Mark Caguioa

Mark Anthony Yu Caguioa (born November 19, 1979) is a Filipino former professional basketball player.

He played his whole career for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Known as The Spark and as MC47 from his initials and his jersey number, he is also half of "The Fast and The Furious", along with his former backcourt partner, Jayjay Helterbrand.

Caguioa was born and raised in San Juan.

At eight years old, he scored 47 points in a barangay kids' league.

When he was 10, he and his family moved to the US, where his father worked as a cable technician and his mother worked for a company that made heart pacemakers.

He spent his adolescent years in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, California.

At the end of his first season, Caguioa became the fourth Ginebra player, after Willie Generalao in 1980, Dondon Ampalayo in 1986 and Marlou Aquino in 1996, to win the Rookie of the Year award.

During his rookie season, Caguioa had bonded with backcourt partner Jayjay Helterbrand.

They became known as the "Bandana Bros".

In 1997, Caguioa graduated from Eagle Rock High School.

In his time there, he won two MVPs, averaged 26 points and 14 rebounds, and set a program record of 1,154 points in two years.

Caguioa played collegiate basketball at Glendale Community College.

He was named to the First Team All-Western State Conference after the 1999–2000 season.

After that season, he was offered a scholarship to play for University of Hawaii at Hilo but turned it down to play in the PBA.

In 2001, Caguioa was drafted by the Barangay Ginebra Kings as the third overall pick.

Expectations were not high as Caguioa started as a role player and backup for superstar Vergel Meneses.

However, after showing strong performances and helping to lead the Kings to the 2001 All-Filipino Cup Finals, he became very popular.

With his crossovers, drives to the basket, and penchant for making clutch plays, Caguioa earned the respect and admiration of the Filipino basketball fans.

His exciting brand of play earned him the moniker "The Spark."

He made his first All-Star team in his rookie season by getting the second-most votes, just behind Danny Seigle.

In his sophomore season, he scored 10 of his 26 points in a 2002 All-Filipino Cup win over the Sta. Lucia Realtors.

Ginebra also acquired Eric Menk that season, giving Caguioa a frontcourt partner who could consistently notch double-doubles.

He then had 22 points against the Alaska Aces, but had back-to-back turnovers in the final minute of the game that led to the loss.

In the 2003 season, Helterbrand left the team as he and Ginebra failed to work on a contract together.

Caguioa and Ginebra started off with three straight losses.

They finally got their first win against the FedEx Express, in which he scored 24 points.

During the Reinforced Conference, he got into a fight with Lordy Tugade of the Red Bull Thunder, and was fined P20,000.

That conference, they qualified for the quarterfinals.

In the 2004–05 season, Caguioa and Helterbrand got back together, as Helterbrand returned from his hiatus.

Before the season started, they won the 2004 Fiesta Conference, a transitional tournament.

Their success together led to them being dubbed as "The Fast and The Furious".

He also signed a contract worth P14.7 million for three and a half years.

Caguioa then set what was his career high for points in a single game during that season, scoring 43 points in Game 4 of the Philippine Cup Finals against the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals.

Despite losing that game, Ginebra won the next two games of the Finals to claim the title.

During the 2005 Fiesta Conference, he scored 40 points in a win over the Realtors.

The Realtors got their revenge on him the next time they met, as he was limited to just 11 points.

That conference, they lost in the quarterfinals to Red Bull.

He got into the Mythical Second Team that season.

In a win over Sta.