Nelson Asaytono
| Retired | |
|---|---|
| Position | Power Forward/Small Forward |
| League | Philippine Basketball Association |
| Personal information | |
| Born |
January 25, 1967 Oriental Mindoro, Philippines |
| Nationality |
 Philippines |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) |
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | University of Manila |
| PBA draft | 1989 / Pick: 3rd overall |
| Selected by the Purefoods Hotdogs | |
| Pro playing career | 1989–2006 |
| Career history | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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Nelson Asaytono (born January 25, 1967) is a retired professional basketball player of the Philippine Basketball Association, also known as "The Bull" for his monster dunks.[citation needed] He played for 5 teams (Purefoods, Swift, San Miguel, Pop Cola and Red Bull) in the PBA.
Nelson Asaytono is one of the great players to ever step up in a less-known university named University of Manila who produced stars such as Reynel Hugnatan and others. He is also part of the very talented rookies of 1989 which also had SSC-R stalwart Paul Alvarez, UP power force Venancio Paras, and DLSU hotshot Ferdinand Pumaren. He was drafted by the young-but-powerful Purefoods Hotdog squad led by Isabelo Lastimosa, Alvin Dale Patrimonio, and Jerry Codinera.
At Purefoods, he was an immediate back-up of Alvin Dale Patrimonio who was then the star forward. Often, he could share his own set of talent to his teammates such as Glen Capacio, Isabelo Lastimosa, fellow rookie Ferdinand Pumaren and Jerry Codinera. Here, he could often lead the Ayala-based squad (likewise he later did when he was with RFM). During his tenure with the team, he won 2 titles as he was traded before the 1992 season.
He later moved to Diet Sarsi Bottlers who had his former teammates Alfonso Solis and Edgar Tanuan and other players such as rookie Enrique Reyes, Yoyoy Villamin, Bernard Fabiosa, and fellow new recruit Rudy Distrito. As he came in, he became the leader of the RFM squad sharing duties with Alfonso Solis. His leadership and talent made him a MVP caliber but he came short to SMB fireman Renato Agustin. As he lose the MVP, he led the Swift Mighty Meaties to 2 PBA titles which includes the 1992 3rd Conference vs. 7-up Bottlers and the 1993 Commissioner's Cup vs. Purefoods Oodles Chicken Noodle Soup.
The next season, another sweet-shooting forward came in to help the Yanga team mightier. His name? Vergel Meneses. The arrival of Meneses himself made Asaytono's exposure cut down to half in which it became shorter when Coach Frederick Pumaren came in. Due to short exposures, he was later relegated to the bench as he was with the Purefoods and was later traded to San Miguel Beermen to search for a new life and resurgence.
With SMB, he found a team that would make him "The Man" of the team. Likewise, when he came, he was first put to the bench but when Coach Ron Jacobs came in, he felt happy as he later became "The Man" of the SMB franchise who also had Michael Mustre, Alan Vito Caidic, Avelino Lim, Yves Dignadice, and Peter Naron. Due to this, another MVP nomination would get onto him but came short to former teammate, Alvin Dale Patrimonio. Although he lost the MVP, he led the league in scoring.
But the arrival of Danilo Ildefonso would have made his exposure cut into 1/8 but still he led the stats and led SMB to the final dance but came short to the stronger Alaske Milkman led by Isabelo Lastimosa, Kenneth Duremdes, and Johnny Abarrientos. A year later, when Coach Jong Uichico arrived after Coach Ron's battle versus the BCAP led by then-fellow PBA head coach Atty. Andres Narvasa, Jr, he was later relegated to the bench as he was traded to his former team, the Pop Cola 800s (together with hotshot William Antonio) for Dwight Lago, Emmanuel Victoria, and Nicholas Belasco, who later became key players for SMB's big run during the late 1990s, don't forget the Two Dannys (Ildefonso and Seigle) plus Rodericko Racela.
At Pop Cola, his talent started to slow down as he was still at the bench. His notable teammates are Isabelo Lastimosa, Manuel Locsin, Jonathan Ordonio, and Johnny Abarrientos.
On April 7, 2005, the then 38 year old Asaytono finished with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting to have 12,268 points in 796 career games, eclipsing the 12,077 points of Philip Cezar, to take the fifth spot in the PBA career scoring mark. He is among the Top 5 players who have scored the most points in the PBA, and the only non-Most Valuable Player winner in that category.
No team took notice about this bad-attitude forward until his former coach Joseller Guiao took him into his team, the Red Bull Thunder who had DaVonn Harp and Willie Miller as top enforcers before the 2002 season. He was in the reserve's list but when Michael Pennisi and DaVonn Harp were suspended in 2004 due to citizenship, he was moved to the bench and contributing some plays for the team until his retirement in November 2005.
After PBA, he had a short stint in National Basketball Conference and now playing for the San Miguel All-Stars together with former teammates Michael Mustre and others.
As of 2010, Nelson Asaytono (12,268) trails Atoy Co's (No.4) 12,994 points. Ramon Fernandez remains on top with 18,996, followed by Abet Guidaben (15,775) and Alvin Patrimonio (15,091).
Philippine Basketball Association
- 3-time Mythical First Team Selection (1992, 1993, 1997)
- 4-time PBA Mythical Second Team (1994, 1995, 1996, 1998)
- 2-time Best Player of the Conference (1997 All-Filipino Cup, 1998 All-Filipino Cup)[1]
References
| Preceded by Alvin Patrimonio (same) |
PBA Best Player of the Conference Award - All-Filipino Cup 1997 1998 |
Succeeded by (same) Eric Menk |
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