Author: Martin Dale D. Bolima
Photo Credit: PBA
There is a saying that basketball is a young man’s sport. Some of the PBA’s elder statements apparently did not get that memo. In fact, they are still hooping despite their advancing years—proving yet again that age is just a number. Incidentally, most of these older players are part of the top four teams of this PBA Governors’ Cup, helping their ballclubs get that hard-to-earn championship.
Here are the PBA’s Iron Men, who are proving that, well, kalabaw lang ang tumatanda:
Kelly Williams, 42, TNT Tropang Giga
For someone whose career looked dead in the water some 16 years ago due to a medical condition, Machine Gun Kelly looks like he can play another couple of years or more. Ripped and as spry as ever, the 42-year-old actually had a very productive Season 48, averaging 9.7 points and 7.0 boards—not far from his career averages of 9.9 points and 7.3 boards.
Joe Devance, 42, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel
Plucked out of retirement by Ginebra coach Tim Cone, Devance has delivered solid, mistake-free basketball, highlighted by an eight-point showing in Game 1 of the San Miguel-Ginebra semifinals series. This might very well be a one-off until Ginebra gets Isaac Go back or finds another big—or maybe CTC can sign him up for the entirety of Season 49. He might be up for it.
LA Tenorio, 40, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel
Basically a playing assistant coach already, Tinyente has been racking up DNPs this conference as he has become Cone’s magic bunot, a stabilizer of sorts when the going gets tough. But when his number is called, Tenorio has proven he still has some juice left, especially with the long ball.
Gabe Norwood, 39, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters
Norwood may not be the lockdown defender he once was in his prime, but Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao still trusts him enough to take on the other team’s best perimeter wings—or, in this conference, imports like Rondae Hollis-Jefferson of TNT and Jabari Bird of the Magnolia Hotshots. He can still make life difficult for opposing scorers but seems to have gone gun-shy, deferring most of the time to Rain or Shine’s younger gunslingers.
Chris Ross, 39, San Miguel Beermen
Officially San Miguel’s playing assistant coach, Ross still brings his usual defensive tenacity and solid quarterbacking—albeit in fewer minutes. Captain Ross’s role has diminished lately given the Beermen’s glut of guards, but when his number is called by Jorge Gallent, he can still get things done on the court.
Beau Belga, 38, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters
Guiao has some young bigs in Keith Datu and Luis Villegas, but it looks like Belga will have to hold down the fort a little longer. The good news is he still can even as an undersized center. A more well-rounded offense is certainly helping, complementing a still stout defense that combines brute force and gulang.
Jayson Castro, 38, TNT Tropang Giga
The Blur is not zooming past the opposition anymore, but he can still outsmart and outshoot opposing players for sure. Castro’s still reliable trey ball opens up the threat of the drive—something the former Gilas mainstay is still capable of exploiting every once in a while. And, when called upon, Castro can still rise to the occasion when the game is on the line, as he has done so many times in his prime.
Special Mentions
Alex Cabagnot, 41, Converge FiberXers
Cabagnot very nearly helped Converge pull off an all-time shocker against San Miguel in their win-or-go-home Game 5. His 14 points on 4-for-6 from downtown were huge, and his trademark steady quarterbacking stabilized the young FiberXers, showing his immense value to the budding ballclub.
Mark Barroca, 38, Magnolia Hotshots
Barroca is not the two-way menace he once was, but he can still do damage both ways in bursts. He seems to have settled in nicely in a sixth-man role, alternating point guard duties with fellow veteran Paul Lee and young gunner Jerrick Ahanmisi.
