Danny Ildefonso
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Danny Ildefonso or Danilo Ildefonso, is a Filipino professional basketball player for the San Miguel Beermen in the Philippine Basketball Association. Nicknamed Danny I, Ildefonso is a two-time PBA Most Valuable Player in 2000 and 2001. He played amateur basketball for the National University Bulldogs in the UAAP and for AGFA in the Philippine Basketball League and a member of the Philippine national basketball team on separate occassions.
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[edit] Amateur career
Ildefonso was discovered after suiting up for his native Pangasinan in the Palarong Pambansa. He played for the NU Bulldogs in the UAAP, teaming up with fellow Pangasinense and later-AGFA and San Miguel teammate Lordy Tugade, leading the Bulldogs to respectable finishes in the UAAP. He later played for AGFA in the Philippine Baskebtall League but had a difficult time leading the Photokina franchise to the title, losing to Tanduay in championship matches.
Ildefonso led the Philippines to a gold-medal in 1997 Southeast Asian Games alongside Rommel Adducul and Ralph Rivera.
[edit] PBA career
[edit] Early years
After a successful amateur carer, Danny Ildefonso applied for the PBA draft despite being underage. This prompted the PBA to change their age limit rules, enraging the PBL. Even as Ildefonso entered the draft, he also signed a contract to play for the Pangasinan Presidents of the newly-formed Metropolitan Basketball Association.
Ildefonso was eventually drafted first-pick overall by Formula Shell in the 1998 PBA Draft, but was traded to San Miguel for the Beermen's second overall pick, Noy Castillo, and cash. The SMC franchise wanted the promising youngster in their ranks to be the future cornerstone of the team, this forced them to buy out his MBA contract.
In his rookie season, Ildefonso became one of the key players for the Beermen alongside Nelson Asaytono, leading the Beermen to two runner-up finish in the All-Filipino and Commissioners Cup, losing to Alaska on both occassions. At season's end, he won the Rookie of the Year honors.
The next season, with the departure of Asaytono and the arrival of Filipino-American rookie Danny Seigle and the performances of imports Terquin Mott and Lamont Strothers, San Miguel won two titles in the 1999 Commissioners Cup and Govenors Cup, ending a five-year title drought.
[edit] Back-to-Back MVP Awards
In 2000, Ildefonso and Seigle would again lead San Miguel to two titles, retaining the Commissioners and Govenors Cup championships. Ildefonso won the two of the five straight Best Player of the Conference honors and defeated Seigle to win the Most Valuable Player Awards.
In 2001, San Miguel defeated sister team Barangay Ginebra Kings, 4-2 to win the All-Filipino Cup. Despite two losses to Red Bull and Sta Lucia in the Commissioners Cup and Governors Cup finals series, Ildefonso went on to sweep the Best Player of the Conference honors and won his second Most Valuable Player Award, joining Bogs Adornado and Alvin Patrimonio as the only players to win the said award on back-to-back seasons. He also won the All-Star Game MVP honors for the victorous Veterans team.
[edit] Struggles
In 2002, Ildefonso temporary left San Miguel to join the Philippine National Training Pool as a preparation for the 2002 Busan Asian Games. Ildefonso went on to join the team for the event but struggle throughout the Asiad, mainly due to his role of playing small forward, instead of his natural position of power forward. The Nationals ended up in fourth place after losing a heartbreaking semis matchup against South Korea. Ildefonso returned to the Beermen in the All-Filipino Cup but the Beermen placed only third in the said tournament.
Ildefonso would play inconsistent games as well as missing several games due to injuries in the 2003 and the early parts of the 2004-05 season.
[edit] 2005 Fiesta Conference Finals MVP
During the 2005 Fiesta Conference, the Beermen made it to the semifinals against Red Bull. Ildefonso played one of his best games of the tournamemt, including a series-clinching game-winning fade away over the outstretched arms of Red Bull import Earl Barron to lead San Miguel to the finals against the Talk N' Text Phone Pals.
In the championship series, Ildefonso again played another impressive performance for San Miguel, leading them to their first title since 2001 defeating the Phone Pals, 4-1. During the series, Ildefonso made a game-winning layup after receiving an Olsen Racela pass and was wide-opem for the game-winner. In Game 5, a running jumper put San Miguel in the lead for good to clinch the series. Ildefonso was named Finals MVP, tying Danny Seigle with four.
[edit] Current
Ildefonso is playing a limited role for San Miguel, now under Chot Reyes putting up decent numbers for a team now led by Seigle, Dondon Hontiveros and newly-acquired players Rommel Adducul, Lordy Tugade and rookies L.A. Tenorio and Gabby Espinas.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Andy Seigle |
PBA Rookie of the Year 1998 |
Succeeded by Danny Seigle |
| Preceded by Benjie Paras |
PBA Most Valuable Player 2000-2001 |
Succeeded by Willie Miller (basketball player) |
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PBA All-Star National Team - 2000 FIBA Asia All-Star Extravaganza |  |
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9 Rodney Santos | 10 Danny Ildefonso | 13 Marlou Aquino | 16 Alvin Patrimonio | 19 Kenneth Duremdes | 30 Eric Menk | 34 Rudy Hatfield | 40 Noy Castillo | 41 Johnny Abarrientos | 42 Danny Seigle | 52 Andrew Seigle | 61 Bong Hawkins | Coach Tim Cone |
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