JAYVEE Casio is quickly showing that life for the Alaska Aces after the departure of former ace guard LA Tenorio can just be fruitful as evidenced by his explosive outing against the erstwhile unbeaten Talk ’N Text Tropang Texters, which was enough to give him the Player of the Week honors for the period of Oct. 29 to Nov. 4 in the ongoing PBA Philippine Cup.
Casio, acquired in a trade for celebrated point man Tenorio in the offseason, scored 25 points including the game-winning basket that pushed the Aces past the Texters, 94-92, and extend their unbeaten run to five games and gain second place in the standings with their 5-2 (win-loss) record.
The former La Salle standout also had six threes and four assists in the last game, padding his averages to 18.6 points in this winning streak. Casio strung up 10 of his points in the fourth quarter through a four-point play and two more triples, almost single-handedly bringing Alaska back from a 72-83 deficit.
The entry of super rookie Calvin “The Beast” Abueva coupled with Cyrus Baguio also finding his groove and the likes of Mark Baracael, Dondon Hontiveros, Sonny Thoss, RJ Jazul and Tony dela Cruz helping out in their own ways are also factors. Still, Casio has remained the trump card of the deck, says head coach, Luigi Trillo.
“Jayvee is in a good flow right now,” noted Trillo in a press statement. “People talk about his scoring, but he is helping out in so many ways. His defense is very underrated. He also has been passing the ball well.”
In other news in the league, Ginebra wingman Dylan Ababou will be out for six months due to a torn ACL in his right knee, thus, confirming the team’s worst fears.
The news was confirmed by Ababou himself on his Twitter account. The former University of Santo Tomas and Smart-Gilas standout got injured in the Kings’ loss to the San Mig Coffee Mixers last Sunday. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio