ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Mocked by fans as Ginebra benchwarmer, Caguioa fires back: 'Hey, I got the best seat in the house'

Mocked by fans as Ginebra benchwarmer, Caguioa fires back: 'Hey, I got the best seat in the house'

Published Dec 11, 2020 02:13 pm
Barangay Ginebra vetern Mark Caguioa and Stanley Pringle (PBA Images)

Love him or hate him, Mark Caguioa is raring to stay with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. 

The 41-year-old Caguioa recently capped off his 19th season in the PBA with a historic Philippine Cup bubble championship--his ninth overall title--as the Kings took down TNT in the finals, 4-1. 

While many are expecting him to retire with his one-year contract extension set to expire soon, the veteran guard is leaving the decision to the team management. 

"Like I said, my target is 20 years. It's really up to the management. If I need to hang it up (then so be it). I would still love to play but 'di ko rin masasabi. I'm ready for it," said Caguioa, who was the lone player left from the Ginebra squad that last won the all-Filipino title for the franchise in 2007. 

Read: After 18 seasons, Mark Caguioa not done yet

The one-time PBA MVP, who was drafted third overall by the Kings in 2001, saw limited action in the bubble season as he only played an average of roughly six minutes in three games. 

But that did not matter as long as he got the legion of "kabarangays" behind him. 

"The fans are really the ones who keep me going. Like I said, I really get sad just thinking about that day (retirement), not being with my teammates, the fans. Dito na 'ko lumaki. I just turned 21 years old nung nandito ako sa Ginebra. Right now, I'm 41 years old so kalahati ng buhay ko dito sa Ginebra," he said. 

"Maski tawagin nila akong Gatorade, hey, I got the best seat in the house." 

Coach Tim Cone emphasized that "The Spark" now shines brighter for Ginebra off the court and the league's winningest mentor wants him back for another year. 

"I'm hoping Mark Caguioa decides to play one more year only because he's just such a presence on the team. He's a presence in the locker room, he's a presence at practice. Incredibly positive influence to the younger players," said the 23-time champion tactician. 

Read: Mark Caguioa is one proud ‘kuya’ as Ginebra bags 1st All-Filipino title in 13 years

Looking back, the member of the 40 Greatest Players is relishing his career wherein he experienced golden years during his early days, title droughts and now a resurgence of the Kings under Cone.  

"It's been a roller coaster ride for me. Buti talaga nagawan nila ng paraan na makarating dito si coach Tim. Thanks to boss RSA (Ramon S. Ang) and coach Al (Alfrancis Chua) na napapunta nila si coach Tim dito. Kung magre-retire man ako, I have five championships in five years. What else can I ask for?"  

"Ang tingin ko nga dyan kay coach Tim, parang si Oprah eh. 'You get a championship, you get a championship, everyone gets a championship!' Everywhere he goes man. I'm just so glad I'm in this team now. Tumatanda nga 'ko pero we're winning championships. That's the best thing that could ever happen to me."  

And Caguioa would absolutely love to win more with Cone. 

Related Tags

PBA bubble Mark Caguioa TNT Tropang Giga PBA Finals PBA Philippine Cup Tim Cone Barangay Ginebra San Miguel
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.