PBA: Caguioa sparks Ginebra to q’finals, top two chances still alive

PBA: Caguioa sparks Ginebra to q’finals, top two chances still alive
March 25, 2012 8:47pm

Mark “The Spark” Caguioa was exactly that for the Baragany Ginebra Kings, keying in a decisive third quarter run that put his team way ahead of their opponents, the Barako Bull Energy, on route to a 91-81 victory, Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum, in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Up by just a triple, 44-41, at halftime, after Leo Najorda nailed three free throws to close out the second quarter, Ginebra’s defense, combined with shaky play from Barako Bull, resulted in a 13-0 run for the Kings, putting them up 57-41. It took nearly half the quarter before the Energy finally put some points on the board, courtesy of a Rodney White triple at the 6:04 mark.

Barako Bull kept digging their own graves though, as technical fouls to Mick Pennisi and Danny Seigle only helped Ginebra’s cause, allowing them to boost their advantage to as much as 18, 70-52, late in the third.

The Energy got within 13 points twice in the final canto, 77-63 on a White dunk, and then 83-70, after Ronald Tubid canned a wide open triple, 5:20 left. On the succeeding play, the Kings turned the ball over, allowing White to hit Najorda with an assist to make it an 11-point game, five minutes remaining.

Off a timeout, Caguioa and Rudy Hatfield padded the lead back to 15, 87-72. Then on their next possession, Ginebra got three additional looks thanks to hustle on the glass. Though they failed to score, they managed to burn a substantial amount of time, such that when Barako Bull tried a late comeback, the Energy needed to be perfect to pull it off. They weren’t though, as Willie Miller’s missed bonus on an and-one play essentially doomed them, with the score at 88-77 with a minute remaining.

Despite playing without lead point guard Jayjay Helterbrand, who was out with a hamstring injury, Ginebra was able to push the tempo, ironically, bringing more energy to the game than the team that had that word on their jerseys.

Caguioa led all scorers with 25 markers, 19 in the game's second half, and seven rebounds. Import Jackson Vroman added 19, while Mike Cortez, who got the start with Helterbrand unavailable, scored 12.

The Energy’s import Rodney White was able to play Vroman to a draw, finishing too with 19, but the squad’s locals just weren’t up to snuff. Miller and Seigle had 11 each, while Najorda finished with 10.

The win keeps Ginebra’s hopes of getting into the top two of the standings, and with that, an automatic ticket to the semifinals, alive. At 5-3, they’ll need to win Wednesday’s game against the Air21 Express in order to tie with the B-MEG Llamados, and possibly even the reigning champs, the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters, should the latter fall to the Petron Blaze Boosters, also on Wednesday.

On the other hand, Barako Bull ends their elimination round with a 4-5 slate, tying the Powerade Tigers and the Meralco Bolts. Petron and Air21, currently at 3-5, could further murky up the standings should they pull off upset wins on the final playing date of Commissioner’s Cup regular season. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

GINEBRA 91 - Caguioa 25, Vroman 19, Cortez 12, Hatfield 10, Ababou 7, Wilson W. 6, Raymundo 6, Villanueva 4, Wilson J. 2, Labagala 0.

BARAKO 81 - White 19, Miller 11, Seigle 11, Najorda 10, Tubid 8, Allado 8, Weinstein 5, Arboleda 5, Aquino 2, Pena 2, Pennisi 0.

Quarter scores: 20-20, 44-41, 70-55, 91-81

Source: GMANews.com

MC47 :caguioa: sana tuloy tuloy na yan.. sana bumalik yung pagiging aggressive mo sa offense at tulong sa defense at rebound

Lupit talaga ni MC hirap na hirap sa kanya si Tubid!! I just hope na matalo ng Petron ang TNT para triple tie sa 6-3 mas masaya yan! hahaha!

ayos si tubid di halatang mka bgk p din :lol!:

athankings wrote:ayos si tubid di halatang mka bgk p din :lol!:

Sama mo pa si Miller pre :lol!:

Galing tlga. Keep it up idol

MythicalV wrote:Lupit talaga ni MC hirap na hirap sa kanya si Tubid!! I just hope na matalo ng Petron ang TNT para triple tie sa 6-3 mas masaya yan! hahaha!

kung mananalo tayo it's either TNT or BMEG ang kalaban natin sa playoff tie.. haha magandang laban.. kung bmeg ang makakalaban makakabawi tayo sa kanila.. haha...

OT: sana naman makuha na ni MC ang matagal na anting pinakamimithi na MVP this conference...

media vote lang naman ang sumisira eh.