Dondon Hontiveros

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Dondon Hontiveros

Image:Dondon2.jpg
Position:	Shooting Guard
Height:	6'2
Weight:	175
Team:	San Miguel Beermen
Nationality:	Filipino
Born:	June 1, 1977 Cebu City, Philippines
College:	University of Cebu Webmasters
Pro career:	1998 – present

Donaldo Hontiveros (born June 1, 1977), commonly known as Dondon, is a Filipino basketball athlete coming from Cebu playing for the San Miguel Beermen team in the Philippine Basketball Association. He is married to fellow Cebuana, musician Gail Blanco, whom he shares a four year-old son with.

A true native, having been born in Cebu City in 1977, Dondon studied and honed his basketball skills in the land of his birth. Just like any accomplished athlete, success did not come easy for him. In fact his initial foray into basketball was greeted with heartbreak and disappointment.

He fancied basketball at a young age and tried to enter the sport at a competitive level in his first year of high school. But at that time, since he lacked the height, no one took notice of the young Dondon. Fortunately, the young Dondon had a growth spurt by the time he was in 3rd year so he was taken into the high school basketball team of Don Bosco Tech.

At last, they started to take notice, although his first year as a member of the team was spent mostly on the bench. By the time Dondon became a high school senior, he was already a regular on the team. At this point, he was already as tall as the team’s center. Hontiveros’ jump to the next level – college basketball – suffered a minor setback when he ended his senior high school year with an injury.

To keep himself competitive, he played in the intramurals at University of San Jose-Recoletos. Dondon eventually played college ball at the University of Cebu for three years. His skills blossomed while playing college basketball, and it was at that time that this Cebuano was geared for big-time basketball.

The year was 1998, and it was also the year that an ambitious initiative called the Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA) was making waves in its bid to be the professional league to rival the PBA.

Dondon Hontiveros was taken by the Cebu Gems, and he wasted no time in showing his offensive prowess – dominating opponents with his skillful moves, showcasing a run and gun type of offense, true to the tradition of Cebuano cagers.

After the 1999 season of the MBA, when the league’s popularity was beginning to diminish, Dondon requested to be released from the Cebu Gems to try his luck with the PBA.

The San Miguel Beer franchise eventually hired him. Soon, Dondon found himself a vital cog in the pro team’s offensive rotation.

Even if followers of Dondon’s career can safely say that their idol has arrived, this 27-year-old Cebuano has shown that he has transcended success and is now looking forward to what he can do for Philippine basketball.

Hontiveros’ vision is to bring back to his native Cebu an organized basketball clinic program, in order to provide for his hometown a truly effective way of discovering and developing talent from the grassroots level.

Dondon is proud of his Cebu basketball – the passion in the way the game is played in his hometown. But having been exposed to Philippine basketball at its highest level, he also recognizes the lack of training in the fundamentals of the game there, thus his vision to uplift the game in his roots.