Leo Avenido accepts his recognition from the ASEAN Basketball League. Photo from Cedelf P. Tupas
It’s only fitting that Leo Avenido, one of the longest tenured players in the Asean Basketball League, has been recognized with the Lifetime Achievement award.
Avenido has more than five ABL seasons under his belt, including 2012 where he won a title as part of San Miguel and became the first Filipino to become MVP.
“Honestly, it’s not something I expected,” Avenido told INQUIRER.net in Filipino during a press conference Tuesday. “I just got a call from boss Jericho (Ilagan) inviting me to attend the press conference then he told me about the Lifetime Achievement award that I’m going to be awarded due to my contributions to the league for about six to seven seasons that I played.”
The 38-year-old Avenido made his first appearance in the ABL as one of the key players of the defunct Brunei Barracudas team in 2009 before suiting up for Singapore, Philippines, Saigon and Thailand.
Avenido last saw action in the ABL for the Mono Vampire in 2016. He served as playing-coach for Gamboa Coffee in the PBA D-League early this year.
The former PBA veteran has won it all in the ABL but he’s still keen on playing.
In fact, he bared that the CLS Knights of Indonesia, one of three new teams making their debuts in the coming season, is looking at the possibility of tapping him.
“I’m still going to talk with the boss of the Indonesian team. They’ve seen me play and they were a bit impressed,” said Avenido, who was the 10th overall pick by the Coca-Cola Tigers in the 2002 PBA Draft.
“They’re concerned about my age and my conditioning or if I am still fit to play heavy minutes, but if you ask me, I’m ready.”