The Final Score: Ginebra makes room for Miller, Alaska soars with Baguio

Down by double-digits against Ginebra in the fourth period, Alaska needed a go-to-guy. The Aces used to have one of the best. He was a two-time MVP. But he wears a Ginebra uniform now. You’re Alaska, what do you do? Oh, I know, let’s spread the floor, pick-up the pace, take Ginebra’s defenders one-on-one with the new guy. No, no, not the import. The New Guy.

On a rainy Friday night, Alaska quickly discovered their “New Guy", Cyrus Baguio, can be “The Man". I wonder if Alaska knew it would take just one game to justify giving up Willie Miller, a franchise player, for Baguio, essentially an impact player. Then again, it was just one game, one win and one night. Yet what an evening it was. To fuel Alaska’s fourth quarter comeback, Baguio did it all. Still sporting that exaggerated headband that made him look like some casualty of war, he led Alaska’s onslaught the way Chuck Norris led Delta Force. In one play, he hypnotized Rudy Hatfield with a ridiculously-low cross-over dribble then mesmerized the crowd with a hang-time jumper from 15-feet – the Skyrus Special. Moments later, he extended his scrawny arms to block Eric Menk. He, then, punctuated Alaska’s rally with a three-pointer to push Alaska ahead by three. Afterwards, he calmly retreated back to the Alaska bench, no punches through air, no pointing to the heavens, as if he knew this was going to happen all along. And Willie Miller (2 pts, 1/8 FG) watched it all happen from the Ginebra bench. Baguio wasn’t done. With 2:21 left in a close game, he blocked a Mark Caguioa attempt, rushed down the court, received a pass from LA Tenorio on the right wing and attacked, instinctively, the way he always did with UST (which at times drove Aric Del Rosario up the wall), Hapee, Red Bull, Team Pilipinas (still remember his open-court poetry in Tianjin?), Burger King and, very recently, Ginebra. Wait a minute. This was his first game with Alaska. Normally, it takes a player several games to adjust and be comfortable with a new team. Baguio never got the memo. So in one critical play, he propelled into Caguioa’s chest, shook the leather in mid-air like a Magic 8-Ball, stayed in flight long enough to enjoy the view and scored off-the-glass. Oh and just in case you didn’t notice, Ginebra had a new import. Baguio finished with 14 points (12 in the 4th quarter), two steals and two blocks to help Alaska win. Alaska outscored Ginebra 26-7 in the fourth period. Cyrus Baguio, therefore, is the future of the Alaska franchise! Okay, wait, wait, wait. I just jumped to a conclusion, lost my breath and got carried away. Let’s redo that. Cyrus Baguio could be the future of the Alaska franchise. That’s a more sensible, level-headed proposal. It really is just an idea, albeit an appealing one. For one night, however, Baguio was Alaska’s alpha-Ace. For one game, last April 30, Baguio was Alaska Basketball. - GMANews.TV