*Hi guys, recenltly we've been receiving a descent amount of traffic from the Philippines, so we decided to make a top ten list of the greatest Filipino basketball players ever.
10. Asi Taulava- The man in the middle, Asi Taulava a.k.a "The rock", has been manning the paint for the Philippine team for 3 decades (1999-present), at 6'9, 245lb he is an indispensable bigman for the RP team. No doubt the most dominant center who ever played in the PBA. Even at 38 he still imposes a great threat inside the basket, with his frame,power and skills.
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8. Samboy Lim- Is only 6'0ft but has the ball handling of Magic Johnson and the high flying skills of Julius Erving. He can dunk at 7'0 guys if he wanted to, and walk on the air with grace, hence the monicker "The Skywalker" because he litterally looked like he can walk on thin air. Samboy was so unstoppable that isolating him, during the time that isolation plays are allowed in the PBA, would mean an automatic two points or an and one situation. He could break down defenses like bowling pins even if he is matched-up with an import.
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7. Alvin Patrimonio- Just a quick trivia,Chris Tiu is not the original college baller national heartthrob Alvin is. Patrimonio is a major figure in Philippine professional basketball, and is considered as the second-most popular Filipino basketball player. He played power forward, small forward, and center for a time, and was a member of the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants team throughout his career, wearing jersey no. 16. Just to let you know how great he is he has 4 MVPS during his career in the PBA, in 1991, 1993, 1994, and 1997. I think if he was 6'8 he would definitely made it to the NBA and made an impact.
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6. Johny Abarientos- "The Flying A" standing at 5ft 7. In 1996 his team had a Grand Slam and he received the MVP award the same year. In 1997, talks of Abarrientos' potential participation in the NBA came, when New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets|Charlotte Hornets scout Joe Bettancourt offered Abarrientos a contract to participate in the Hornets' pre-season camp. Abarrientos, though, declined the offer to concentrate on his pro career in the PBA. In 1997 Abarrientos average a career high 16.7 Points and a league leading 8.6 Assists Per Game. Filipino in the NBA is no myth.
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5.Vergel Meneses- "The Aerial Voyager" A high leaper blessed with a deft shooting touch, a dozen post moves and an eye for the open man, Meneses has been described by coaches like Ron Jacobs as the most talented player ever to play in the PBA.
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4. Bogs Adornado- He made his mark playing in the Philippine Basketball Association from1975 to 1987 for Crispa, Universal Textiles, Great Taste, Shell Philippines, and Hills Bros. He is a three-time PBA Most Valuable Player winning the most coveted award in 1975, 1976, and 1981.- Wikipedia
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3. Robert Jaworski- Wahahaha...Ginebra!!! Sorry can't help it. Jaworski is part of Philippine greatness in basketball, where they dominated in Asia. He retired at age 52, their was actually a rumor that "Big J" will never retire and keep on playing until he was on wheelchair Lol. Even played with his son, Dodot Jaworski. He is great, and embodies the soul of Ginebra and Philippine basketball "NEVER SAY DIE" =D
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2. Ramon Fernandez- a.k.a "El Presendente" generally regarded as the greatest basketball player (and certainly the best and most revolutionary player at the center position) produced by the Philippine Basketball Association.[1] Fernandez won four Most Valuable Player awards and a record of 19 PBA championships (the equivalent of 6 championships in the NBA as the PBA runs three championships a year) bagged. Fernandez scored 18,996 points to finish as the PBA's all-time scoring leader. He is also the PBA's all-time leader in rebounds, blocked shots, and second all-time in assists and steals. He played for five teams in his entire the PBA career starting with Toyota, Manila Beer, Tanduay, Purefoods, and with San Miguel, his last stop. Fernandez played in many overseas tournaments by being a part of the Philippine basketball team.- Wikipedia
He can play multiple positions, Center, PF, SF.. in one of his games, he even dunked from the freethrow line. Some say its a myth. Honestly we don't know, still he is great
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1. Caloy Loyzaga-He led the Philippine National team to a Bronze Medal finish in the 1954 FIBA World Championship. The Philippines third place finish remains the highest rank of any Asian team in the history of the tournament.