Mark Caguioa (center). PBA PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Barangay Ginebra San Miguel guard Mark Caguioa and Purefoods Star swingman James Yap head the PBA’s newest members of its Greatest Players.
The PBA on Wednesday officially named 15 players added to the league’s elite club.
Also in the list are Talk ‘N Text’s Jimmy Alapag, Jayson Castro and Kelly Williams, Alaska’s Eric Menk, Ginebra’s Jayjay Helterbrand, San Miguel Beer’s Arwind Santos, Meralco’s Danny Ildefonso and NLEX’s ageless center Asi Taulava.
Former stars Kerby Raymundo, Marlou Aquino, Chito Loyzaga and Willie Miller, a two-time MVP who was surprisingly left without a team this season.
The 15 players made the cut after a two-hour deliberation by a special nomination committee, headed by PBA legends and former senators Robert Jaworski and Freddie Webb.
League chairman Patrick Gregorio of Talk ‘N Text, vice chairman Robert Non of San Miguel Beer, Rep. Elpidio Barzaga, the chair of the Games and Amusements committee, and veteran mediamen Joaquin Henson and Barry Pascua, who is also the president of the PBA Press Corps.
“Forty will never be enough. We’ve had so many great PBA players since 1975,” chairman Gregorio said in an interview posted on the league’s official website. “But to celebrate our 40thseason, we had to do the difficult task of naming the 40 greatest PBA players – the pillars of the league. Mga idolo ng bawat Pilipino (they are idols of every Filipino).”
“We will pay tribute to these distinguished men – the 40 players who have been instrumental in shaping the PBA into what it is today,” said league commissioner Chito Salud. “On that special day, we will also recognize the pioneering beat reporters who covered the league when it started in 1975.”
The PBA will hold an event recognizing the 40 Greatest Players in April next year.
A criteria was also followed in selecting the newest members of the Greatest Players. A player must have played at least five seasons, has won a major award and has had a big impact in the league and in the sport in general.