Nelson Asaytono

Last updated
Nelson Asaytono
Personal information
Born (1967-01-25) January 25, 1967 (age 56)
San Teodoro, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines
NationalityFilipino
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
College University of Manila
PBA draft 1989: 1st round, 2nd overall pick
Selected by the Purefoods Hotdogs
Playing career1989–2006
Position Power forward
Number11, 8
Career history
1989–1991 Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs
1992–1996 Swift/Sunkist
1996–1998 San Miguel Beermen
1999–2001 Pop Cola 800s/Panthers
2002–2006 Red Bull Thunder/Barako
2006 Pagadian Explorers
Career highlights and awards

Nelson Asaytono (born January 25, 1967) is a Filipino retired professional basketball player who played for Purefoods, Swift/Sunkist/Pop Cola, San Miguel Beer, and Red Bull in the PBA during his 17-year career.

Contents

Collegiate / Amateur career

Asaytono is one of the best players ever to step up in a less-known university in University of Manila under the tutelage of former pro Loreto Tolentino, his coach at UM Hawks. [1] His first national stint was being part of the RP Youth team that played in the 9th ABC Youth Championships held in Manila. He would become a member of the national team that same year in 1987 under coach Joe Lipa. [2] Asaytono also played for coach Derrick Pumaren at Magnolia Ice Cream in the PABL and won three championships. [3] [4]

Professional career

Purefoods Hotdogs

Asaytono was drafted as the 2nd overall pick by the Purefoods Hotdogs in 1989. [5] He played three seasons for the ballclub that had most of his former national teammates; Jojo Lastimosa, Alvin Patrimonio, Jerry Codiñera, Glenn Capacio and Dindo Pumaren. With Patrimonio at the starting forward, he mostly would come off the bench. He won two championships at Purefoods. In his final season as a Tender Juicy Hotdog in 1991, he had notable performances during the All-Filipino finals against Diet Sarsi.

Swift/Sunkist

In late 1991, Asaytono was traded by Purefoods to Swift in exchange for first round picks in 1994 and 1995. [6] He joined the list of PBA millionaires as he was signed to a lucrative pact by the RFM franchise. For two seasons with Swift, Asaytono made it to the mythical five selection and a decent run at the Most Valuable Player (MVP) plum. In 1993, he was second in the statistical race but would up third after the polls in a frustrated bid for the most coveted award. [7] With Vergel Meneses' first full season with Swift in 1994, Asaytono could only make it to the mythical second team selection but still performed well, averaging 18.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in 65 games. In 1995, his team came close to winning a Grand Slam, winning two titles that season, but only got third place in the Governors' Cup. [8]

After winning four championships with Swift/Sunkist, Asaytono was traded to the San Miguel Beermen, his former team in the amateurs, in April 1996 for one-time MVP Renato Agustin. [9]

San Miguel Beermen

Asaytono's trade to San Miguel proved to be the turning point of his career. He became the go-to-guy in Coach Ron Jacobs's rotation as well as its franchise player. [10] In 1997, he became one of the forerunners for the MVP award but he again came short to former teammate Alvin Patrimonio. [11] Although he lost the MVP race, he led the league in scoring.

When the team drafted future MVP Danny Ildefonso in the 1998 season, his minutes was again reduced but still he led the team in scoring. [12] He led Beermen to the finals twice in All Filipino and Commissioner's Cup in that season, but came up short in both occasions to the Alaska Milkmen. [13] A year later, when Jong Uichico took over the coaching reins from Jacobs, he was relegated to the bench and was eventually traded to his former team, the Pop Cola 800s (together with William Antonio) for Dwight Lago, Boybits Victoria, and Nic Belasco. [9]

Pop Cola, Red Bull, Career Milestone and Retirement

Asaytono's second stint Pop Cola was a forgettable one, as he started to slow down as he was still at the bench. He spent his last four seasons with the Red Bull Barako until the 2005-06 season.

On April 7, 2005, he passed Crispa great Philip Cezar for the fifth spot all-time scoring list after tallying 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting. [14] Currently, he is fifth in the PBA all-time scoring list with 12,268 total points in 796 career games, behind only Ramon Fernandez, Abet Guidaben, Alvin Patrimonio and Atoy Co. [15]

He had a brief stint with the Pagadian Warriors of the National Basketball Conference (NBC) before retiring. [16] He retired in 2006. [5]

Statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GSGames 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

Correct as of the 2005-06 season [4]

Season-by-season averages

YearTeamGPMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1989 Purefoods 5619.70.5260.2220.8324.60.50.20.411.7
1990 Purefoods 5321.20.5540.2500.8024.40.90.30.414.1
1991 Purefoods 5422.80.5540.1430.8425.01.00.20.615.6
1992 Swift 6935.80.5600.5150.8258.22.10.61.222.4
1993 Swift 6835.90.5690.2760.7927.72.80.60.819.3
1994 Swift 6533.10.5530.2660.7517.22.20.30.918.6
1995 Sunkist 6826.30.5740.2220.8014.52.00.30.414.0
1996 Sunkist/San Miguel 5132.60.4970.3460.7796.32.00.50.415.9
1997 San Miguel 6140.70.4310.2900.8137.12.70.50.623.1
1998 San Miguel 6532.00.4380.2780.7285.72.10.30.314.6
1999 San Miguel/Pop Cola 2329.20.4210.1710.7784.31.00.60.211.8
2000 Pop Cola 2332.70.4470.3230.7646.32.20.50.417.0
2001 Pop Cola 4920.10.4000.2420.8293.11.00.20.28.4
2002 Red Bull 229.40.4890.3080.6001.50.60.10.13.2
2003 Red Bull 3814.00.5110.4190.6713.20.70.20.17.5
2004–05 Red Bull 5316.50.4580.2380.8103.00.60.10.17.6
2005–06 Red Bull 28.50.1430.5000.5001.00.00.00.03.0
Career82027.50.5120.2840.7945.51.60.30.515.0

Personal life

Asaytono has a daughter, Kim Arielle. On May 20, 2015, she was given multiple criminal charges after driving her car into several shops and bystanders, killing one and injuring 12 others. [17] She and the victims settled and agreed to drop most of the charges.

Asaytono continued to play in exhibition games after he retired. In 2012, he participated in an exhibition match with fellow PBA legends against older NBA All-Stars. [18] He also became a building contractor, building basketball courts and gyms. [19]

In 2020, Asaytono suffered a heart attack. [5] He was confined in the ICU of a hospital in General Trias, Cavite for four days and was discharged several days later. [20] His former teammates and rivals and even the PBA itself helped pay for his hospital expenses.

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