In the clutch

Nobody said it was easy.
(Photo credit to the owner)

Thirty-four minutes played, 4 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 turnovers all while looking lost in the scheme of things.

Life is not going to be easy this season for Barangay Ginebra San Miguel star guard and former PBA MVP Mark Caguioa- not under coach Tim Cone, the Triangle Offense and his (Caguioa's) brittle 35-year-old knees. But if he truly intends to see his beloved red and white back in the PBA Finals or at least get them by its doorstep, it is a challenge, a sacrifice, that he needs to embrace.

Call it a hot take on yesterday's Manila Classico wherein Ginebra lost to STAR 78-86. Call it a small sample that should not be taken with much ado and fervor. Call it what you like, but we will still call it as we saw it.
There was Caguioa, running from the opponent's baseline with that familiar look in his eyes while his buddy L.A. Tenorio brought the ball down. He wanted the ball. He wanted to score. Specially when STAR's lead started ballooning and they were messing up several plays. But he consciously held back. He knew that it was a new season for Ginebra, a "brand new day" if you will. They want to run the offense through their 7"0 center Greg Slaughter and after him, 6"9 Japeth Aguilar.

His brain understood, his heart didn't.

In different sequences you could see Caguioa always near the ball, by the strong side, some/most times in the way of Tenorio and Slaughter/ Aguilar. Not because he wanted to, but because his instincts told him where the best scoring positions were. It just so happened that Tenorio knew it as well but wanted to feed his bigs rather than Caguioa.

It made Caguioa look like a headless chicken at times. As though he weren't a former league MVP and many-time All Star.

Caguioa looked lost. And in the few instances that he did get the basketball, it was out of rhythm. He didn't get enough touches. Enough time to create. And maybe that's the design of all of this. To move on from Caguioa and pass the torch to the young towers.

Maybe, but not quite.

See, there will always be room for Caguioa under Coach Tim's Triangle this season. He is the proven closer and clutch shooter. If you would compare this young squad to Coach Tim's old Alaska, then Caguioa is Jojo Lastimosa.

The difference at the moment is, Jolas knew when to hand over the keys to the offense to the young Johnny Abarrientos and Jeffrey Cariaso, and when to take it back. Caguioa? He was in 4th quarter mode as early as the 1st, like he usually is, only he wasn't getting the ball when and where he wanted.

It's a learning curve that another Coach Tim stalwart had to go through: 2x PBA MVP James Yap. When Coach Tim moved over to STAR from Alaska, Yap struggled early once he was forced to play off the ball and pick his spots. It took some time, but the last 2 years (including the grand slam run) saw Yap at his best and most efficient IMHO. He was scoring, defending AND rebounding which says a lot about Coach Tim.

Caguioa is on the same boat as Yap, only, he's a lot older so the transition is probably tougher.

We can actually envision Ginebra running their offense through Slaughter and Aguilar for 3 quarters, and in hotly contested matches, Caguioa will bail them out and play hero. Like he always does. He doesn't need to score 20 a night anymore, there's no need for that.

We can't wait to see Caguioa shine within the Triangle Offense.

Nobody said it was easy.