Cyrus Baguio is PBA Player of the Week

Cyrus Baguio of Red Bull was chosen as the PBA Press Corps' Player of the Week for the period covering April 14 to 20. Baguio more than made up for Junthy Valenzuela's departure from the Barakos, earning him the weekly citation. "He stepped up in time and in a big way," coach Yeng Guiao said in a PBA statement released on Monday. "His game improved precisely when we urgently needed somebody to fill up the void created during this transition period – and Cyrus proved to be the man for the job." Valenzuela was traded to Barangay Ginebra last week for two future draft picks. The reed-thin but high-flying guard averaged an amazing 25.5 points, 3.5 rebounds with as many assists, and 2.0 steals in Red Bull's back-to-back wins over Purefoods and Alaska, giving Red Bull a 4-1 win-loss record and a share of the lead with Coca-Cola. "We actually don't want to put that much pressure on him because our system is such that we want to balance our offense," Guiao said. "That's why we don't want giving anybody the sole responsibility of winning the game for us. But in the meantime, it's okay. We're still adjusting." Baguio, a native of Iligan City, scored 25 of his 27 points in the second half of the Barakos' 98-96 win over the Giants last Wednesday. He capped that performance with a clutch triple and a layup in the endgame. When the Barakos scored a 100-97 overtime win over the Aces last Saturday, Baguio posted 24 points, five rebounds, six assists, and three steals. "Cyrus has remained level-headed and humble in his role as go-to guy, and those virtues are appreciated by his teammates," Guiao noted. "He's one of the hardest workers, even in practice, that's why he's been playing really good of late." - GMANews.TV