Si Caguioa at ang Plano ng Barangay Ginebra

When Ginebra played its first game this 37^th PBA season,
Tanquincen utilized Mark Caguioa off the bench. I thought then that the
Gins’ “co-coaches” were just trying to limit his minutes due to injury. I
believed otherwise when I saw that he had no problem with his
movements; he was the same old “Spark” with the funky hair and the mean
teardrop. After a few more games I was still looking for reasons why he
came off the bench and worse, why he was only playing around 25
efficient minutes. Maybe the coaching staff was just trying to preserve
his 32 year-old body (he turns 32 on November 19) for the deep
postseason run they expect to make.
NO. Those weren’t the reasons why he was riding the bench. After playing
12 and 19 minutes respectively in two straight losses that put the
beloved Barangay Ginebra near the cellar at 3-4, Caguioa was a ticking
time bomb waiting to explode. Tangquincen and Uichico’s biggest fears
have just happened. Their so-called “franchise player” has just publicly blasted them for his limited playing time.



It is now obvious what Tanquincen and the whole Ginebra Franchise is trying to do; REBUILD.

(Pasensya na “co-coaches” I’m with Mark Caguioa on this one. I’m about to respectfully BLAST you!)

Wala namang masama sa ginagawa nila. I agree with Coach Siot that
every team goes through the rebuilding process, pero are they rebuilding
the right way? O baka naman mas magandang tanungin kung dapat ba silang
mag-rebuild ngayon or dapat ba silang mag-rebuild at all?

For the past few games, ganito ang itsura ng starting line-up ng
Ginebra: Labagala, J. Wilson, Canaleta, W.Wilson, Villanueva. Sa tingin
ko they’ve got positions 1, 2 and 3 wrong. Alam ko super inconsistent si
Mike Cortez pero isa sa mga malalaking rason kung bakit is he keeps on
starting then after a few games bangko na naman. He is the best point
guard on the team and is relatively young. He should start instead of
Labagala. John Wilson was 1^st-Team All-Defense last year,
pero sa totoo lang mas magaling ba siya dumepensa kay Ronald Tubid? Kung
oo, baka kaunti lang ang angat niya at alam naman nating lahat na mas
magaling si Tubid offensively. Hindi lang yan, Tubid represents the
attitude of the whole Barangay, matapang, masipag at palaban!

And last but definitely not the least, dapat mag-start si Caguioa and
more importantly play at least 32 minutes a game. Depende sa kalaban
kung sino ang dapat palitan ni Caguioa; kung teams with length and
quickness at the 4-spot ang kalaban nila dapat si Canaleta, kung teams
na may malalakas na kwatro, dapat si Willie Wilson. Alam ko puwedeng
mali ako diyan pero walang debate na dapat mag-start si Caguioa
Perennial MVP Candidate


(Caguioa’s Career Stats)

Noong 36^th season, madalang bumaba sa beinte kung
mag-score si Caguioa and more importantly ginawa niya ang lahat at
nananalo sila. Somehow hindi pa pababa ang laro niya. Absolutely no
coach would put their franchise player who at the same time is the
team’s best player without question and who just came off an MVP-type
season, off the bench. Kung sa NBA, parang binangko mo si Iverson noong
unang salta niya sa Philadelphia.

Kung magpatuloy pa ito, it’s either si Tanquincen and/or si Uichico
ang aalis or si Caguioa at ang milyon-milyong fans ng Ginebra. If Tubid
represents the attitude of the whole Barangay, Mark Caguioa represents
the identity of what Barangay Ginebra is all about. Sa kanya ipinasa ni
Jawo ang bola. He was the next enigmatic figure after the greatest
basketball player of all-time in the Philippines.

Last year, umabot sila sa Finals sa Commissioner’s Cup at dalawang beses sila nag-semis. Arguably, nasa Top 3 parin sila dapat.

So sa tanong na dapat bang mag-REBUILD ang Barangay Ginebra, ang
sagot ko HINDI! Rebuild is not the right term. Sa palagay ko they should
just RENOVATE or REFORMAT. Sa palagay ko it is not right to rebuild
kung wala kang players to build around. Maraming beses na nabigyan ng
tsansa si Canaleta at lalung-lalo na si Intal pero hindi talaga sila
magiging franchise players ng Gins. They don’t have the attitude for it.
Si Labagala? Si J.Wilson? Seryoso ba kayo? The way I see it, dapat
tamang balanse lang ng mga beterano at ni Caguioa kasama ang mga bata
nilang players. Yan ang tamang paraan. I think that’s the way for Intal
and Canaleta and Co. to achieve proper growth. Dapat matuto sila kasama
ang mga mas nakakaalam. Kung papabayaan lang sila, para silang mga
batang pinalaki mo na walang magulang, kuya, ate, lolo at lola.

Hindi naman ako Barangay Ginbera fan pero I have been around
basketball all my life. Hindi sa pagmamayabang, marami akong alam sa
basketball kasi I don’t only watch it, I also analyze it and read about
its history. So sinulat ko ito objectively na walang bias.

I MAY BE WRONG BUT I DOUBT IT!!! –Sir Charles and Robi Raya-