Powerade’s belief in JVee Casio paying off

JV Casio triple teamed by Gabe Norwood, JR Quinahanan and Ryan Arana. Photo by Nuki Sabio, PBA

MANILA, Philippines – Jvee Casio was what Powerade needed—and he made sure he would deliver.

Although the job is only halfway done, Casio’s contributions in the franchise Cinderella run this conference is palpable—maybe not always in a form of a scoring barrage.

For most of the gut-wrenching semifinals series, it has always been fellow rookie Lassiter and Gary David who have been showered with glory for their offensive bursts.

But the number one overall pick doesn’t mind, he knows his niche that more than his scoring contributions, Powerade also relies on him to be a facilitator–another facet of Casio’s game that seems to be overlooked due to his prolific scoring–and get his teammates going.

“As a point guard, you have to give confidence to your teammates,” said Casio. “I know I have to step up but at the same time help my teammates. It’s harder, but that’s my role.”“
I know I have to be aggressive, I have to be a threat, so I’m always working it out and believing in myself,” added Casio.

And threat he was.

Twice in the seven-game semis series, Casio delivered with clutch performances en route to a pair of 25-point nights.

“I told him ‘Jvee, the hype most of the time belongs to Marcio and Gary—the only reason they talk about those two guys is because you’re delivering for them,’” said Perasol. “I always believed there is a game where he will shine.

With Rain or Shine breathing down their necks and with still an eternity of basketball left, Casio swayed the momentum back to the Tigers for good with a three-point play that made it a double-digit game, 101-90, with 4:02 left.

In game five, Casio nailed four straight points in the final minute to salvage Powerade from a looming loss.

“I really give him the credit. Knowing Jvee, he just found a way to create for us,” said Perasol, whose squad faces the defending Philippine Cup champion Talk ‘N Text in the Finals.

And after slaying a legit title contender after the other, a Big Three has emerged for Powerade—and Casio completes it.

“I don’t have a problem defining my the team as the one composed of a Big Three—and one of them is Jvee [Casio],” said head coach Bo Perasol. “Sila lang naman ang dinagdag namin [along with Marcio Lassiter], and we have a turnaround like this.”

Naturally, the ‘unassuming’ star guard, as his head coach puts it, would never take all the credit.

“I think it’s just not us [Lassiter and I]—it’s the whole team. It’s about getting the right pieces and the right players and believing on our goal,” Casio said. “We came together as a team.”

The overachieving Tigers set history as the lowest seeded team to reach the Finals.

And with just four wins away from an unlikely championship,  what makes you think Powerade–behind Casio, Lassiter and David–would stop there?