Role changes and role players

I wonder how long the average PBA player’s career lasts. While I don’t have any statistics, a wild guess would be about five to six years, and that’s if the player is healthy and lucky. Each year, many players are drafted, and some signed from the ranks of the free agents. Some land a roster spot, but quickly vanish or end up playing in some other leagues here and there. Others never get to play at all. Some end up as practice players or reserves and are injected into the lineup every now and then when one of the regulars goes down with an injury or ailment. There are those who excel for some time, but get hit by injuries, which keep them out for an extended period, and, before they know it, someone else has taken their spot and they’re fighting to get into a team, any team, to stay in the PBA.

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On the other hand, there are those players whose careers last for many years, maybe a decade or so, since they consistently play at a high level, bounce back (sometimes not so easily and quickly) from injuries and regain their usual form, or who stay with one team as its premier player, thus practically ensuring longevity. There are also those who stick around longer than others because they are good soldiers doing what they’re told, being reliable during their short stints, and not being nuisances or disturbances in the locker room or on the bench.

Whatever kind of fortunes favors each player, the reason I got to think about all of this is after observing Alaska Aces back-up forward Nic Belasco this past week. Nic has been in the league since 1997, playing for a number of teams, and is in his second stint with the Aces. He went from unknown high draft pick of the then RFM-franchise Sunkist, as a reed-thin, high leaper, whose offense was spotty, to a reliable rebounder, post defender and deadly three-point marksman (and many-time champion) with the San Miguel Beermen, to more of the same in his first go-around with Alaska.

Then after bouncing around with some other teams these past few years, including a stint out of the PBA as in import for the Westsports Malaysia Dragons in the Asean Basketball League (ABL) and one conference with the Powerade Tigers (now GlobalPort Batang Pier), he is now back with the Aces, at the age of 39, but his role has certainly changed.

Last Wednesday, 13 February 2013, I covered the game between Alaska and Meralco at the Big Dome. Coach Luigi Trillo inserted Belasco into the game sometime late in the second half as I recall, with the duty of guarding Meralco import Eric Dawson. Belasco, who is far from skinny nowadays and is in fact wide and muscular, was playing very physically against Dawson. After a few body-bumping plays, the two gentlemen were called for a double foul. Belasco had succeeded in getting Dawson’s ire, which bothered the import’s concentration and focus. Alaska went on to win the ballgame, not on account of Belasco, but surely, he did help.

While by no means an enforcer, Belasco is now injected into the lineup for a specific purpose – to body up opposing big men, to battle underneath for rebounds and create space for his teammates. Sure, he takes an occasional shot, but that is not his priority anymore, and neither is it what his coach expects him to do.

Last night, 17 February 2013, Belasco did not play at all in Alaska’s victory against Barako Bull. But, as I watched the game from a few rows behind the Aces’ bench, I noticed that he would be the first to stand whenever a timeout was called to meet and greet his teammates as they returned to the bench for a respite. He cheered when his team made a great play, and was so involved in the game, even while on the sidelines, such that the referee issued a warning against him for improper bench decorum (Or was it resentment to a call?). Definitely, his role has changed significantly, but his passion and emotions for the game have not.

Veteran Eddie Laure, 35, a former Metroball (MBA) MVP, sat on the Alaska bench near Belasco, in a similar manner. Elder statesmen in the league they may now be, but they are always ready to enter the game if needed, but are also prepared to help their team in whatever way they can, even if all it involves is encouragement.

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In the same game last night, on the other team, was Danny Seigle of Barako Bull. Danny, who at one time was, for me, the best player in the PBA, is now 36 and has not had it easy these past few seasons, the last few in his lengthy stint with San Miguel Beer and since last year with Barako. He has battled injuries and, perhaps, age, but has persevered to allow his considerable talent, especially offensively, to show once again. He is very relevant as one of Barako’s scorers off the bench and in their two victories so far, he has hit clutch three-pointers late in the game, and even dunked over an opposing import to show he still has some hops. Sure, he is not the number one option anymore, but he has stuck around for more than a decade and is still reliable. He is near the top of the list of PBA greats who never won an MVP award.

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Other players that come to mind are Olsen Racela, Asi Taulava, and Eric Menk. In his last couple of years with San Miguel/Petron, Racela was slowly losing playing time to younger point guards, despite the fact that he could still run with the best of them, hit shots, and, as is his trademark, hustle all over the floor. I used to ask why this was happening when a player should be gauged not on how old he is, but on what he can do on the hardcourt. Olsen accepted his fate and opted to retire not too long ago, mid-season. His franchise, however, rewarded him handsomely by making him its Head Coach this season, a rocky one so far, which seems to be steadying a bit this Second Conference.

As for Taulava and Menk, they are both no longer in the PBA, but now battle together as teammates on the San Miguel Beermen of the ABL. They labored for a long time, in the trenches, the shaded area, where only the strong survive. They were each named PBA MVP once, but again, circumstances changed for both. Menk struggled to get back his MVP form after a long lay-off due to injury. His PBA career was not short, but, remembering his dominance and exceptional skills, it seems to have ended too soon.

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Taulava’s story is quite different. Just last season, he had a dominating Third Conference for the Meralco Bolts, getting into really great shape between conferences, losing some excess weight, and averaging a double-double in the Governors’ Cup. However, perhaps again considering his age (Why, oh why?), Meralco, or any other team, did not offer him an attractive-enough package to stay on, and Asi opted to go the ABL-way. I’m still shaking my head about why Taulava is not playing center for any of the PBA’s ten teams.

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Times change, time moves on, and, as they say, waits for no one. For some of the more "senior" players, they can be thankful for having had long and successful careers, for experiencing the glamor and glitz of the PBA, including the rigors and hardship that come with that. Players come and go, and for the players mentioned earlier, and others like them (Rommel Adducul, Don Allado, Wynne Arboleda, Dorian Peña, Ali Peek, Danny Ildefonso, Willie Miller, Mick Pennisi, and Dondon Hontiveros, among others), being able to outlast many of their contemporaries says so much about their character, their skill, and, perhaps more so, their good fortune.

You can follow Charlie on Twitter @Charlie C.

Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.