New Kid in the Barangay

Nowadays, nobody in the "Barangay" is more popular than this yellow-haired young man. Chants of "Ca-gui-oa! Ca-gui-oa! Ca-gui-oa!" reverberate in different Philippine Basketball Association (pba) venues on game nights featuring the Ginebra Kings, elevating Mark Caguioa’s mood along with the performance level of his teammates who regularly feed off his energy.

There’s about half as much Caguioa to cheer for as there is Ginebra main man Jun Limpot, but the Fil-Am rookie has emerged huge with the Ginebra faithful without actively trying to cultivate a following.

It happened the best way: naturally. There’s nothing superficial or glitzy about the relationship between the Ginebra throngs and Mark Caguioa. It’s as real as the humps and bumps at Vergara, a busy Mandaluyong district, where Mark’s game took flight as one of those streetball kids in the area. "Mark is an exciting player, certainly. He brings out expectations, that element that something dramatic and spontaneous is about to happen in the game. Matapang for a rookie. When he gets the ball, you don’t know what he’ll do. Kaya iyon maagang napamahal sa Barangay Ginebra," says Ginebra coach Allan Caidic.

Proof of his quick rise to stardom in the league was the second largest number of votes that got him included in the recent pba All-Star Game. He beat the likes of Alvin Patrimonio, Johnny Abarrientos, Kenneth Duremdes and Danny Ildefonso as he amassed 6,978 votes, a few shy of top vote-getter Danny Seigle.

That he has won the hearts of the pba fans this early though playing merely off the bench–behind either Vergel Meneses at two-guard or Bal David at point–is nothing short of amazing.

Ginebra’s steal in this year’s rookie draft, Mark, a virtual unknown picked No. 3 overall by the Kings, nonetheless had put up significant numbers for Ginebra in his first two tournaments with the team.

Playing out of Glendale Community College in Los Angeles, the 21-year-old scrappy cager played above expectation in the All-Filipino Conference, averaging 15.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists. He was No. 1 among the rookies and No. 13 overall in scoring. At the end of the tournament–where Ginebra finished second behind sister team San Miguel Beer–he was fourth in the statistical side of the Most Valuable Player race, behind Seigle, Ildefonso and Limpot.

With imports bursting onto the scene in the Commissioner’s Cup, Mark’s numbers slid a little, norming 12.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists.

Fans may wonder where he came from, but Mark "the Spark" didn’t come out of nowhere.

At Eagle Rock High School in Los Angeles, he averaged 26 points and 14 rebounds to stamp his class as a collegiate prospect. Mark was a two-time mvp and led Eagle Rock to two straight conference titles. He shot 1,154 points in two years to set a new school record. Then, he transferred to Glendale Community College where he was spotted by pba scouts.

But Mark says his jump into the pba "made my life turn 360 degrees".

Dressed in shorts, t-shirt and sneakers, Mark finally sat down for an interview with this writer recently after a number of postponements. In the din of the Green Meadows gym in Quezon City, he seems a little embarrassed when Ginebra team officials suggested we move to a more comfortable area. Despite his new status–enjoying the stuff of male fantasy–Mark still appears surprisingly modest and unguarded.

Mark now lives in a condo in Pasig and moves around in a Honda Accord with personal driver Rod. Only a few months ago, as a nobody in L.A., he slept on sofas in friends’ apartments. A few times, he got to drive what he called "our karag-karag na kotse."

"We’re poor in the States. My father works as a cable TV technician while my mother works for a company manufacturing heart pacemakers. Ako, walang ginawa kung hindi maglaro buong araw," grins Mark, the oldest of three children. Brother Richard, 19, also plays hoops and may see action in the Philippine Basketball League (pbl). Ronelle, five, is the youngest in the brood.

Mark says he’s enjoying his stint in the pba but he terribly misses home. "We’re a closely-knit family. Actually kahit ang basketball team na nilaruan ko sa mga Fil-Am leagues sa States ay sarili naming team–the Caguioas, including me, my brother, my father, two uncles and a cousin," he enthuses.

Unlike other Fil-Ams, Mark’s Tagalog is straight since they migrated to the US when he was already nine years old in 1989. His father Ric was a unit short of earning an engineering degree at Feati but figured he had enough education to make a decent living abroad.

Mark says his father was his mentor and idol, pointing out that his old man used to be a streetball king in Mandaluyong, playing pick-up games seven days a week.

"When we left the Philippines, the budding stars in the pba then were Alvin Patrimonio, Jojo Lastimosa, coach Allan (Caidic) and company. I was a Purefoods fan but my idol really was my father. He could have easily made it to a collegiate team during his time but opted to concentrate on his studies, then worked at an early age because he was supporting his brothers," recalls Mark.

Emulate his father Mark still does although the son has reached a higher level than his father as far as playing basketball is concerned. "In the States, I also tried football, volleyball and tennis but I stick with basketball dahil dito ako na-push ng erpat ko," says Mark.

Staying in the country after the end of his playing career here is out of the question. "Most probably, after playing, I will settle down in the US. My family is there, and I think they will stay there for good. My girlfriend is also there," says Mark, engaged to college sweetheart Lita Palavat, who is half-Chinese and half-Thai.

Living a single’s life here–though he has close relatives, including uncle Recah Trinidad and son Chino, now the pbl commissioner–Mark says he spends his free time punishing himself in the gym, playing computer games in his condo unit and strolling in the malls with teammate and good friend Jayjay Helterbrand – also a product of the Fil-Am leagues in the US. "Kung lumalabas kami, kami lang ni Jayjay. I don’t want to go out with a group, takaw gulo iyon. Umiiwas ako sa gulo," he says.

But that’s obviously far from his mind when he’s on the playing court. "He has a devil-may-care attitude on the court. So bagay na bagay siya sa Ginebra because he also has a never-say-die spirit," says Caidic. The rest of the coaching staff as well as his teammates also have only good words for Mark.

Mark believes he honed up his playing skill and potential while playing pickup games with tall, young black players in L.A. "In the States, I rarely play with fellow Filipinos, specially the old ones, because they play rough and dirty. I often play with the black guys," he relates. "Talagang pagalingan. Pataasan tumalon at pagalingan mag-shoot."

Obviously, his playing experience in the US is now helping him in good stead in the pba. As the league heads into the year’s third and last conference, Mark "the Spark" Caguioa is looking to crown his first year in the PBA with another sparkiling performance.