Eliud Poligrates

Eliud Poligrates

Personal information
Born	(1987-11-29) November 29, 1987 (age 36) Poro, Cebu, Philippines
Nationality	Filipino
Listed height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
College	Southwestern University
PBA draft	2013: 3rd round, 27th overall pick
Selected by the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters
Playing career	2009–present
Position	Point guard
Career history
2009	MLKP-Cebu Niños
2010	Mandaue-Cebu Landmasters
2011	Misamis Oriental Meteors
2013	Cagayan Rising Suns
2013–2014	Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters
2014	Air21 Express
2014–2015	Kia Carnival
2015	Euro-Med Laboratories
2015	Cafe France Bakers
2019	Cebu Sharks
2019	Marinerong Pilipino Skippers
2019	Valenzuela XUR Homes Realty Inc.
2020	Rizal Golden Coolers
2021	ALZA-Alayon Zamboanga del Sur
Career highlights and awards
PBA D-League champion (2015 Foundation) PBA D-League MVP (2019 Foundation) Liga Pilipinas champion (Conference III; 2009)

Eliud G. Poligrates ^[1] (born November 29, 1987), also known as Eloy Poligrates, is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He played three years of college basketball for Southwestern University, which ended with his lifetime ban from the CESAFI due to moonlighting in another league. He then played in Liga Pilipinas and the PBA D-League before he was drafted by the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters in the 2013 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) draft. He later played for PBA teams Air21 Express and Kia Carnival. Poligrates found success in his return to the PBA D-League, winning the 2015 Foundation Cup championship with the Cafe France Bakers and the 2019 Foundation Cup Most Valuable Player (MVP) award with Marinerong Pilipino. He also holds the record for the most points scored in a single PBA D-League game, with 67.

Poligrates also had stints in the Pilipinas Commercial Basketball League (PCBL), Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL), and the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup.

Career

College career

Poligrates' first basketball tournaments were in local leagues in his hometown the Camotes Islands, as well as nearby Danao. He was scouted by the Cebu City-based Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI). However, his three-year career at SWU ended in 2009 when he was caught moonlighting in a local league, generically referred to as ligang labas . The offense, and his initial denial of it, led to a lifetime ban from the CESAFI, despite his school's appeal. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Liga Pilipinas and PBA D-League

Poligrates then played in Liga Pilipinas, initially for Cebu-based team M. Lhuillier-Cebu Niños, with whom he won the Conference III championship in 2009. ^{[3] [5]} Afterwards, he moved to neighboring team Mandaue-Cebu Landmasters before joining the Misamis Oriental Meteors. He then had the opportunity to play in Manila for the Cagayan Rising Suns of the PBA D-League. The Rising Suns had scouted him in another ligang labas. ^{[2] [3]}

Philippine Basketball Association (PBA)

In the 2013 PBA draft, Poligrates was selected by the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters with the 27th overall pick. ^[3] He scored 13 points on his PBA debut, an 89–80 win over the Meralco Bolts at the Cebu Coliseum. ^[6] Shortly before the end of 2013–14 PBA Philippine Cup elimination round, he and teammate Sean Anthony were traded to Air21 Express in exchange for KG Canaleta. ^[7]

On November 27, 2014, he was again traded to Kia Sorento in exchange for Rudy Lingganay. ^[8]

PBA D-League championship and MVP; stints in other leagues

In April 2015, Poligrates was signed by Euro-Med Laboratories of the Pilipinas Commercial Basketball League (PCBL) after a six-month absence from commercial basketball. In his debut with the team, he scored 17 points in their 93–81 win over the Foton Toplanders. ^[9]

Later that year, he returned to the PBA D-League with the Cafe France Bakers. In June 2015, the Bakers won their first PBA D-League title over favorites Hapee Fresh Fighters in the 2015 Foundation Cup finals. ^[10] After his stint with Cafe France, he played ligang labas in Visayas and Mindanao for around four years. ^[11]

In April 2019, Poligrates was signed by hometown team Cebu City Sharks for the 2019–20 season of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). ^[12] However, he left the Sharks by mutual consent in August, after being sanctioned for training with Marinerong Pilipino of the PBA D-League despite having a contract with the Sharks. ^[13] With Marinerong Pilipino, Poligrates set the PBA D-League record for most points scored in a game, scoring 67 points in their 141–97 win over the iWalk Chargers on August 26, 2019. ^[14] In the 2019 Foundation Cup, he led Marinerong Pilipino to a sweep of the elimination round followed by their first Finals appearance. Averaging 21 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 3.0 assists, he earned the conference's Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. ^[15] However, they lost to BRT Sumisip Basilan-St. Clare in game 3 of the best of three finals series. ^[16]

In November 2019, Poligrates returned to the MPBL with Valenzuela City but played only four games for them. ^{[17] [18]} In March 2020, he joined fellow MPBL team Rizal Golden Coolers. ^[18] In 2021, he played for ALZA-Alayon Zamboanga del Sur of the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup. ^[19]

PBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-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

^[20]

Season-by-season averages

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2013–14	Talk 'N Text / Air21	33	12.2	.415	.273	.533	1.5	.7	.2	.0	4.2
2014–15	Kia	11	13.5	.340	.160	.667	1.5	1.4	.4	.0	3.8
Career		44	12.5	.394	.237	.556	1.5	.9	.3	.0	4.1

Personal life

In 2016, Poligrates and seven other individuals were sued by two men for physical injuries. They were allegedly involved in a brawl during a fiesta in his hometown, the Camotes Islands, back in October that year. ^[21] On January 14, 2020, Poligrates was arrested for allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend outside a convenience store in Cebu City. ^[22] He was released later that month after the ex-girlfriend recanted her accusation through an affidavit. She explained that they had a verbal argument, but Poligrates did not harm her physically. ^[23]

On May 30, 2023, Poligrates was shot on his left shoulder by a 15-year-old boy in Duljo Fatima, Cebu City. According to Poligrates, the boy shot him after he turned down the boy's solicitation of ₱20. Meanwhile, the boy claimed he retaliated against Poligrates, who allegedly choked him the week before. Poligrates proceeded to file charges against the boy. ^{[24] [25]}

References

1. "Ex-girlfriend retracts raps against Poligrates". SunStar Cebu. January 29, 2020. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
2. Terrado, Reuben (January 23, 2013). "'Larong labas' star Poligrates picks up the pieces after Cesafi life ban". Spin.ph. Archived from the original on May 31, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
3. Panerio, Jonas (November 6, 2013). "On the brink of giving up, Cebuano Eliud Poligrates remained resilient and now nears first PBA stint". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
4. "SWU pressures Cesafi board". SunStar. January 16, 2010. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
5. "Cebu Niños sweep way to Liga Pilipinas crown". GMA News. November 30, 2009. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
6. Panerio, Jonas (November 19, 2013). "Talk 'N Text rookie Eliud Poligrates shares pro debut experience in Cebu". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
7. Dy, Richard (January 20, 2014). "Talk 'N Text gets boost for playoffs by acquiring Canaleta in three-player trade". Spin.ph. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
8. Sabio, Nuki (November 28, 2014). "Kia gets spitfire guard Poligrates from NLEX for Lingganay". Dugout Philippines. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023. Note: Air21 Express became the NLEX Road Warriors in 2014.
9. Terrado, Reuben (April 3, 2016). "Eloy Poligrates makes huge debut as Euromed downs Foton to snap four-game slide". Spin.ph. Archived from the original on August 5, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
10. Leongson, Randolph (June 25, 2015). "CafeFrance stuns Hapee for 1st PBA D-League title; Ebondo hits game-winner". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on August 14, 2022. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
11. Li, Matthew (August 5, 2019). "Eloy Poligrates says playing for Marinerong Pilipino is his 'last chance'". Tiebreaker Times. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023. Nag-ligang labas ako. Cebu. Mindanao, Bohol. Pero iba talaga ang laro dito.
12. "Sharks sign Poligrates". SunStar Cebu. April 28, 2019. Archived from the original on May 31, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
13. Panerio, Jonas Rey (August 5, 2019). "Poligrates bids Cebu Sharks farewell, to play for Marinerong Pilipino in PBA D-League". CDN Digital. Archived from the original on December 5, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
14. "Poligrates hits record 67 points in Marinerong Pilipino win". ESPN Philippines. August 26, 2019. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
15. Leongson, Randolph (October 9, 2019). "Former pro Eloy Poligrates is D-League Foundation Cup MVP". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
16. Ulanday, John Bryan (October 15, 2019). "Sumisip-St. Clare 'di bumitaw". Pang-Masa (in Filipino). Philippine Star Printing Co., Inc. Archived from the original on December 12, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
17. Panerio, Jonas N. (November 19, 2019). "Poligrates returns to MPBL, signs up with Valenzuela". SunStar. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
18. "Rizal signs Eloy Poligrates, looking for new coach". Tiebreaker Times. March 20, 2020. Archived from the original on May 31, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
19. Valencia, Justin (July 18, 2021). "Embattled Poligrates fulfills promise to comeback to Zambo del Sur". Tiebreaker Times. Archived from the original on August 5, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
20. "Eliud Poligrates Player Profile - PBA-Online.net". PBA-Online.net. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017.
21. Panerio, Jonas (December 22, 2016). "Former PBA guard Eloy Poligrates in hot water for role in brawl at town fiesta". SPIN.ph. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
22. Talisic, Benjie B. (January 14, 2020). "Basketball player nabbed for hurting estranged lover". SunStar Cebu. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
23. Panerio, Jonas (January 30, 2020). "Eloy Poligrates cleared of physical abuse charge by ex-girlfriend". Spin.ph. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
24. Lauro, Paul (May 30, 2023). "Ex-PBA player Poligrates injured in Duljo shooting". CDN Digital . Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
25. Marantal, Romeo D. (May 31, 2023). "Ex-PBA player shot by 15-year-old boy". The Freeman. Archived from the original on May 31, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023.