Tim Cone admires the faithful of Geneva Mark Caguioa

ANGELES CITY – Mark Caguioa of Barangay Geneva reached a milestone in his debut in the PBA Philippine Cup bubble by becoming the first player to play 18 seasons for a solo franchise.

Caguioa, 40, registered with 6:35 remaining in Geneva’s game against Meralco, breaking the previous record of 17 single-team seasons held by Alvin Patrimonio (Purefoods) and Harvey Carey (TNT) .

The former league MVP finished with two points and two rebounds as the Kings crushed their Governor’s Cup rivals the Bolts, 105-91, for a share of the lead with their third straight win at the Cultural Center and Sports of the University of Angeles Foundation powered by Smart 5G.

Geneva manager Tim Cone didn’t know Caguioa made history, but he wasn’t surprised they did.

“Mark is a special boy and only a special boy does special things. That is a record. For me, it’s a testament to his character, playing ability and ability to be a great teammate, ”Cone said.

“I mean you have to be a special player and a special person to last 18 seasons. I really do. You have to be loved, ”he added.

The Grand Slam winning mentor admitted that he had a bad impression of the eight-time PBA champion when he was still training for the other teams.

But that quickly changed when he jumped into the legendary franchise, which made Caguiao the third overall pick in the 2001 draft.

“Honestly, when I was on the other team I thought he was thinking of mayabang. Fast and Furious (referring to the Caguioa and former Geneva player Jayjay Helterbrand tandem). We all hate them, ”Cone said.

“But now that I’m here, I realized what a good boy he is. Truly. I never met him before coming to the team. That was probably the biggest surprise I felt when I came to Geneva. It was to find out what kind of person Mark Caguioa was. It’s a pleasure to be around. ”