Ginebra gives top pick Casio rude welcome, Kings nip Powerade

Top rookie pick Jvee Casio finally made his much-awaited Philippine Cup debut Saturday. Unfortunately, Barangay Ginebra wasn't in the mood to give the highly-touted rookie a pleasant welcome. Mark Caguioa scored the Kings' last four points inside the final 14 seconds, including the game-winning basket, as Ginebra eked out a 73-72 win over the Powerade Tigers in a thrilling road game in Victorias City Negros Occidental. The Kings trailed 72-67 with 55 seconds left, but made the last six points of the tightly-fought match to pull off the come-from-behind victory that spoiled the Casio's debut game in a Powerde uniform. Ginebra snapped a two-game slide and tied Powerade with similar 2-2 marks. The loss was a hard pill to swallow for the Tigers, who were betrayed by their free throw shooting when they needed it most. Veteran big man Rommel Adducul had the chance to seal the win for Powerade with 36 seconds left after being fouled and the Tigers protecting a 72-69 lead. But the former Ginebra slotman missed both free throws, allowing Caguioa to score at the other end and cut the deficit to 72-71. With no more timeouts left for both teams, the Kings fouled Gary David in the games final 12 seconds to send the Powerade gunner to the foul line. To the horror of the entire Tigers' bench, the sweet-shooting guard from Lyceum bungled both free throws and opened the door for a game-winning play by the Kings. JayJay Helterbrand missed on a hard drive to the basket, but Caguioa was there for the follow-up shot that settled the outcome of the match. Caguioa finished with 11 points and was the only Ginebra player in double figures. Casio, selected No. 1 overall by the Tigers in the last Rookie Draft, scored three points in his debut game. He wasn't fielded in by coach Bo Perasol until the 10:42 mark of the second quarter. Rookie Marcio Lassiter had a career-high 21 points for Powerade, which also got 17 from David and 14 from Celino Cruz. Cruz's three-pointer with 65 seconds left broke the game's final deadlock, giving the Tigers a 70-67 cushion. David then stretched the lead to five after scoring on a lay-up off a crucial turnover by the Kings with less than a minute to go. Rico Villanueva cut the deficit to three with an inside stab, before Adducul muffed both charities that signaled Tigers' downfall. — JVP, GMA News