Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — They don't call him Mark “The Spark” just for the heck of it. On Sunday evening, in front of thousands of delirious die-hard fans at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Barangay Ginebra's Mark Caguioa showed the true meaning of his moniker. The PBA's reigning Most Valuable Player sparkled with 25 points, including two booming three-pointers in the last two minutes, to lead the Kings to a rousing 96-88 victory over the defending champions San Mig Coffee Mixers in the PBA Commissioner's Cup. It was only Barangay Ginebra's second win in seven games, but the victory was enough to lift the Kings out of the cellar. More importantly, the huge win against their traditional rival gave the Kings a much-needed morale booster and rekindled their hopes of at least qualifying for the playoffs. Ginebra's high-energy import Vernon Macklin added 20 points and 16 rebounds, while fleet-footed guard LA Tenorio also had a double-double of 12 points and 13 assists. The Kings led all the way and were up by 15, 79-64, with 5:31 remaining. The Mixers made their last-ditch stand with James Yap knocking in a barrage of three-pointers to come to within five, 85-90, with 27.1 left. Tenorio, however, poured cold water on San Mig Coffee's aspiration by drilling four free throws to ice the game for Ginebra. Import Denzel Bowles led the Mixers with 25 points and 16 rebounds, while Yap finished with 21 points. San Mig Coffee dropped to a 3-4 win-loss card, tying Barako Bull at sixth to seventh place in the standings. New Ginebra head coach Alfrancis Chua said they beat the much taller and tougher San Mig Coffee squad because of his boys' “bigger heart.” He also had good words to say about Caguioa and Macklin, their new import. “Mark Caguioa showed that he's still Mark Caguioa,” Chua said. With regards to Macklin, the Ginebra tactician said the boys like him “because of his fighting heart.” In the first game of the Sunday double-header, 23-year-old import Michael Dunigan exploded for 35 points and 20 rebounds to power the Air21 Express into a 106-94 beating of the GlobalPort Batang Pier. Mark Isip, Mike Cortez, and Wynee Arboleda added 12 points each as the Express improved to 2-5, snapping their five-game losing streak and, like the Kings, lifting themselves a notch higher from the bottom of the heap. The Batang Pier suffered their fifth straight loss and sixth overall in eight games as they sank to the bottom of the pit. Import Walter Sharpe debuted for GlobalPort, scoring 24 points and hauling nine rebounds. Gary David chipped in 20 points.
