Unknown Amateurs who Surprised the PBA

[ROLZ9]

i can think of mostly guards...

bigs always come into the pba with hype. even without talent as long as you're tall, you'de be a hot commodity in the pba

arboleda, helterbrand, racela, agustin, torion, and junthy valenzuela

Torion was already making a name then. For me its Renato Agustin a 2nd round draftpick of SMB who became a star and an MVP of the star studded SMB line-up.

[manu_bol]

i can think of mostly guards...

bigs always come into the pba with hype. even without talent as long as you're tall, you'de be a hot commodity in the pba

arboleda, helterbrand, racela, agustin, torion, and junthy valenzuela

[saints13]

another one is Coca Cola's smart 6'1 PG Chris Pacana from St. Francis. his start in the PBA as a 06-07 rookie was a surprise, since he was activated from the reserve list due to Coca Cola's depleted backcourt.

he was a crucial player for the Tigers and also entrusted with dying second shots not til Sta. Lucia stars Kenneth Duremdes and Alex Cabagnot fled to the Tiger's Den which eventually sent the Chris Pacana and Joseph Yeo duo to the bench doing literally "apirs" during breaks and time-outs.

[reamily]

Carlos Sharma? nobody thought that he will be a regular guy on the floor for Red Bull (nobody thought that powerhouse Red Bull will be depleted on the frontline)

You're right saints

[saints13]

Carlos Sharma? nobody thought that he will be a regular guy on the floor for Red Bull (nobody thought that powerhouse Red Bull will be depleted on the frontline)

[Dinamita]

Danny Ildefonso?..
It was all Rommel Aduccul during their time but look at him now... 2 MVP's at PBA...

[rycorpz]

Juinio a member of 1993 RP Sea games Gold medal team along with siot Tanquincen

[bolabasket]

Guys, this thread talks about unknown and low key basketball players who were either underrated or never heard in the amateur ranks, PBL, NCAA, UAAP, etc... who surprised the PBA. An opposite of another thread in ths forum. These players were not scorers in the PBL, just role players with non-superstar status and sportswriters did not expect much from them to create impact in the PBA.

I can list some of them below:

1. Mark Caguioa - virtually unknown until Ginebra drafted him 3rd. he's our go-to-guy now with RP Team.
2. Jimmy Alapag - another unknown Fil-Am baller who tried out for our Asiad team in 2002; some PBA fans were swooning over this 5-8 playmaker when he first played limited minutes (due to injury) in a friendly game for RP Team way back in 2002.
3. Freddie Abuda - played forward for Crispa in the PBL, but excelled in the PBA with SMB as a defensive demon.
4. Topex Robinson - played for several PBL teams; with his lean 5-7 frame, who would have thought he'd still be around in the PBA with Red Bull.
5. Porferio "Jun" Marzan - role player in the amateurs but excelled as a defense specialist in the PBA together with Freddie Abuda
6. Edward "Poch" Juinio - starting center for UP but starred during Alaska's grand slam year.

Perhaps there are many more....