Prince at home in Ginebra kingdom

MANILA, Philippines — It took a journey of over three years involving four teams before Prince Caperal finally found a place to roost in the PBA.  The 6-7 center-forward was GlobalPort’s second round draft pick in 2014 and suited up for Batang Pier, Barako, Phoenix and Kia then landed a contract with Barangay Ginebra as a free agent starting the 2017-18 Commissioner’s Cup. Since joining Ginebra, Caperal has played on three championship teams and is now a candidate for the Most Improved Player Award in the Clark bubble.

Caperal, 27, said he never imagined his PBA career would take off the way it has. When Russel Escoto and Jay-R Reyes were placed on the injured reserve list by Kia, he became a free agent, opening the door to move on. TNT and San Miguel Beer were interested but Caperal said when Ginebra governor Alfrancis Chua called, he didn’t hesitate to sign up. “Sobrang blessed at nagpapasalamat ako kay Boss Al,” he said. “Noong first championship, parang surreal. Ngayon, tatlo na. Sa team, focus ko is to play my role, always ready to go. Hindi ko iniisip kung first, second or third stringer basta handa palagi. To be honest, ‘di ako aware about the Most Improved Player Award sa bubble. Lahat ng candidates are deserving, especially si (Raul) Soyud na very underrated.”

In the bubble, Caperal started at center in Ginebra’s first five games and averaged 13.2 points, staking the team to a 4-1 record. Then he came off the bench to relieve Japeth Aguilar or play alongside him. Caperal wound up averaging 7.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 22 minutes in 22 outings, a significant improvement from his clips of 1.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and 7.0 minutes the previous season. He also raised his field goal marksmanship from 29 to 43 percent. Caperal hit 29-of-69 from beyond the arc to emerge as a serious outside threat. “Dami kong natutunan kay coach Tim (Cone), on and off the court,” he said. “Si coach Tim shared videos on leadership ni John Maxwell. Si (assistant) coach Kirk (Collier) kept me in shape sa lockdown at swerte ko, same condo tower kami sa Mandaluyong. May built-in gym si coach Kirk sa unit. Palagi niya ako sinasabihan na play with confidence. Si Joe (Devance), malaking tulong din, galit siya kung petiks-petiks sa practice kaya dapat hard work at seryoso lagi. Sina Kuya LA (Tenorio), Mark (Caguioa) at Japeth, very supportive sa akin. I learn a lot from Japeth kasi bantayan kami sa practice at binibigyan niya ako ng pointers.”

Caperal was a junior and senior student-athlete at Arellano where he earned a Hotel and Restaurant Management degree. His senior coaches were Leo Isaac, Koy Banal and Jerry Codiñera. In the PBA, his coaches were Pido Jarencio at GlobalPort, Banal at Barako and Phoenix, Ariel Vanguardia at Phoenix and Chris Gavina at Kia. “Coach Jerry gave me tips on defense and big man moves,” he said. “Si coach Pido, tagline niya is puso, pride at palaban. Fight to the end. Si coach Koy is like coach Tim, systems-wise, si coach Ariel is like coach Pido at coach Chris, grabe practice namin at skills-oriented. Thankful ako sa kanilang lahat.” Caperal’s contract expires this month with agent Marvin Espiritu hoping to work out an extension next week.

A bachelor, Caperal is the second of four children of Bobot and Mercedita. His father was a Philippine Star billing collector and played on the company squad in leagues with teammates CEO Miguel Belmonte, Joel Banal, Benny Cheng and Mike Maneze. He was employed in the accounting department at Camp Aguinaldo before retiring. Caperal’s older brother King is 32 and twins Paulo and Pauline are 23.

Cone said Caperal is a key piece with Ginebra. “Actually, Prince is the youngest player on our team outside of our rookies so as much as we feel he has improved this year, we still feel he has levels to ascend to,” said Cone. “We always knew he could shoot but the improvements he made in other areas of the game like defense and rebounding were what surprised us and kept him on the floor. There’s no doubt, however, we would not have won the championship without his contributions. With Greg (Slaughter) returning, we feel Prince can swing at times to the stretch four playing with Greg or Japeth and can back up both. His minutes will not decrease with Greg’s return. There’s nothing in black and white about Greg coming back but I think there’s a strong chance.”

Assistant coach Richard del Rosario echoed Cone’s sentiments. “Prince was huge while we were waiting for Japeth to get healthy and played a big role for us to start 4-0 in the bubble,” he said. “We got him as a free agent from Kia so that’s really a big improvement. He’s valuable as a backup. As much as he has improved, I don’t think he’s ready to be the starting center and he accepts that role.”