The Slow Grind Back to Form for Ginebra’s Isaac Go

Spending more games on the sidelines rather than seeing action in the first five years of his professional basketball career, Isaac Go, once a top collegiate prospect, did not lose hope.

That slow grind to recovery may have been frustrating, especially when suffering serious injuries, not once but twice.  

“It was very tough to come back, especially being it my second time,” said Go, the top overall pick of Terrafirma Dyip in the special draft for Gilas Cadets in the 2019 Rookie Draft.

Go hit a road block at the early stage of his PBA career in 2021, during the PBA’s restart at the height of the pandemic. He played only six games that year, suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament and meniscus tear.

He returned in the 2022-2023 season and saw action for only two games while on his way to recovery.        

“I was having a difficult time due to the timing of the recovery, didn’t get tune up games, so the first few games were really tough to get my rhythm and feel. It was just all about trying to build days in practice, both in the court and the weight room,” he added.

His best season was during the 2023-2024 season when he helped the Dyip reach the playoffs for the first time in years.

Up against the mighty San Miguel Beermen during the playoffs of the Philippine Cuyp that same season, Go knocked in a career-high 22 points, built around six triples as the Dyip won, 106-95, to set up a rubber match with the top-seeded Beermen.

San Miguel won the next game, 110-91, to end the Dyip’s campaign, but Go left a good lasting impression that season, averaging 8.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

The following season, he was acquired by Barangay Ginebra in a deal that included Stephen Holt and a future first round draft pick for Stanley Pringle, Christian Standhardinger and a future first rounder that were all sent to Terrafirma.

Curiously, all players that were sent to the Dyip were no longer in the squad.

Go wanted to make his presence felt with Ginebra, but just seven games since being acquired by the league’s most popular team, Go blew his knee once more.      

But the former Ateneo stalwart patiently waited for the right time.

“I think for the most part, I feel good. I guess the step now is to just keep adding. Being a bit quicker, a bit bouncier, a bit stronger,” he added.

Slowly but surely, he has contributed in any which way he can, especially during the just-concluded semifinals series against Rain or Shine where he averaged 2.25 points and provided the extra minutes he could give to relieve either Japeth Aguilar and Troy Rosario, two of Ginebra’s main men up front.

The numbers hardly matter for Go, who has now  embraced the role to provide an extra warm body to that Gin Kings’ talent-laden rotation.

“You just really wan t to play your best in these kinds of situation,” said Go. “What a better time, right? You can only control on what you do and the opportunities given. Thankfully, I have great teammates, great coaches who pushed me to really be the best and maximize everything.”

“I hope [that I can embrace a bigger role]. I hope I can do what the coaches want me to do. In this series, my role is really to relieve Japeth and Troy. We knew Rain or Shine is going to push us to the max and try to wear us down. I’ll just help whatever I can.”

His journey may be turbulent as it may seem, but Go has found himself playing in the finals and he has not experienced it yet ever since he played in college where he became part of Ateneo’s successful program.

“To be a Ginebra fan or being the best fans in the Philippines, no one will rival them,” said Go, when asked about relishing a collegiate-like atmosphere now that he’s playing for Barangay Ginebra.

“Whether you’re playing against them or you’re on their side, you hear the cheer, the roar of the crowd, it just fires you up. That atmosphere is something that is really a wonder.”