Abet Guidaben

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Alberto "Abet" Guidaben is a former Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) basketball player. He was part of the fabled Crispa Redmanizers ballclub that won two Grand Slams, in 1976 and 1983. He was a two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) awardee, in 1983 and 1987, joining a select few who are multiple winners of the award such as Bogs Adornado, Ramon Fernandez, Alvin Patrimonio, Benjie Paras, and Danny Ildefonso.

He started his career with the University of San Jose-Recoletos. Then in 1973, Guidaben became part of the Crispa team in the old Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA). Later that year, he and Crsipa teammate Adornado were named to the Philippine team that won the 1973 Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) held in Manila. The two also played for the national team that played in the 1974 Mundo Basket (the World Championship) held in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

In the PBA, Guidaben was a "late-bloomer" with Crispa. During the league's early years, he played in the shadows of his more illustrious teammates like Philip Cezar, Atoy Co and Adornado. But slowly but surely, his talents as a big man emerged and became one of Crispa's greatest assets. He was already a good rebounder but later developed a strong inside game complimented with accurate off-the-glass jumpers from the perimeter. He was also one of the earliest dunkers in the PBA making the slam dunk vogue in the league a decade before the arrival of highflyers like Samboy Lim, Paul Alvarez, Vergel Meneses and Nelson Asaytono. Guidaben also had a great rivalry with Toyota's Fernandez which was considered a classic in itself. Known as the "Pride of Camiguin", Guidaben won MVP honors in 1983 while with Crispa and 1987 while with San Miguel Beer. Unfortunately, Guidaben wound up as a journeyman of sorts having played for eight teams. Aside from Crispa and San Miguel, he also dribbled for Manila Beer, Tanduay, Purefoods, Alaska Milk, Pepsi Mega and Shell Rimula X.

He finished his illustrious PBA career as the No. 2 leading scorer with 15,775 points (behind Fernandez' 18,996), No. 2 in total rebounds with 8,570, No. 2 in defensive rebounds with 6,197, No. 1 in offensive rebounds with 2,373 and No. 1 in games played with 1,081. He also had 2,284 assists, 340 steals and 922 blocks in 29,577:10 total minutes played (No. 3 behind Fernandez and Alvin Patrimonio). He finished with career averages of 14.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.1 apg, 77.6% FT (2,875/3,707), 53.1% FG (6,420/12,092).

In 2000, he was named as one of the PBA's 25 greatest players of all-time in elaborate awards ceremonies that highlighted the 25th year anniversary of the league.

After his retirement, he went into the construction business.

1 PBA career highlights
2 Other Highlights
3 Trivia
4 External links

[edit] PBA career highlights

Member of the 1976 and 1983 Crispa Grand Slam Team
2-time Most Valuable Player (1983, 1987)
5-time Mythical First Team Selection (1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988)
3-time PBA All-Star
Member, PBA's 25 Greatest Players
Member, 5,000, 10,000 & 15,000 points clubs
Member, 1,000 & 2,000 offensive rebounds clubs
Member, 2,000 & 5,000 defensive rebounds clubs
Member, 2,000 assists club
Member, 1,000 games played

[edit] Other Highlights

1973 Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC)
1974 Mundo Basket (World Championship)
1974 Asian Games

[edit] Trivia

An Abet Guidaben for Mon Fernandez swap happened twice. In 1985, Guidaben was shipped from Tanduay to Manila Beer for El Presidente during the last conference that eventually cost him the MVP award for that season to Ricky Brown as he was leading the race before the trade. Three years later, Guidaben now playing for San Miguel was sent to Purefoods for the disgruntled Fernandez.

[edit] External links

Preceded by: Ramon Fernandez	PBA Most Valuable Player 1983	Succeeded by: Ramon Fernandez
Preceded by: Ramon Fernandez	PBA Most Valuable Player 1987	Succeeded by: Ramon Fernandez