ABL’s 10 best players with league commissioner Jensen Ilagan. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—The ASEAN Basketball League recognized 10 outstanding players in celebration of its 10th season that launched Thursday at Conrad Manila.
Filipino standouts Bobby Ray Parks, Leo Avenido, and Jerrick Cañada were named to the Top 10 ABL Players of All-Time in its young history.
Parks, who now plays for Blackwater in the PBA, is the league’s only three-time local MVP playing for San Miguel Alab Pilipinas from 2016 to 2019.
Avenido, the first Lifetime Achievement awardee, was one of the league’s most recognizable faces in the early years and became its best player in 2012 while playing for the San Miguel Beermen.
It was also with the Beermen that Avenido, the no.5 all-time scorer in the league with 1,589 points, won his lone ABL title.
Cañada, who never played for a Philippine club, is a two-time champion with the Indonesia Warriors and the Hi-Tech Bangkok City where he won his lone Finals MVP plum.
Xavier Alexander, the 2019 World Import MVP with the Singapore Slingers, has distinguished himself as the best among several categories becoming the all-time leader in points (2,2860), assists, (758), and steals (259).
A couple of defensive monsters were also included in the top 10 list in Chris Charles and Steven Thomas.
Charles is a one-time champion with Bangkok, a two-time World Import MVP, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, but he’s also a capable scorer becoming the league’s fourth all-time scorer with 1,726 points.
Thomas is a two-time champion with the Warriors and Bangkok, the best rebounder in the league with 1,519 total boards, the 2012 Defensive Player of the League, and the no.8 player in league history with 1,465 points.
Attaporn Lertmalaiporn is a Thai legend winning two titles with the Thailand Tigers and the Chang Thailand Slammers and the versatile wing also won the 2010 Local MVP and the 2011 Finals MVP.
Singapore’s Wong Wei Long, the league’s most prolific three-point shooter, is a two-time MVP with the Slingers, and a one-time champion with the BTN CLS Knights.
Marcus Elliott, the no.3 scorer in league history, is a one-time champion with Hong Kong Eastern, the 2017 World Import MVP and also that year’s Finals MVP.
Indonesian legend Mario Wuysang rounded out the league’s best 10 player, having won one title with the Warriors and was the 2011 Local MVP with the Stria Muda BritAma.