Cyrus Marata Baguio (born August 19, 1980) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Valenzuela XUR Homes Realty Inc. of the

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines. History Manny Pacquiao launched the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League on August 29, 2017, starting off as a semi-professional lea ...

(MPBL). He also formerly played in the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

(PBA) for 16 seasons before initially retiring, but has since came back from retirement to play in the MPBL. He is known for his dunks and acrobatic moves, thus his moniker "Skyrus".

Amateur and college career

Baguio started playing college ball at the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Miguel ...

by suiting up for the school's basketball varsity squad, the Growling Tigers. When he arrived in Manila from Cebu in the summer of 1999, he initially tried out for La Salle. The Green Archers’ coaching staff was interested in adding him to their lineup with a condition that he would be spending time under Team B for a couple of years before he could move up. He was dismayed, so he decided to look for another school. The moment he tried out for Aric del Rosario, he knew he had found his new home in Manila. He joined the Tigers three years after UST won four straight UAAP Men’s Basketball championships. At the time he arrived, La Salle was the new league power. He was still a freshman when they met the Green Archers in the 1999 UAAP Finals where they defeated the Tigers for their second straight title. Citing academic deficiencies, he decided to sit out the entire 2001 season. Upon his return the following season, he led the Growling Tigers to the

2002 Final Four The 2002 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 12, 2002, and ended with the champions ...

only to lose to the star-studded La Salle Green Archers squad. Nevertheless, he was selected as part of perhaps the deepest mythical five selection in the history of the UAAP that included University of the East's

James Yap James Carlos Agravante Yap Sr. (born February 15, 1982) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Known by his nickname Big Game James, he had played for ...

, Ateneo's

Rich Alvarez Richard Alvarez (born October 30, 1980) is a Japanese-born Filipino former professional basketball player and coach. He last played for the Kia Picanto of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was the first overall pick of 2004 PBA D ...

and

Enrico Villanueva Jose Enrico Pascual Villanueva (born June 23, 1980) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He last played for the NLEX Road Warriors of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Amateur career Villanueva first played for the A ...

and La Salle superstar

Mike Cortez Mike Salonga Cortez (born November 10, 1980) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player. He last played for the Blackwater Elite of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Cortez gained prominence in the amateur ranks for ...

. He also suited up for Hapee/Kutitap Toothpaste in the PBL.

Professional career

He was drafted 14th overall by

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...

in the

2003 PBA draft The 2003 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) rookie draft was an event at which teams drafted players from the amateur ranks. It was held on January 12, 2003 at the Glorietta Activity Center at Makati. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 San Mig ...

. Before the draft, many basketball pundits were expecting him to be a first round draftee because of his illustrious college career at

UST UST or Ust may refer to: Organizations * UST (company), American digital technology company * Equatorial Guinea Workers' Union * Union of Trade Unions of Chad (Union des Syndicats du Tchad) * United States Television Manufacturing Corp. * UST Gr ...

. But during draft day, he was only picked in the second round, causing a shock to many basketball observers. During his rookie year, he played the support role but did well. Slowly, after Red Bull traded away its main men like

Willie Miller William Ferguson Miller MBE (born 2 May 1955) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, who made a club record 560 league appearances for Aberdeen. Sir Alex Ferguson described Miller as "the best penalty box defender in th ...

Kerby Raymundo Kerby Mariano Raymundo (born January 19, 1981) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He last played for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Known as The Kid, he was a former star player ...

Lordy Tugade Lordy Tugade (born December 30, 1977 in Alaminos, Pangasinan) is a Filipino retired professional basketball player. He last played for the Powerade Tigers in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).http://www.spin.ph/sports/basketball/specia ...

, and

Mick Pennisi Michael Alfio Pennisi (born March 13, 1975) is an Australian-Filipino former professional basketball player. He last played for the GlobalPort Batang Pier of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was automatically hired by Red Bull in 2 ...

, he then emerged as the team's leading scorer and main skipper. He led his team in scoring and in other departments during his time with Red Bull. And on his last year with the team, he ended his stint still scorching the net by being among the top 10 leading scorers in the league, and by being an All-Star caliber player. During the latter part of the 2008–09 PBA season, he along with Red Bull teammate

Celino Cruz Celino Salazar Cruz (born July 22, 1977) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. A deadly left-handed shooter, he is best known for his clutch plays. Cruz played eight seasons in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). After pl ...

were traded to the

Air21 Express The Air21 Express were a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) that debuted in the 2011–12 season. The team debuted as the Shopinas.com Clickers during the 2011–12 PBA Philippine Cup. In 2014, the fra ...

for 2011 and 2012 draft picks. This trade then led Yeng Guiao to resign as Red Bull coach. In 2008, he was named to the

National Team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

under his former mentor in

, Coach

Yeng Guiao Joseller "Yeng" Medina Guiao (born March 19, 1959) is a Filipino professional basketball head coach, politician, commentator and sports commissioner. He is currently the head coach of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of the Philippine Basketba ...

. In 2009, unhappy with his tenure in Burger King, he was dealt to the

Barangay Ginebra Kings A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...

. He became part of the talented backcourt of the Gin Kings, together with National Teammate

Jayjay Helterbrand Anthony "Jayjay" Helterbrand (born Lamberto Romero Vicente, Jr. on October 14, 1976) is a Filipino-American basketball player for the Boracay Islanders of the Pilipinas Super League. He previously played with the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of ...

Mark Caguioa Mark Anthony Yu Caguioa (born November 19, 1979) is a Filipino professional basketball player who last played for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Known as The Spark and as MC47 from his initials an ...

and

Ronald Tubid Ronald Tubid (born October 15, 1981) is a Filipino professional basketball coach and former player who is the team manager of the Terrafirma Dyip of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He last played for the San Miguel Beermen of the P ...

. He was also reunited with his 2003 batchmates,

, Sunday Salvacion, and Tubid. In the middle of the eliminations of the 2010 Fiesta Conference, Barangay Ginebra shipped Baguio via a blockbuster one-on-one trade to Alaska Aces for two-time MVP Willer Miller. He considered this trade as the best thing that happened to his career. Since he was traded, he helped the Aces win the Fiesta Cup Finals and was awarded co-Finals MVP together with

LA Tenorio Lewis Alfred Vasquez Tenorio (born July 9, 1984) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He is also an assistant coach for the Letran Knights of the Philip ...

. Three years later, he would win another championship in the 2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup at the expense of his former team, Barangay Ginebra. On July 31, 2014, he, together with

JVee Casio Joseph Evans "JVee" D. Casio (born September 1, 1986) is a Filipino basketball player for the Blackwater Bossing of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was drafted first overall by the Powerade Tigers in 2011 PBA draft. Early life a ...

and

Sonny Thoss Joachim Gunther "Sonny" Thoss (born December 7, 1981) is a German-Filipino former professional basketball player. He played his entire career in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) with the Alaska Aces, where his jersey number is retire ...

, signed new three-year contracts with the Aces, signalling his intention to remain with the Uytengsu franchise for the rest of his career. On July 13, 2016, he was traded along with 2017 2nd round pick to the

Phoenix Fuel Masters The Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters is a professional basketball team owned by Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc., which debuted in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in the 2016 Commissioner's Cup. The franchise began after the compa ...

for 2nd round picks in 2017 and 2018, respectively. On August 15, 2017, Phoenix traded him to the NLEX Road Warriors as a part of a three-team trade between the Fuel Masters, Road Warriors, and

GlobalPort Batang Pier The NorthPort Batang Pier is a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team that first played in the 2012–13 PBA season. The team took over the franchise of the Powerade Tigers in 2012 after it was sold to Sultan 900 Capital, Inc. Besides Nor ...

where he got reunited with

. On January 24, 2021, Baguio announced his retirement from professional basketball. However, in 2022 Baguio came out of retirement to play for Valenzuela XUR Homes Realty Inc. of the

(MPBL). In his first game for the team, he scored 7 points on 3-for-3 shooting in a 87-78 win against Caloocan Excellence.

PBA career statistics

Real GM

Season-by-season averages

, - , align=left , , align="left , 2003 Batang Red Bull Thunder season, Red Bull , 4 , , 8.5 , , .833 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .3 , , 2.5 , - , align=left , , align="left ,

, 69 , , 18.7 , , .495 , , .318 , , .640 , , 2.5 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , .5 , , 5.7 , - , align=left , , align="left ,

, 67 , , 22.3 , , .440 , , .302 , , .651 , , 3.3 , , 2.5 , , .9 , , .4 , , 7.7 , - , align=left , , align="left ,

, 55 , , 24.2 , , .498 , , .352 , , .727 , , 3.3 , , 2.9 , , .7 , , .4 , , 11.3 , - , align=left , , align="left ,

, 48 , , 30.3 , , .512 , , .352 , , .690 , , 3.6 , , 3.7 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , 18.0 , - , align=left , , align="left , Barako Bull/

Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based res ...

/ Ginebra , 48 , , 25.4 , , .437 , , .308 , , .752 , , 2.9 , , 2.3 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , 10.5 , - , align=left , , align="left , Ginebra/

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

, 64 , , 29.1 , , .473 , , .353 , , .634 , , 2.6 , , 2.7 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , 12.4 , - , align=left , , align="left ,

, 38 , , 33.2 , , .400 , , .333 , , .767 , , 4.3 , , 3.1 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 12.4 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 35 , , 33.2 , , .441 , , .386 , , .744 , , 4.4 , , 2.8 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , 14.7 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 54 , , 32.6 , , .435 , , .404 , , .721 , , 3.8 , , 2.7 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , 13.4 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 44 , , 30.4 , , .418 , , .327 , , .746 , , 2.8 , , 2.8 , , .8 , , .4 , , 10.4 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 57 , , 24.4 , , .404 , , .292 , , .798 , , 2.9 , , 1.9 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 9.2 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, 59 , , 24.6 , , .406 , , .302 , , .733 , , 3.3 , , 2.5 , , .8 , , .3 , , 8.8 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

NLEX The North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), signed as E1 of the Philippine expressway network, partially as N160 of the Philippine highway network, and R-8 of the Metro Manila arterial road network, is a limited-access toll expressway that connects M ...

, 36 , , 23.1 , , .401 , , .361 , , .786 , , 2.8 , , 2.6 , , .8 , , .3 , , 7.8 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 40 , , 18.3 , , .462 , , .361 , , .763 , , 3.2 , , 2.6 , , .9 , , .3 , , 4.9 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 23 , , 10.0 , , .390 , , .222 , , .857 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , .3 , , .2 , , 2.5 , -class=sortbottom , align=center colspan=2 , Career , 741 , , 25.4 , , .446 , , .338 , , .715 , , 3.1 , , 2.5 , , .9 , , .4 , , 10.1

Personal life

Baguio is the nephew of the late PBA point guard

Ric-Ric Marata Ricardo "Ric-Ric" Marata (December 21, 1964 – April 17, 2010) was a Filipino former professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association. Basketball career Ric-ric played three years for Southwestern University under coach Bo ...

. On May 28, 2011, he married his former college crush Katie Uy in

Antipolo Antipolo, officially known as the City of Antipolo ( fil, Lungsod ng Antipolo), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 887,399 people. It is the mo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baguio, Cyrus 1980 births Living people Alaska Aces (PBA) players Barako Bull Energy Boosters draft picks Barako Bull Energy Boosters players Barako Bull Energy players Barangay Ginebra San Miguel players Basketball players from Lanao del Norte Filipino men's basketball players NLEX Road Warriors players People from Iligan Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Philippines men's national basketball team players Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters players Shooting guards Small forwards UST Growling Tigers basketball players Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League players