for the ARQ Builders-Lapu-Lapu City, but decided to rejoin Zamboanga, which will be hosting the coming season of the GlobalPort-VisMin Super Cup.&quot;Ito ang source of living ko and passion ko rin talaga ang paglalaro ng basketball,&quot; said Juntilla. &quot;Very supportive ang mga team owners ng Zamboanga, so lalong nakaka-boost ng self-esteem. ’Yung mga teammates ko, mga homegrown at batang players from Zamboanga. Grabe rin sumuporta ang mga Zamboangueno.&quot;When the new season unravels on March 19, expect Espinas and Juntilla to take lead roles for their respective teams and prove that they still got some game left in them.

Gabby Espinas and Reed Juntilla are past their playing prime, but they’ve found a new basketball purpose as mentors to VisMin Cup young guns.