One of my favorite ‘90s players is Nelson Asaytono.
He was a big, beefy Chinese or Japanese-looking man (I don’t know if he is one) who could soar for a rim-rattling dunk. While he never scored 50 points in a game (the closest he ever got was 48 in 1992,) he had a lot of games where he spammed 30 or 40 points. In 1997, he had a conference where he had a lot of 30-point games to the point that people thought he might break Danny Florencio’s scoring average record.
Also, name one dude who does not know the Asaytono-Yturri-Calma-Jaworski knock-knock joke.
If I can compare careers, Alvin Patrimonio is the Michael Jordan of his rivalry with Asaytono, the Dominique Wilkins in this situation. Asaytono’s PBA career started as The Captain’s chief relief, but ultimately, it’s hard to have two combustible elements in one team. The former UM Hawk battled with Patrimonio for the MVP award on three occasions but unfortunately never got the distinction.
And this is the unfortunate part of Asaytono’s career.
There is always a limitation to his awesomeness.
Asaytono never won an MVP award and was one conference away from getting a grand slam. The closest he has ever been to an MVP award was when his teammate was one.
YEAR | TEAMMATE | TEAMMATE'S STATS | ASAYTONO'S STATS |
1991 | ALVIN PATRIMONIO | PUREFOODS | 21.8PPG - 9.0RPG - 2.8APG - 1.3BPG | 15.6PPG - 5.0RPG - 1.0APG - 0.7BPG |
1995 | VERGEL MENESES | SUNKIST | 20.0PPG - 3.3RPG - 5.4APG | 14.0PPG - 4.5RPG - 2.0APG |
2002 | WILLIE MILLER | RED BULL | 9.7PPG - 3.6RPG - 3.6APG - 1.0SPG | 3.2PPG - 1.5RPG - 0.6APG |
In 1997, Nelson posted an awesome stat line of 23.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists, yet he never made the Centennial Dream Team roster. I know height played a role in some of the inclusions, but it's insane that the careers of EJ Feihl and Andy Seigle, while above average if you think about it, got the rub over Asaytono, Benjie Paras, Jerry Codinera, Dindo Pumaren, Ronnie Magsanoc, and late cuts Jeffrey Cariaso and Bong Hawkins.
The snub is insane, especially since it might have played a part in the 25 Greatest PBA Players list. It's impossible to strike Asaytono down from the list if he won an MVP award, got a grand slam, and helped the Philippines win a medal in the 1998 Asiad.
The media folks and his contemporaries never saw him as a larger-than-life PBA player. This is unfortunate. There are three old-school players I want in the league's Greatest Players list but if the PBA is going to do a Top 50 Best Players list, then I want Nelson Asaytono and Danny Seigle on the list before Arnie Tuadles, Abe King, and Manny Victorino.
This Versus article was initially all about the bulls of Philippine basketball - Nelson Asaytono versus Enrico "The Raging Bull" Villanueva. Asaytono played for the Red Bull Thunder when he was on the verge of retirement, which was the start of perhaps the greatest Ateneo player in the last 30 years.
Unfortunately, in terms of PBA achievements, Villanueva is the most disappointing. He should have been the star of the Red Bull franchise but because the franchise wanted out of the PBA, E-VIl went from SMC team to SMC team until his retirement.
I will save this article for later.
THE NEXT TEN (OR MY PROJECTED TOP 15)
RANK | NAME | ACHIEVEMENTS |
|---|---|---|
41 | JUNE MAR FAJARDO | 8X PBA MVP, 10X BPC Why even bother enumerating his other achievements? |
42 | DANNY SEIGLE | 2X BPC, 3X M5, M10, 4X FMVP, 8X CHAMP |
43 | NELSON ASAYTONO | 2X BPC, 3X M5, 4X M10, 7X CHAMP |
44 | BONG HAWKINS | BPC, 2X M5, 2X M10, FMVP, 10X CHAMP, GRAND SLAM (ALASKA 1996) |
45 | LA TENORIO | BPC, 2X M5, 2X M10, 4X FMVP, 8X CHAMP |
46 | JEFFREY CARIASO | BPC, 3X M5, 2X M10, FMVP, 8X CHAMP, GRAND SLAM (ALASKA 1996) |
47 | MANNY VICTORINO | 3X M5, 6X CHAMP |
48 | SCOTTIE THOMPSON | MVP, 2X BPC, 2X M5, M10, 2X FMVP, 7X CHAMP |
49 | ARNIE TUADLES | M5, M10, 9X CHAMP |
50 | ABE KING | M5, M10, 13X CHAMP |
51 | CALVIN ABUEVA | 2X BPC, 4X M5, 2X M10, 1X CHAMP |
52 | YOYOY VILLAMIN | M5, 3X M10, 9X CHAMP, GRAND SLAM (CRISPA 1983) |
53 | ALEX CABAGNOT | M5, 2X M10, FMVP, 9X CHAMP |
54 | JAPETH AGUILAR | 3X M5, 2X M10, FMVP, 8X CHAMP |
55 | RANIDEL DE OCAMPO | BPC, 3X M5, M10, 2X FMVP, 6X CHAMP |
Except for June Mar Fajardo and Scottie Thompson, Asaytono, Hawkins, Seigle, and Jeffrey Cariaso are the most likely shoo-ins.
However, are they?
You can hate me for saying this but Danny Florencio was never part of any Mythical selection and Lim Eng Beng and Manny Paner only had one selection as well. Bernie Fabiosa was not part of any Mythical First Teams, although we give him a pass because he was the starting point guard of two grand slam squads.
Outside of these 15 to possibly steal a spot are Jun Limpot, Olsen Racela, and Paul Alvarez. Of the three, Racela is the biggest name to get the nod. Unlike Limpot and Alvarez, Racela has won multiple PBA championships and was selected to the PBA Mythical Team on more than five occasions. Unlike Limpot and Alvarez, Racela is not a big-time scorer and even his stats aren't as high as you would expect.
Racela and Dindo Pumaren have almost the same problem because if The Bullet has to contend with the awesomeness of Alvin Patrimonio and Jerry Codinera, Racela is the third top guy in San Miguel after Danny Ildefonso and Danny Seigle.
Anyway, unless the media and players' votes mess things up again, the Greatest Players list would be a SHAM if Asaytono misses out on a spot.
I get why Asaytono never made the first list because the league had to mix the pioneers with the current players. If the league didn't place Florencio, Lim Eng Beng, and Paner on the list, they would have been easily put in the position guys like Larry Mumar, Jimmy Mariano, Rudy Kutch, Freddie Webb, and Yoyong Martirez are in now. I thought some of the 2015 add-ons were questionable because while you can't say anything bad about their achievements, the list is the PBA's answer to the Naismith Hall of Fame and you just can't snub the aforementioned snubs, especially Asaytono, Hawkins, and Seigle.
It has been almost two decades since The Bull retired from the PBA and you just can't expect people to keep mum if he gets left out again.