Number 19

Hall of Famer

Last night, the Powerade Tigers (who lost 100-102 to the Alaska Aces) retired the jersey of one Kenneth "Captain Marbel" Duremes in a half time ceremony that lacked the superstar fanfare that a player of his caliber deserves.


That's not to undermine the Tigers' efforts, but we all know which jersey Duremdes should be wearing when remembered by historians and future generations. It's not with the team that drafted him, Sunkist/ Pop Cola, and paired him with clone and good buddy Vergel Meneses. Neither is it with Santa Lucia Realty where he could've formed the league's most intimidating "Big Three" alongside National Team players Marlou Aquino and Dennis Espino (sigh. Santa Lucia die hard here. So, really, sigh.). It's not even with Coca Cola/ Powerade where he finished his career due to injuries and an unseen promotion to head coach and later on, management.

It's with the Alaska Milkmen/ Aces. Where Duremdes won his Most Valuable Player award. Where he blossomed under the Triangle Offense and made fellow National Team campaigner and Hall of Famer Johnny Abarrientos expendable. Where the Milkmen almost duplicated their Grand Slam in a span of three short years if not for the call of flag and country.

In his prime during the 1998-2000 years, Duremdes was downright unstoppable. Yes, there were Fil-Ams coming in from all corners such as Danny Seigle, Sonny Alvarado (sham), Rob Johnson Rob Parker (sham) and what not, but Duremdes was pretty much holding his own against the Fil-foreign invasion and leading his team to victory.

Sadly though, he was traded on draft night, directly for a forgettable first round pick (Brandon Cablay at number 5) which didn't pan out for both the Milkmen/ Aces and Duremdes. Still, there was no one at the SF position who could rival Duremdes' scoring ability and explosiveness when he was on his game (which he always seemed to be on).

So thank you Powerade for a classy move. But we're still waiting for Mr. Wilfred Uytengsu to make his move.