For most veterans, staying in the game for a long period of time means proving to the young guns that they are still capable of producing numbers just like their glory days. Don’t count Cyrus Baguio as one of them.
For the Alaska Aces’ starting shooting guard, it is more of a leadership role.
In his 12th season in the league, Baguio is now facing the tough task of matching up with the likes of Marcio Lassiter, Chris Lutz, and Alex Cabagnot as his squad squares-off against the San Miguel Beermen in the Philippine Cup finals.
“Mahirap, ang bibilis nila lalo na may experience na rin sila lalo na yung mga players na naglaro dati sa Gilas.” said the former King Tiger pertaining to the trio of guards rotated by the Beermen, some of whom came from the first incarnation of the Gilas program.
Spending his sixth season with Alaska, Baguio has been an integral part of the Uytengsu-owned franchise since then. As time flies, he’s happy seeing younger guys in their team provide the energy they need.
“Kami as veterans pasundot sundot lang kami. Nandyan lang kami parati. Kailangan lang naming gabayan yung mga rookies,” Baguio added. He said he is focused alongside Dondon Hontiveros and Eric Menk in providing key minutes in the game while also helping the young players learn.
Baguio is currently averaging close to 10 points per game this conference as he tries to contribute via his 24-minute average playing time. More than his statistical contribution to the team, Baguio wants to be remembered for his leadership on and off the court.
The 2009-2010 Fiesta Conference Co-BPC, an accolade shared with LA Tenorio, ended with this, “Hindi ko naman gusto magprove, siyempre gusto naming manalo kaya ginagawa namin lahat. Ang importante samin makapaglead kami.”
