I was browsing through the PBA website, and ran across this article listing some of the league’s career leaders. An entry in the top ten leaders for rebounding struck me:

ALL-TIME REBOUNDS LEADERS
1. Ramon Fernandez 8652 rebs
2. Abet Guidaben 8570
3. Jerry Codinera 7034
4. Alvin Patrimonio 6152
5. Philip Cezar 5834
6. Robert Jaworski Sr. 5367
7. Abe King 5222
8. Yoyoy Villamin 5163
9. Nic Belasco 4540
10. Terry Saldana 4538

Nic Belasco is the only active player on the list, and I was really surprised that his name is up there. It’s a testament to all the hard work he’s put in over the years, after kind of a tough start in the league.

The career arc of Belasco is one of the weirdest in PBA history. He was drafted second overall by Pop Cola in 1997, behind Andy Seigle, marking the initial wave of the late ‘90s Fil-Am invasion. Even he has admitted in interviews that he wasn’t ready when he first came in; he had actually taken a whole year off from basketball just before he entered the draft. He was a bit of a disappointment, especially playing in the shadow of Seigle, and the other Fil-Ams who came after.

He turned his career around after being traded to San Miguel. Sharing the frontcourt with high-profile stars Danny Ildefonso and Danny Seigle, Belasco became a vital cog for the Beermen, concentrating on rebounding and defense.

He could have made a career out of doing just that, but Belasco’s game continued to evolve. He developed a low-post game, first adding a jump hook and later a variety of turnaround shots near the rim, and he transformed himself into a deadly three-point shooter. When the two Danny’s suffered injuries, Belasco actually became a go-to guy for the Beermen.

Since then, he’s taken his game to Alaska, Welcoat, Coca-Cola, and now Talk N Text. Nic was a late bloomer, but damn, look at how he’s bloomed. Think about all the names of stars who are not in that top ten rebounding list. Not bad. Not bad at all.