The PBA's 40 Greatest Players

In 2000 the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) announced its 25 greatest players since its inception in 1975. In 2015 another list of 15 players were added to make it 40 greatest players. The list are as follows, in alphabetical order:

PBA's 25 Greatest Players

Johnny Abarrientos FEU

William Bogs Adornado UST
Renato Agustin Lyceum
Francis Arnaiz Ateneo
Ricardo Brown Pepperdine, DLSU
Allan Caidic UE
Hector Calma Adamson
Philip Cezar JRU
Fortunato Atoy Co Mapúa
Jerry Codiñera UE
Kenneth Duremdes Adamson
Bernie Fabiosa USJ-R
Ramon Fernandez San Carlos
Danny Florencio UST
Alberto Guidaben USJ-R
Freddie Hubalde Mapúa
Robert Jaworski UE
Jojo Lastimosa Ateneo

Lim Eng Beng DLSU 

Samboy Lim Letran

Ronnie Magsanoc UP

Vergel Meneses JRU

Manny Paner UV 

Alvin Patrimonio Mapúa 

Benjie Paras UP

PBA's 40 Greatest Players (Additional Induction):

Danny Ildefonso NU
Willie Miller Letran
James Yap UE 

Asi Taulava BYU
Eric Menk Lake Superior State
Kelly Williams Oakland
Jayjay Helterbrand Kentucky State
Jimmy Alapag Cal. State
Mark Caguioa Glendale CC
Arwind Santos FEU 

Jayson Castro PCU
Marc Pingris FEU
Kerby Raymundo Letran
Chito Loyzaga San Beda
Marlou Aquino Adamson

These lists illustrate the diversity of the Philippines. We come from all races. The most popular of all Filipino players Robert Sonny Jaworski has a Polish father and a Filipino mother. The Spanish influence is all over as the Spanish let Filipinos choose Spanish surnames. That was 1849. I was hooked into the PBA on 1985 more or less. Tanduay was my team. Abet Guidaben was my favorite along with David Thirdkill, Willie Generalao, those guys. Their rival is the dreaded shooters of Great Taste Coffee led by Allan Caidic, Michael Young, Ricky Brown, Bogs Adornado etcetera. Young and Thirdkill brought their amazing play on western shores. In those days, imports are expected to average 50 points. In 1988 Tanduay disbanded and the franchise was bought by Purefoods. The Hotdogs were led by the El Presidente Ramon Fernandez who was traded for Abet Guidaben. Fernandez became the cornerstone of San Miguel Beer. Purefoods was a talent-laden team composed of The Captain Alvin Patrimonio and most of the RP National Team players like Jerry Codinera, Jojo Lastimosa, Glenn Capacio, etcetera. They were sort of inducted into professional ranks. They drafted Gido Babilonia at number one. San Miguel Beer would trade for Ramon Fernandez and the rest is history. They claimed all three conference titles to win the rare grandslam in 1989. Only Benjie Paras of Shell rivaled him in excellence. He is the PBA's only rookie-mvp having won both awards in 1989. Guidaben's fate was not as storied but it was nonetheless vital as he mentored the Pepsi Cola franchise. San Miguel Beer developed into a perennial contender as they maintained a core of scorers Avelino Samboy Lim The Skywalker, later Ato Agustin and the two Dannys. Danny Ildefonso and Danny Seigle. Now in addition to the Spanish and Chinese influence, the Filipino-Foreigners will make their mark in the 90s. High scoring guards from the states were recruited. Mark Caguioa, Jeffrey Cariaso and JJ Helterbrand have registered scoring records in their respective high schools. Of course an indigenous Filipino by the name of Leo Bat-og did not make the list. Definitely not a foreign name.