Paul Ryan and Jin Gregorio(photo by PINGGOT ZULUETA)

Their love story certainly proves that a relationship between two people that passes through the friendship route has a much higher success rate and undoubtedly last longer.

Purefoods TJ Giants coach Paul Ryan Gregorio and Ma. Mercedes Annalie Feliche “Jin” Macapagal-Salgado met in UP Diliman where they were both taking up mass communication, major in film and audio-visual communication, in 1992.

For him, it was love at first sight, but it wasn’t exactly like that for her. At that time, one of Ryan’s friends was captivated with Jin, and one of Jin’s friends had a huge crush on Ryan. With the unspoken friendship rule, it seems a love story between them wouldn’t ensue.

Fate, however, has a funny way. Soon, they found themselves constantly together. Through quizzes, exams, paper works, and productions, Ryan found himself falling in love with Jin.

But he was a bit disheartened then because Jin comes from an eminent political family. How well-known, you might ask? Well, her lolo was no less than former President Diosdado Macapagal, and her mother is former Gov. Cielo Macapagal-Salgado.

“Our social stratum is in the middle. And I knew for a fact that, at that time, her mother was the vice governor. I know the political clan, the bloodline. There was a little intimidation. She used to live in West Greenhills. I didn’t have a car then. For me, it was a huge uphill climb,” shares Ryan.

But her humble heart and simplicity truly captured his hearts. Mustering enough courage, he gave her tickets to his games. During those days, Ryan was playing for the senior varsity. He wasn’t the star but a mere marginal player. He didn’t get quality minutes on the court, but he would still invite her nonetheless.

He would fetch Jin almost every day. He would commute from their house in Teacher’s Village to Jin’s home in West Greenhills just to pick her up, and they would go back to UP together. After class, he would wait outside the classroom where her last subject was, and he would bring her home.

“Every time he would bring me home, he would give pasalubong to my nephew. Sometimes, he would bring fruits for my mom. He won my dad over because of basketball. My dad was once a Letran player and an alternate in the national team. So, they would exchange notes about basketball,” laughs Jin.

On a fateful December day, Ryan got so sick that Jin had to bring him to the emergency room. He was in panic because he was scared of doctors and hospital. One to confront fear, Jin brought him to the hospital and stayed with Ryan throughout his ordeal, never leaving his side even for just a while.

Maybe it was that or his sweet old-fashioned ligaw style, coupled with the romantic atmosphere of December, that they started their timeless relationship right there and then.

Their romance stayed unchanging even after graduation and followed different career path. Jin became a preschool teacher and Ryan was enlisted by Eric Altamirano, who was the UP Maroon coach then, as a video coordinator in 1997.

Ryan combined his passion for basketball, which he inherited from his father, former UP Vice President for Administration Martin Gregorio (who was a huge basketball fan, a die-hard Tanduay fan particularly), and what he has learned from the university to come up with video scouting.

“Since the relationship has a strong foundation, the next step is to settle down. We started talking about getting married. Perhaps, it has something to do with the turn of the century that by the year 2000, we would already have a baby. That time, I was already in the PBA (Philippine Basketball Association) as an assistant coach,” says Ryan.

Jin continued: “I told him to wait because I wanted to finish my master's degree first. So when I finished it, I said yes to him, and we got married on December 18, 1999.”

In 2002, when Altamirano was appointed as one of coach Joseph Uichico’s assistants for the Busan Asian Games, Ryan had to step up and take the lead. With no experience in coaching and armed merely with his passion for the game, Ryan seized the opportunity.  He devoted his time to do what he could to keep the ball rolling for Purefoods.

And the biggest surprise of them all? Ryan steered the team to win the championship in the 2002 Governor's Cup, defeating Alaska in the finals. For that, he even won the co-Coach of the Year Award, sharing the honor with Chot Reyes.

When Altamirano returned from his Busan stint, Gregorio was back to being assistant. In 2003, he went back to his alma mater to call the shots for UP Maroons in the UAAP. It was in 2004 when Ryan was appointed as the head coach of Purefoods, and the following year, he spectacularly led the team to another championship and earned the solo recognition as the Coach of the Year in the All-Filipino Conference.

As a coach, Ryan is hardworking, dedicated, disciplined, and possesses a strong faith in God to control the ball game, even win a championship for his team. These are the same qualities he brings into play when it comes to his relationship with his wife Jin and children Ysabelle and Ramon – and much more.

On relationship

He said: Our relationship should not be something like you get some points from a book or from people. That’s not how you run a relationship. Let’s run it the way we want it. Let’s not be dictated by others. Let’s talk about it and make sure things happen even if they are not according to the norm.

She said: I told him I don’t want expensive stuff. I don’t want flowers. I can’t eat those. I want something edible. There wasn’t any fanfare in our relationship. We just go straight to the point. Tell me what you want. Tell me what you like, and let us just make it happen.

On basketball and coaching

He said: (The challenge) is, maybe, juggling the stress from work and maintaining a harmonious relationship. When I started as assistant coach in the PBA, it took up lots of my time since my line of work was video stuff. I had to edit video and stay up late. At first, she didn’t understand the stress and the huge chunk of time I had to spend on it. There was even a question that I wasn’t spending much time with her.

She said: Honestly, I’d rather immerse myself with the Lord than watch basketball. When I watch and the fight is so tight, I get so stress that I would shiver; I fear and have lockjaw. But I always tell him to always have faith in his heart.

On being parents to Ysabelle (9) and Ramon (6)

He said: I always tell my players that the children should have a much better childhood than the parents. As much as we can, we give them things that will equip them to have a chance in this world like good education, experiences to travel, and other things we can’t quantify. We make sure that they have a good foundation and they have a strong sense of family. I always impart to them that if things are not going right, you will always have your family to cling to and rely on.

She said:  Being a full-time mom is the most fulfilling job any one can have. Just being there for them when they come home from school, hearing their stories about schools, and knowing what they are doing throughout the day. Funny stories, I love hearing them. That’s why I enjoy bringing them to school and picking them up. I used to be a preschool teacher but I quit to become a full-time mom. Why would I leave my kids to other people and teach other people’s kids?  I’m very hands-on. My hands are full.

On dining and diet

He said: We tried to change our food intake, especially in the last three months. The stress in the work is causing some problems with my health. I cut down on my rice and meat, especially pork, intake. We change our diet into fish and poultry. But with the kids, it’s not like whatever daddy is eating they have to eat, too. They have freedom.

She said: No pork, but once in a while, we eat some. Ryan used to really love lechon. He would eat it without the sauce or anything as not to dilute the taste, but not anymore. I like fish. For the kids, we introduce healthy diet like vegetables and yogurt.

On ensemble they like on each other

He said: When we were younger, because she’s tall and quite athletic, I really liked her in jeans and white long-sleeved shirt. It might not be a good choice nowadays because of the weather. But that outfit is so strong and confident.

She said: I like him in suit. He usually wears that outfit only during the PBA Draft, which is once a year. He really looks good on it.

On their favorite actor

He said: As long as it is a John Lloyd movie, we can’t miss it. When it’s already on the third play date, and we still haven’t watched it, we feel so useless. He’s my idol. I really like how he acts. He’s really good. You can already feel the emotion just from his facial expression.

She said: I would tease him that he looks like John Lloyd. We just watched “Miss You Like Crazy.” I even brought a scarf with me just in case we cried. His eyes are so expressive. We like watching Filipino movie, except horror because he gets frightened. (Laughs)