#AskKKS : Top 10 PBA Role Players

Here is another #AskKKS entry, this time from our friend @iyovictor:

Okay, that is a tough one considering we only started watching the PBA actively/religiously around 1995 onwards and didn't really take notice of other teams outside of the popular ones (Ginebra, San Miguel, Purefoods, Alaska) at the time.

Today, we can rattle off a few names but we will not be as bold to rank them as Top 10 All Time (out of respect to whoever we will miss (and we know we will/might miss quite a few). For starters, let us take out Marc Pingris who is a role player at best but because of his tenacious and contagious hustle and energy (plus the good looks, humility and Sotto ties), was propelled to being a legitimate superstar (when had he been given a different face to work with and not be associated with all the showbiz stuff, would be just another "pulot boy/ garbage points workhorse" ala Freddie Abuda in the 90s). Same with Rudy Hatfield.

So what merits a role player? Well, for one, he is NOT the guy you build a franchise around. He is not a household name, is mostly loved by purists and not the every day, casual fan. He does the little things, that some times make headlines, but most of the time just helps the team win games.

Here we go. Not the Top 10 All Time, but our choice for 10 Best Role Players (whose careers we were able to follow).

Real season starts for Alaska

Business is about to pick up for Alaska

Though we mourn the death of what could've been another classic and entertaining grudge match between the San Beda Red Lions and the San Sebastian Recoletos Golden Stags for the NCAA championship, the painful reprieve allows us the chance to finally see this year's most magnetic draft pick strut his wares in the PBA.

We're talking about no one else but the Stags' Calvin "The Beast" Abueva.

The obvious vital cog to the Alaska Aces' rebuilding and re-imaging approach to this season is finally done with his collegiate commitments and, as posted earlier by Ms CK Kanapi, has signed on the dotted line for the Aces. How badly does Aces Head Coach Luigi Trillo want Abueva to suit up? Think this Friday versus Petron. That's how much Coach Luigi and just about any Filipino basketball fan, casual or hardcore, want to see Abueva wearing a jersey with the letters PBA emblazoned on it.

Calvin Abueva: No One Like The Beast

You know how people have this natural tendency to compare today's players with those before them in hopes of properly categorizing or labeling them or what they might end up being once they hit the pros? Well, there are times that the experts get it, and others when they're just way off.

The above FTW YouTube clip featuring Jason Webb, Mico Halili, Miakka Lim and Chuck Araneta is an example of the latter instead of the former. Credit has to go to Halili's exceptional handling of the focus group discussion, but 75% of what came out of their mouths are questionable to say the least.