Welcome
to the last part of this series where we count down the best players in the PBA
that had the best careers.
But
hey, maybe you are reading this from last to first so in essence, you are
reading the first part.
Whatever
works...
Before
you check out the next batch, again I suggest you to check out the guidelines.
This is to calm the violent reactions I expect to unfold.
If you
wonder how this system works...
CHECK
OUT THE LINKS OF NUMBERS 1 TO 90 AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ARTICLE!
ALMOST BUT NOT QUITE
Here
are the players that almost made the list. Either they will still have the
chance to succeed in the future or they’ll forever look from the outside.
110 TONY DELA CRUZ
109 RICKY RELOSA
108 JOHN ARIGO
107 RANIDEL DE OCAMPO
106 MARK TELAN
105 FRANZ PUMAREN
104 RONALD TUBID
103 MIKE BILBAO
102 LORDY TUGADE
101 BOYBITS VICTORIA
Ranidel
De Ocampo will join Gabe Norwood, Solomon Mercado, Joe Devance, and a bunch of
new blood that are poised to contend on the list and will probably boot out the
other superstars.
By the
way, Tugade is the only Mythical Five member to not qualify the list. However,
if he is given the playing time to claim 600 points and more, he will reach the
5,000 points plateau thereby giving him enough points to boot out Mr. 100 on
the list.
Are
you ready to find out who is Number 100?
Game
starts now!
100 OMPONG SEGURA
1975 – 83
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
Top 25:
Scoring Average
RANKED THIS HIGH:
Seven
seasons tucked in his belt, Ompong was a delight to watch. I got to check a
bunch of old tapes of his work and he was a big-time scoring threat. Despite
playing alongside the likes of Fernandez, Jaworski, Florencio, and Arnaiz, he
still kept a 14.4 career points per game.
RANKED THIS LOW:
Economic
instability and the fact that the PBA is a young and unstable league led Segura
to ditch the PBA. He would return in 1983 but the comeback for the then-31 year
old Ompong was only good for a season. Had he played more, he would have been
part of the 25 Greatest Players list.
99 CYRUS BAGUIO
SKYRUS
2003 – PRESENT
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
1x
Mythical Ten
1x
Finals MVP
4x
All-Star
Most Improved
Player
1x
Season Champion: Free Throws Made
1x
Season Champion: Total Steals
RANKED THIS HIGH:
He is
one of the best open court finishers the league has ever seen. What’s nice
about Baguio is that he can do it on offense as well as in defense. He is also
a proven leader as he led Red Bull one time to consecutive semifinal finishes
despite Red Bull’s lack of decent bench support.
RANKED THIS LOW:
He is
still relatively young and he’ll probably pad his stats more with Alaska. He
also had to earn his way in Red Bull. During his rookie season, he only played
4 games and a total of 34 minutes. A couple of achievement awards could also
help his cause.
98 BAL DAVID
THE FLASH
1996 – 2005
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
1x
Mythical Ten
1x All-Star
MVP
4x
All-Star
Top
25: Assists Average
RANKED THIS HIGH:
One of
the most beloved Ginebra superstars in the 90’s, his halfcourt heave was enough
to send Asi Taulava to tears. Aside from his great clutch shots, he is a
selfless orchestrator who would rather playmake than score. It helped that he
started and finished his career with one squad.
RANKED THIS LOW:
He
started his career sharing PG duties with Pido Jarencio. When Jarencio left the
squad, he had to contend with Jayjay Helterbrand. He could have earned more achievements
but his career ended abruptly in 2005 when the Kings opted to not give him a
contract renewal after he was sidelined for a season.
97 REY CUENCO
1986 – 95
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
1x
Mythical Ten
Most Improved
Player
1,000
Offensive Rebounds
1x
Season Champion: Total Offensive Rebounds
RANKED THIS HIGH:
He was
one of the most feared power forwards of his generation. He was a big man who
was big enough to post up people but at the same time was quick enough to elude
the raised hands poised to block him. He also had a decent range and was an
efficient rebounder.
RANKED THIS LOW:
He was
the first and only Arellano Chief to become first pick overall. He was an
amazing athlete for Shell but it took him time to shine in the PBA. After he
blossomed, he was sent by Shell to Ginebra for the draft rights of Romy dela
Rosa where his game slowly deteriorated.
96 LARRY MUMAR
THE FOX
1975 – 81
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
Top
25: Scoring Average
RANKED THIS HIGH:
He was
one of the all-time greats of Philippine basketball even at the time when the
PBA has yet to exist. He is an insanely prolific scorer with a career average
of 14.0ppg despite the fact that in his seven seasons, The Fox played for five
different teams.
RANKED THIS LOW:
Mumar
was 29 when the PBA started which in a way shortened his stint in the PBA
(although Jaworski was the same age as his). Also, the five teams he played for
were not championship squads. If you think about it, he’s kinda like the Bong
Alvarez of his generation.
95 MARTE SALDANA
1982 – 90
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
Rookie
of the Year
Top
25: Assists Average
Top
25: 3-Point Percentage
RANKED THIS HIGH:
He was
the first San Miguel player to win Rookie of the Year honors. He was a
speedster of sorts that can hit the long range bombs and at the same time
attack the basket. He ended his 9-year career with an 11.3 scoring average
finishing it with the Alaska Air Force.
RANKED THIS LOW:
When
he played for Alaska he shared point guard duties with Frankie Lim but
eventually Lim got the better in the minutes. Saldana took a backseat for his
other teammates like Lim, Bogs Adornado, Ricky Relosa, Yoyoy Villamin, Dong
Polistico, Rey Lazaro, and Biboy Ravanes. Saldana managed to squeak in stints
with Presto and Pop Cola but he was now a shadow of his former self.
94 RUDY KUTCH
1975 – 80
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
Top
25: Scoring Average
RANKED THIS HIGH:
I
never really saw Kutch in action but he ranks 21st in the All-Time Scoring List
with 15.5ppg. At 6’3 he played center-forward for U-Tex, Filmanbank, and CDCP.
During his stint with the league, he was one of the key players to outside
Crispa and Toyota.
RANKED THIS LOW:
He was
27 during the first PBA season. He was probably a MICAA guy that would have
loved the PBA to come in early. Had he played for a few more seasons, he could
have at least had a couple of achievement awards. Also for a center, he never
really registered a high amount of boards.
93 ANDY SEIGLE
THE EAGLE
1997 – 2007
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
Rookie
of the Year
4x
All-Star
Top
25: Rebounding Average
1x
Season Champion: Total Offensive Rebounds
RANKED THIS HIGH:
His
entry instigated the influx of Fil-Ams in the late 90’s. At 6’8, Seigle was
also named Kangaroo because most of his points come in dunks. He was involved
in two high profile trades – one with Jerry Codinera sending Seigle to
Purefoods and one with Jun Limpot to send him to Ginebra.
RANKED THIS LOW:
Unlike
his brother, his scoring skills are limited. His offense concentrated on post
ups, putbacks, and dunks and he wasn’t really a great passer. Perhaps the
biggest flaw of his career is that he is often injured. From top draw, he was
relegated to bench-warming.
92 GERRY ESPLANA
MR. COOL
1990 – 2002
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
1x
Finals MVP
Rookie
of the Year
4x
All-Star
5,000
Points
2,000
Assists
RANKED THIS HIGH:
Apet
Jao was Presto’s top pick but instead, their second round selection won the Top
Rookie Award. That’s nice. His career went on auto pilot until it hyper drove
when he was traded to Shell. It is Shell where his popularity rose. One of his
fave moves is when he posts up smaller guards to perfection.
RANKED THIS LOW:
Like I
said, he was a good player in his pre-Shell days but it seems his career then
was on auto pilot. As a testament to this, he was traded to Shell alongside Rob
Wainwright for the legendary Ronnie Magsanoc. Teaming up with Benjie Paras and
Chris Jackson was good for his career.
91 ELMER CABAHUG
1989 – 97
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
1x Mythical
Ten
1x
All-Star MVP
5x
All-Star
5,000
Points
RANKED THIS HIGH:
He was
the epitome of a typical Southern gunner. He was once involved in a one-on-one
trade for Alaska to get the services of Jojo Lastimosa... and Purefoods agreed.
Yes, he was that good. He would then be sent to Pepsi where at one time became
the team’s franchise player.
RANKED THIS LOW:
One
beef I have with the playing style of Boy Cabahug is that he was just a scorer.
Sure, whenever his team needs a booming triple, he will be there but as far as
his other stats, they are pretty much nonexistent. If he did more, he might be
placed a few spots higher.
By the
way, if you want to check out the other parts of the list, here are the links!
Like I
said in my early blogs, I started from top to bottom because the highest-ranked
players in this list are pretty obvious.
But as
I said, if you want to speak ill of the list that is swamped by numerous
facts... all you need to do is comment.
Game
over.
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