Ranking the 50 Greatest PBA Players of All Time (50-41)

To commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), The GAME Editor-in-Chief Sid Ventura and noted PBA historian Jay P. Mercado rank who they think are the 50 greatest PBA players of all time.

These rankings are independent of the league’s own top 25, top 40, and top 50 lists, meaning players on these lists did not automatically make our own rankings (i.e., PBA 25 Greatest members Lim Eng Beng and Manny Paner and 40 Greatest members Marlou Aquino, Chito Loyzaga and Kerby Raymundo did not crack our top 50).

So again, these are our own 50 greatest rankings, and they are not meant to undermine the PBA’s selection.

A word on our methodology

Measuring a player’s greatness is always a tricky proposition. Comparing players across different generations is even trickier. How many Best Player of the Conference (BPC) awards would Ramon Fernandez, Bogs Adornado, Atoy Co, Sonny Jaworski, Abet Guidaben, or Ricky Brown have won if the award had been there earlier than 1994? And surely the likes of Guidaben, Abe King, Bernie Fabiosa, and Freddie Hubalde would have earned more Mythical Team selections if only the Mythical Second Team had already been in place from the start.

Would James Yap, Mark Caguioa, Willie Miller, and Eric Menk have won more titles or BPCs if the league hadn’t gone to the two-conference format from 2004 to 2010? Are All-Star appearances worth anything, considering that All-Star Games were virtually non-existent in the 1970s and 80s?

In the face of these challenges, we focused on five items that were universal to all players regardless of era: longevity, championships won, impact on the game, statistical achievements, and individual awards like Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defensive Team and Mythical Team selections. In comparing players from the same eras or adjacent eras, we factored in Finals MVPs and BPCs.

Also, all player evaluations for the 50 greatest are based solely on their PBA careers. Their achievements in the MICAA, collegiate level, or in the international arena were not taken into consideration.

Now, presenting the first installment The GAME Magazine’s 50 greatest PBA players of all time. We will publish our rankings twice a week, 10 at a time for 50 to 11 and five at a time for 10 to 1.

50-41:

50. Olsen Racela

Rodericko “Olsen” Racela was never the best player on any of the PBA teams he played for, but his longevity and playmaking skills put him in our 50 greatest. He started out as a back-up point guard on Purefoods before taking over the point guard chores for the San Miguel Beermen, where he ably fed the ball to Nelson Asaytono, Danny Ildefonso, Danny Seigle, Dondon Hontiveros, and Jay Washington. His 925 games played are the most of any second-round draft pick and place him at fourth overall all-time behind only Robert Jaworski, Mon Fernandez, and Abet Guidaben.

49. Jayjay Helterbrand

One of the rare MVPs who played with just one team for their entire career, Jayjay Helterbrand was one of the most explosive scoring guards during the 2000s. Along with fellow MVP Mark Caguioa, Helterbrand opened a new chapter in the history of the storied Ginebra franchise in the aughts, leading the team to two championships in 2004 and 2008. Helterbrand bounced back from injury and was named Comeback Player of the Year in 2005, aside from being named the All-Star Game MVP twice. He will forever be linked with Caguioa, with whom he shared the moniker “The Fast and the Furious.”

48. Bernie Fabiosa

Bernie Fabiosa had perhaps what was at once the easiest and hardest job in the history of the PBA: quarterbacking a team that featured five MVP winners. It definitely wasn’t easy distributing the ball to Atoy Co, Philip Cezar, Freddie Hubalde, Abet Guidaben, and Bogs Adornado, but Fabiosa ably filled the role and was an integral part of the Crispa Redmanizers’ 13 championships and two grand slams. On defense, Fabiosa left his mark as an all-time great in steals, leading the league in steals per game for seven seasons. Today he still ranks third all-time in career steals and is one of only four players with over 1,000 career steals.

47. Ronnie Magsanoc

For a four-year stretch in the early 1990s, The Point Laureate was the PBA’s best point guard. During this period, from 1990 to 1993, Magsanoc averaged no fewer than 17.0 points per game and 7.5 assists per game, with single-season highs of 20.0 points and 9.6 assists per game. He led the Shell franchise to two titles and three championship appearances over those four seasons, and would likely have won at least one Finals MVP and BPC if those awards had already been in existence in 1992.

46. Danny Florencio

Before Samboy Lim, there was Danny Florencio. Florencio was the original Skywalker in PBA lore, a gifted scorer who could take it strong to the hoop while also possessing a deadly jumper from the outside. During the 1977 season, Florencio averaged an incredible 32.3 points per game, the highest by a local ever for one season and a record that stands to this day. What’s even more remarkable is that Florencio did it without the 3-point shot. Although he had a relatively short career, Florencio’s scoring prowess during the league’s formative years earned him a place among the 50 greatest.

45. Dennis Espino

Few big men in the 1990s and 2000s possessed the combined offensive and defensive talents of Dennis Espino. The all-time leading scorer in the history of the Sta. Lucia franchise, Espino averaged double digits in scoring for the first 13 seasons of his career. He also earned accolades in the defensive end, earning Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2005 and twice being named to the league’s All-Defensive Team. Espino’s finest moment came in the 2007-08 Philippine Cup Finals, where he led the underdog Realtors to the title over the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants, winning Finals MVP in the process.

44. Japeth Aguilar

Arguably the most athletic big man the league has ever seen, Japeth Aguilar has combined explosiveness around the rim with a decent touch from outside in a way that few players have managed to do. He is a unicorn, a unique player whose height, athleticism, leaping ability, and shooting touch we may never see again in the league. Aguilar is also one of only a handful of players who have had multiple Mythical Team selections and All-Defensive Team selections, proving that he deserves a spot among the league’s greats.

43. Manny Victorino

How good was Manny Victorino in the 1980s? He was so good that he was included in the PBA’s protected list, where he joined Mon Fernandez, Abet Guidaben, and Yoyoy Villamin in a list of players who were not allowed to be teammates in order to balance the league. At six-foot-five, Victorino was one of those rare centers in the 1980s who could run down the floor effortlessly, and was a vital part of all of the five championships won by Great Taste/Presto. In 1984, he produced numbers that in any other season would have earned him MVP: 18.7 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game while winning two titles.

42. Marc Pingris

Marc Pingris willingly did the dirty work for all those B-Meg/San Mig Coffee/Star champion teams. He didn’t score much, but he made a living off the glass and on the defensive end even though he was slightly undersized at a generously listed height of six-four. Pingris’ calling card was heart and hustle, so it’s no surprise that he won multiple awards for his defense. His eight selections to the league’s All-Defensive Team are tied for second-most, while his three DPOYs are tied for most ever.

41. Ranidel de Ocampo

When talking about PBA players who displayed a remarkable level of consistency throughout their careers, Ranidel de Ocampo should be on the short list. RDO averaged double digits in scoring for 14 straight seasons, with no drop-off in production despite transferring from a so-so Air21 team to a loaded Talk ‘N Text squad. He was also one of the first power forwards to add the 3-point shot to their offensive arsenal, and for his entire career, he shot a notable 0.354. He also stepped up when the stakes were high: in his six title runs, he was named Finals MVP twice.

Banner Images courtesy of Sid Ventura, Excel Panlaque, and Instagram accounts of Mark Caguioa, Alvin Patrimonio, and James Yap.