MANILA — Mark Caguioa gave himself a nice birthday present as he once again bailed his team out of trouble Sunday. With 43.4 seconds left, the reigning PBA Most Valuable Player scored the game's last three points – on a floater followed by a charity split - to lead the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings into a pulse-pounding 96-93 win against the Alaska Aces in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. Caguioa, who will be celebrating his 33rd birthday Monday, finished with 24 points. The Kings scored their third straight win and fifth overall after 10 games as they climbed to solo fifth place in the standings. The Aces suffered their fourth straight defeat and sixth overall in 11 games to drop into a tie with the Petron Blaze Boosters at sixth to seventh spot. Center Billy Mamaril also starred for Ginebra, nailing down 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. He capped his heroics by saving the ball in the last few seconds of the game to enable the Kings to retain possession. The loss was a bitter pill to swallow for the Aces as they were ahead 80-72 early in the fourth quarter. They were still ahead 93-91 with 1:21 left. But that proved to be their last taste of the lead as Mamaril tipped in a Willy Wilson miss to knot the score at 93-all. Compounding Alaska's woes, JVee Casio then committed two straight turnovers, allowing Caguioa to seal the win for Ginebra. The win avenged Ginebra's 69-87 loss to Alaska in their first meeting. Helping the Kings' cause was the absence of Alaska's super-rookie Calvin Abueva, the No. 2 overall pick this year, who was hospitalized due to nasal infection. Ginebra coach Siot Tanquingcen heaved a sigh of relief after the game. “It's good because we were able to squeak out this win,” Tanquingcen said. Although Alaska was ahead, “we kept our composure and got back in the game.” Ginebra starting point guard LA Tenorio was also all smiles after the game as he finally got even with his former team. He finished with 10 points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals in 37 minutes of action. Mac Baracael led the Aces with 21 points, while Casio chipped in 16 points, four rebounds, and six assists. In the first match of the double-header, the Petron Blaze Boosters blasted the hapless GlobalPort Batang Pier, 110-81. The Boosters buried the Batang Pier early in the game and never looked back to improve their mark to 5-6, boosting their chances of qualifying for the quarterfinals. Chris Lutz top scored with 22 points for Petron Blaze. He also had six rebounds and six assists. Arwind Santos contributed 20 points and 13 rebounds. The game saw the return of June Mar Fajardo from sick bay and the rookie 6'9” behemoth had little trouble in asserting himself in the shaded lane. He finished with 14 points and seven rebounds in 25 minutes of action. Rey Guevarra led Batang Pier with 14 points while top scorer Gary David and Josh Vanlangdingham had 10 apiece for GlobalPort, which suffered its sixth straight loss and fell to 1-9.
