Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. On second thought, dear JV Casio; lend me yours. Some players look like madmen. Some players act like cold-blooded killers. But Casio, who scores like a madman, drains clutch threes like an assassin, is as goofy-looking as they come. The big ears work like radar. The boyish face is a decoy. The bald head is aerodynamic. Why should anyone take him seriously? Casio gave Ginebra 30 reasons to do so in Game 3 of the PBA Semi-Finals. 30 points. 7 out of 9 from three-point country. In a do-or-die game. Beastly numbers. From a cherubim who can be mistaken for a Care Bear. Casio can really be the ultimate hustler. He can go to street courts, fool everyone with his looks, lure opponents into foolish wagers and proceed to take their money one ringless three-pointer at a time. One victim might say, "Ang galing pala 'nun! Wala sa itsura eh."
But in the PBA, Casio's disguise no longer works. He scores 29 against Rain or Shine in the elimination round. He scores 29 again versus Powerade two games later. Even if he scores just three points in some games, his reputation is rock-solid. Leave him open, he makes your team pay. And Ginebra pays up in Game 3.
Despite Rob Labagala's maniacal defense on Casio (as well as defense of everyone else who tried), the Gilas point-guard fires three after three after three. He fires 14 points in the third quarter, just 4 points shy of Ginebra's total output in the period. He goes 3 out of 3 from rainbow country. He plays all 12 minutes. He does all the needed damage. Gilas outscores Ginebra, 35-18.
After the game, Gilas Head Coach Rajko Toroman is expectedly proud of his starting point guard in Game 3. I imagine him being understandably prouder of his team's defense. A coach never complains about a player not scoring 30 points in previous games. A coach always complains when his team allows opponents to score more points than they should. Ginebra scored 110 points in Game 2; a conference-high for any Gilas opponent. Ginebra scores just 88 in Game 3, shooting just 33 percent from the field.
Ginebra's Nate Brumfield personified toughness in the first two games of the series. But in Game 3, Brumfield met triple-teams down the stretch. He scored 30, but only tallied 6 points in the fourth quarter. Casio, on the other hand, displayed his own brand of grit, showed how toughness comes in many forms. Gilas is back in contention, because his team played the type of defense the coach prefers and he played streaky offense Ginebra's guards are learning to abhor. Gilas knows Joseph Evans Casio's heart is as big as his ears. If I must play a PBA game with everything on the line, I will not only borrow his floppy ears, I will also borrow his firm resolve.
Mico Halili, GMA News TV
