Can Mark Caguioa Emulate Jaworski and play until he is 50?

(c) PBA Media Bureau

Mark Caguioa accomplished one of the rarest feats in the oldest basketball league in Asia, and that is to reach the 10,000 points plateau. 

There are only a few players that hit that mark and some of them are Ramon Fernandez, Abet Guidaben, Alvin Patrimonio, James Yap and Norman Black. 

Yes. A list of great players.


That doesn't mean though that Mark Caguioa is done. He is 38 years old already but he can still play. This conference, he is playing 10 minutes a game and producing 4.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 50% FG per game. 

Even coach Tim Cone made a claim that The Spark can actually play until he is 50 years old, just like the heart and soul of Philippine basketball, Robert Jaworski. 

Can he?

I think the answer is no.

Why?

He is not a leader like Jawo
What made Jawo capable of playing up to his 50s was his leadership capacity. Just by being in practices and in the bench during games provided positive things to his team. 

Unlike Jawo, Mark is more of an assassin. A player that you can lean on to win games and championships. He is also a veteran presence but he was not gifted with the charismatic leadership of Jaworski.

In short, if he is going to play until he is 50, his skill level should maintain at being playable. 

Finances
Unlike the time of Jaworski, Ginebra is already established as the most popular ball club. There is no need for them to retain their current face of the franchise because he is not really adding that much to the marketability of the franchise and the product. Jaworski already locked Ginebra as the most popular ball club in the country.

So, I think the management will see the salary of Mark in the long run as more of an expense than beneficial to the franchise. 

A new face 
It is already pretty obvious that someone in Ginebra uniform is ready to take over the role of the face of the franchise. It is hard to official anoint Scottie Thompson as the frontrunner of the Never Say Die if Mark Caguioa is still there.

Overall, this is not to demerit the career of The Spark. This is simply emphasizing the accomplishment of Jaworski and the changing landscape of the league.