Anjo Caram

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Hechanovaand the surname or paternal family name is Caram.

Anjo Caram

Caram in 2022
No. 17–Meralco Bolts
Position	Point guard
League	PBA
Personal information
Born	(1991-01-14) January 14, 1991 (age 34) Iloilo City, Philippines
Nationality	Filipino
Listed height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Listed weight	159 lb (72 kg)
Career information
High school	St. Joseph's School of Iloilo (Iloilo City)
College	San Beda
PBA draft	2013: 3rd round, 26th overall
Drafted by	Meralco Bolts
Playing career	2013–present
Career history
2013–present	Meralco Bolts
Career highlights
PBA champion (2024 Philippine) 3× NCAA Philippines champion (2010–2012)

Antonio Jose Hechanova Caram (born January 14, 1991) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Meralco Bolts of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was drafted in the third round (26th overall) in the 2013 PBA draft by the Bolts. ^[1]

College career

Caram played college basketball for San Beda Red Lions where he helped the team to win the NCAA Philippines Basketball Championship for four out of his five years in college. ^[2]

Professional career

Meralco Bolts (2013–present)

In 2013, Caram was drafted by Meralco Bolts of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). In the 2013–14 Philippine Cup, he finished with seven points, three rebounds and three assists, plus a late three-pointer in the fourth that iced the win for Meralco against the Alaska Aces. ^[3]

In the 2017–18 Philippine Cup, Caram had 16 points in their first game against Barangay Ginebra since their Finals series, where Meralco lost. ^[4]

In the 2019 Governors' Cup, he became the shortest player to score 30 points in a game, with 16 of those points coming in the fourth quarter. ^[5] For that performance, he was named Player of the Week. ^[6] Following that conference, he was signed to a two-year extension. ^[7]

During the 2023 Governors' Cup, Caram had a season-high 18 points in a win over the Terrafirma Dyip. ^[8]

PBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	MPG	Minutes per game	FG%	Field-goal percentage
3FG%	3-point field-goal percentage	4P%	4-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

As of the end of 2024–25 season ^{[9] [10]}

Season-by-season averages

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	4P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2013–14	Meralco	22	13.6	.308	.267	—	.708	.9	1.5	.3	—	2.8
2014–15	Meralco	23	12.6	.358	.160	—	.875	1.3	1.0	.4	.1	3.0
2015–16	Meralco	35	12.6	.449	.250	—	.550	.9	1.3	.6	.0	3.4
2016–17	Meralco	44	11.5	.414	.500	—	.667	1.0	1.0	.3	—	3.3
2017–18	Meralco	41	18.6	.476	.170	—	.813	1.3	1.4	.5	.1	6.3
2019	Meralco	40	13.5	.428	.297	—	.762	1.0	1.3	.4	.1	4.1
2020	Meralco	10	5.0	.500	.000	—	—	.3	.2	—	—	1.2
2021	Meralco	34	14.1	.424	.321	—	.667	.9	1.4	.3	.0	4.0
2022–23	Meralco	38	10.2	.451	.474	—	.909	.7	1.0	.1	.0	3.7
2023–24	Meralco	32	13.7	.410	.406	—	.733	.6	1.1	.2	.1	4.2
2024–25	Meralco	31	12.8	.422	.426	.333	.571	1.0	.8	.2	.1	4.7
Career		350	13.1	.427	.343	.333	.726	.9	1.2	.3	.0	3.9

Player profile

Although Caram is mostly a bench player for the Bolts and averages around 4 points a game, he has established himself as one of the team's top perimeter defenders ^[11] and was hailed by teammate and Philippine national team legend Jimmy Alapag as "one of the best on-ball defenders" in the league. ^[12] With his decision-making and passing, he can start games whenever a teammate is injured. ^[3]

References

1. "COMPLETE 2013 PBA DRAFT RESULTS". Inquirer.net . November 3, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
2. Olivares, Rick (May 17, 2016). "Anjo Caram: The Little Big Man is making it to the pros". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
3. DE LEON, JOB B. (12 March 2014). "PBA: No Dillinger, no problem as Meralco Bolts zap Alaska Aces". GMA News Online. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
4. Sacamos, Karlo (Feb 18, 2018). "Anjo Caram admits thirst for revenge against Ginebra inspired career game". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
5. "Meralco's Anjo Caram, shortest PBA player to score 30". www.pba.ph. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
6. "After career game, Meralco's Caram named PBA Player of the Week". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
7. Ramos, Gerry (March 1, 2020). "Allein Maliksi, Anjo Caram signed to new contracts as Meralco keeps nucleus". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
8. Dioquino, Delfin (February 4, 2023). "Anjo Caram makes up for lost time in Meralco return from injury layoff". RAPPLER. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
9. "Anjo Caram Player Profile, Meralco Bolts - PBA-Online.net". PBA-Online.net. Archived from the original on 2014-08-29. Retrieved 2023-04-01.
10. "Anjo Caram Player Profile, Meralco Bolts - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com.
11. Sacamos, Karlo (February 28, 2016). "Anjo Caram shows defensive side after limiting Terrence Romeo to conference-low output". Spin.ph. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
12. Joble, Rey (February 28, 2016). "Jimmy Alapag calls Meralco teammate Anjo Caram 'one of the best on-ball defenders' in the PBA". InterAksyon. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2016.