YOU can’t simply put a good man down.
Mark Caguioa bore out this age-old adage by helping Barangay Ginebra wrap up its PBA Fiesta Conference semifinals series against Red Bull and earn for himself the Smart/Accel- PBA Press Corps’ Player of the Week citation for the period July 21 to 27.
It was the third such citation for the 2001 Rookie of the Year in the season-ending tournament, putting him among the frontrunners for the Best Player of the Conference award.
Barangay Ginebra coach Jong Uichico believes Caguioa truly deserves the accolades coming his way.
“The competitive spirit, the will to win that Mark brings to our game is just unbelievable,” said the grizzled mentor.
The irrepressible guard showcased this most in the week that was, the one who stepped up bigtime in helping the Kings seal the deal to the tune of a 4-0 sweep of the best-of-seven duel.
After being upstaged by teammates Jayjay Helterbrand and Chris Alexander in the early part of the series, Caguioa exploded for a whopping 25.6-point average in the last three games.
“Bagay na bagay sa kanya ang moniker na ‘The Spark,’ ” noted Uichico. “He was the one who really sparked our surge. His teammates took the cue from him.”
Caguioa also lived up to his other tag, of being “The Furious,” after capping his performance with a 33-point outburst in Game 4, leading Barangay Ginebra to a 101-97 overtime victory.
That output was his fifth 30-plus production in the conference and 30th in his career, further establishing his reputation as the league’s most prolific scorer.
There’s more as he spiked up his average for the week with 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists, relatively small as mere numbers but they take on bigger dimensions, considering Barangay Ginebra won the three games by an average of only 4.6 points.
The win was the 12th straight for Ginebra, further extending its franchise record, while the Finals is the 17th stint for the franchise.
The 2004 champion is looking to become the first team to have won the Fiesta title more than once.
With Caguioa’s razor-sharp form, that goal looks pretty achievable indeed.
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