SIXTH SENSE

Brian Beauchemin, longtime men’s basketball coach at Glendale College, scanned the team roster and zoomed in on Mark Caguioa’s name.

Beauchemin figured he had found the right fit for Glendale’s keystone sixth-man role. All he had to do was convince Caguioa.

That took all of, oh, five seconds.

“He’s the coach,” Caguioa said. “Whatever he decided was OK with me.”

The decision turned out great for the Vaqueros.

Caguioa, a 6-foot sophomore guard from Eagle Rock High, is averaging 11.4 points and 5.0 rebounds, and making 59% of his shots.

“He gives us a little juice coming off the bench,” Beauchemin said.

Enough to help the Vaqueros challenge for the Western State Conference Southern Division title. Before hosting West L.A. on Wednesday night, Glendale (21-7, 7-3 in conference play) trailed first-place Valley by one game with two to play.

For some players, particularly former high school standouts such as Caguioa, accepting the idea of not starting is tough. Even those who readily agree to play as sixth man don’t always succeed.

But Beauchemin is good at selling the concept. He can point to the old Boston Celtic dynasty, when John Havlicek and others filled the sixth-man spot splendidly, and trumpet the role’s importance.

More important, Beauchemin can point to Steve Eernisse last season, and to Javien Moore the two previous seasons, and to Will Burr the one before that as All-WSC players who contributed significantly coming off the bench.

With Caguioa, he had a perfect candidate to continue the tradition.

“Coming off the bench is not easy,” said Beauchemin, in his 21st season at Glendale. “In today’s day and age, it’s all about rewards and gratification. It’s refreshing to see people who are willing to accept what’s in the best interest of the team.”

For Caguioa, a spirited 20-year-old with two earrings and blond highlights in his dark hair, and who frequently says “something like that” to complete his remarks, it was no dilemma. He was happy to get more playing time than last season.

“I really didn’t know I was going to get as many minutes,” Caguioa said. “I like it. I wouldn’t change it.”

Despite his size and relative anonymity, Caguioa might end up playing professionally in his native Philippines, where basketball is a passion.

Scouts from the Philippines Basketball Assn. clubs recruited him out of high school to play on developmental teams until he turned 21, the minimum age for league players. But Caguioa’s father, Ricardo, wanted his son to attend college.

“I wanted him to be more matured,” said Ricardo, a technician for a TV cable company in Eagle Rock.

“Now it’s up to him. But if someone picks him up, like a university or something, I’d rather he stayed here.”

Caguioa would like to play in the PBA. He remembers watching games before moving with his family to Eagle Rock at age 10, his interest encouraged by Ricardo, a former amateur player in the Philippines and a die-hard fan.

But who isn’t crazy about basketball in the Philippines? With few exceptions, PBA games are held twice a week from February to December at 28,000-seat Araneta Coliseum in Manila and broadcast live over radio and TV.

The arena is filled with the noisy supporters of the company-sponsored clubs, from perennial power Alaska Milk to San Miguel Beer, from Red Bull to Shell Petroleum, from Pop Cola to Sta. Lucia Realty.

It’s quite a scene, sure to be repeated Sunday, when the PBA launches its 26th season.

Until Caguioa reaches the PBA, if at all, he’ll hone his skills at Glendale or at a four-year school. And there’s always playing one-on-one against his father, who at 5-7 and age 44 still gives the son a scare.

“I copy a lot of his moves,” Caguioa said of his father. “I like to drive the lane a lot, like he does. Last year, he beat me once. I was sick, that’s why.”

Although basketball is important to Caguioa, it’s not his only interest. He is studying marine biology, likes to fish, listens to oldies and often chooses to watch the Discovery Channel over an NBA game.

And he is not afraid to push the fashion envelope.

“They call me blondie because of my hair,” Caguioa said. “I’d like to hear people say, ‘You know, that Filipino guy with blond hair, he’s really good.’ Something like that.”