Robert Labagala

Roberts Raymond T. Labagala (born July 5, 1984), popularly known as Rob Labagala is a Filipino professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. He lastly played for the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters of the Philippine Basketball Association. Standing at 5 feet 7 inches, Labagala started at the point guard position. Labagala is a great shooter beyond the arc and on mid-range; He uses his speed to drive inside and his playmaking ability to dish out assists. Labagala is a one time PBA champion. Labagala was also named as the Rookie-Sophomore Blitz Game Most Valuable Player on the 2011 PBA All-Star Weekend and to the PBA All-Rookie team on 2010–11.

He played collegiate basketball at the University of the East where he was a benchwarmer who played the least minutes on the court. Shortly after graduating, he was picked with the 12th overall pick on the second round of the 2010 PBA draft by the Barangay Ginebra Kings. He played short minutes on his rookie season due to the Kings' tight guard rotation. After his rookie season, he end up included in the All-Rookie team and being the Rookie Blitz Game Most Valuable Player.

After three kings seasons with the Kings that was renamed to San Miguel on the last season of his tenure with the team, he was traded to the Barako Bull Energy for very similar Emman Monfort. As usual on his career, Labagala sat out mostly and played just 3 minutes per game in one season with the Energy. When Labagala's contract expired, he was left unsigned by his team and months later was signed by Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters where he won his first PBA championship.

Personal life and amateur career

Labagala was born on 5 July 1984 on Talisay, Cebu where he also got raised.^[1] He studied and played high school basketball at the Cebu Institute of Technology – University^[1] Labagala currently resides at Navotas^[2] that is his wife's hometown where he currently owns a pastry bakeshop named after him. Labagala is involved in training the youth of Navotas for improvement, he launched his own basketball camp on 2013.^[2] Labagala is a Christian.^[2] Labagala played collegiate basketball for the University of the East's Red Warriors. Labagala was rarely being deployed on the court and it leads to less scouting chance from PBA teams that can bring him to the country's premier league.^[2] Labagala played the less minutes among the Red Warriors but were able to help the team offensively due to his passing ability and speed.

Professional career

Barangay Ginebra Kings/San Miguel (2010-2014)

Nobody thought that Labagala will step on a PBA court. Due to his low playing time during his college years, he was really underrated and less-hyped. Labagala was among the oldest rookies in his class and the least-popular. Fortunately, he was picked with the twelfth overall pick of the 2010 PBA draft by the country's most popular team which is the Barangay Ginebra Kings. The Kings' starting point guard Jayjay Helterbrand were shocked about the management's decision to draft him and said that 'nobody knows this guy'.^[1][2] Labagala poured in 8 points and 3 assists in his PBA debut in a loss against Alaska. He only played 19 games on his rookie season and poured almost 5 points and one assist per game. On his sophomore year, he played more games and more minutes and his statistics slightly went down to 3.87 in 14 minutes action per game.^[3] He helped the team in their playoff run on the 2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup. The Kings went on the finals one-time on his third season where they got swept in a best-of-five series.^[1]

PBA career statistics

Correct as of August 1, 2015 ^[3]

Season-by-season averages

References