PBA: Caguioa plays hero as Ginebra outguns Petron in crunch time, 83-80

The Barangay Ginebra Kings leaned on Mark Caguioa in the payoff period to pull off a come-from-behind victory against sister team Petron Blaze Boosters, 83-80, Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in the PBA Governor's Cup.
 
The Kings got off to a fast start, going on a 11-2 run in the first few minutes of the game. Petron was quick to recover, though, with Alex Cabagnot knotting it up at 13-all with a three-pointer.
 

Back-to-back baskets by Danny Ildefonso and import Eddie Badsen then gave Petron the lead to end the first quarter, 21-19.
 
At the start of the second, Jay Washington and Chris Lutz teamed up to give Petron a more comfortable lead at 33-27, but Mark Caguioa came off the bench to keep the Kings close, tying the game at 36-all.
 
A Kerby Raymundo basket gave Ginebra the lead, 40-38, before Lutz converted on a layup to tie the game at the half, 40-40.
 
The two teams traded baskets at the beginning of the third, before eight straight points by Petron put them on top by eight, 65-57.
 
Come the final period, Dylan Ababou and Enrico Villanueva teamed up to bring the lead down to three, 65-62.
 
But Petron countered with another run for a 71-62 advantage. The Kings continued to hang around, and with less than six minutes left in the game, Mark Caguioa hit a booming triple to bring Ginebra within two, 73-71.
 
A Raymundo lay-up on the break tied the game at 73-all, before another Caguioa long bomb put the Kings ahead, 76-73, capping off a 15-2 run.
 

With Ginebra ahead by six with less than a minute to go, Eddie Badsen went on the offensive to cut the lead to four, 79-75.  Needing to stop the clock, Petron sent Caguioa to the line where he made one of two, before Badsen scored again to bring Petron within three, 80-77 with half a minute to go.
 
The Blaze Boosters fouled Caguioa again, who made two crucial freethrows to make it 82-77. Wasting no time, Cabagnot hurried to line up for a three, which he made to put Petron within a deuce, 82-80, with 21 seconds remaining.
 
A Raymundo split from the line gave Ginebra a bit more of a breathing room with 19 seconds left, 83-80. With no timeouts left, Petron raced to cross to their side of the court where Badsen, Cabagnot, and Santos were found hovering behind the three point line. Cabagnot got to launch one, but the shot fell short and hit the front of the rim as the time expired.
 
"It's a great feeling. Mark Caguioa made it possible. When he came in, he was a scoring machine. I am privileged to be working with guys like these," said Ginebra head coach Siot Tangquincen.

Last season's Best Player of the Conference Caguioa finished with 19 points and three rebounds, making three of his five triples. Import Cedric Bozeman added a double-double of 16 markers and 11 boards, while Kerby Raymundo came close to getting one of his own, tallying 15 points and eight rebounds.

Eddie Basden and Chris Lutz each had 15 points to lead the Petron Blaze Boosters, while three other teammates, Dennis Miranda, Danny Ildefonso and Jay Washington also finished in double-figures.The balanced Petron attack wasn't enough to overcome their opponents though.

Ginebra moved over the .500 mark to 3-2 with the win, while Petron had to settle for an even 3-3 record. — ELR/AMD, GMA News
 

The scores:

GINEBRA 83 - Caguioa 19, Bozeman 16, Raymundo 15, Ababou 6, Maierhofer 6, Hatfield 6, Maliksi 5, Villanueva 4, Canaleta 2, Cortez 2, Helterbrand 2.
 
PETRON 80 - Basden 15, Lutz 15, Miranda 13, Ildefonso 11, Washington 10, Santos 9, Cabagnot 6, Yeo 1, Reyes 0, Pena 0.

Quarter scoring: 19-21, 40-40, 58-65, 83-80