By Jason Webb
The PBA in the decade of the 2000’s continued to make its mark in the memory of the basketball fan. While there will be lasting images of what our favorite game and moments of that decade were, here are my top performers of the first decade of the 21st century:
FRANCHISE OF THE DECADE: Most of the championships of San Miguel occurred in the early part of the decade picking up three crowns during the 2000 and 2001 seasons. The Beermen toasted to a total of five championships this past decade. But while San Miguel’s five championship trophies during the decade were just one more than that of Barangay Ginebra, the 12 total trophies they racked up in the decade separated them from the rest of the franchises. The 12 trophies comprised five titles, four second places and three third place finishes. That’s four more trophies compared to the next franchise.
COACH OF THE DECADE: Jong Uichico racked up six championships in the decade turning the trick with two different teams. What’s interesting, in the success of the Ron Jacobs protégé, is his continued ability to adjust to the many changes in the PBA. In the early part of the decade, he led the Beermen in slowing down the game and posting up his big men and in the process helping Danny Ildefonso gain two MVPs. When he joined Barangay Ginebra, he piloted the Kings to two championships turning his offense around and maximizing the potential of his guards.
MVP OF THE DECADE: Unlike the 90’s when Alvin Patrimonio chalked up four Most Valuable Player plums, the MVP of the decade was not so clear cut, with no one player showing the dominance of one of the greatest players of all time.
To be the MVP of the decade, a player must have at least won the MVP. Since 2000, there were a total of nine MVPs since we there was no MVP in 2004 when the PBA changed its schedule. The one-time MVPs were Asi Taulava, Eric Menk, James Yap, Kelly Williams and Jayjay Helterbrand. While the only players to accomplish the feat twice were Ildefonso and Willie Miller.
Of the nine, Miller had the most number of Mythical Selections with five followed by the four selections of Asi. Most impressive are the three selections of Williams, who has been in the Mythical Team each year he has been in the PBA. The Daniel Powters of the group are Menk and Yap who only got selected in the Mythical Team in their MVP years.
Looking at it in a different perspective, I listed the different positions the MVPs of this decade played when they won their awards:
PG – HELTERBRAND, MILLER
SG – YAP, MILLER
SF – WILLIAMS
PF – WILLIAMS, ILDEFONSO, MENK
C – TAULAVA, ILDEFONSO, MENK
What we can see is that the hands-down choice for small forward in the 2000s is Williams while all other positions is still up for debate.
I’ll then remove both Yap and Menk from the discussion because, aside from their lone MVP year, all their other years in the PBA have landed them outside the Mythical Team.
Helterbrand is next to be scratched, because although he has been dominant of late, he only cracked the top ten players of the league these last two campaigns in his 10-year career.
With that in mind the MVP-of-the-decade discussion will only boil down to Miller, Williams, Ildefonso and Taulava.
While Williams has been most impressive in the three years since he entered the league, I feel that that the MVP of the decade should at least have played half of the decade or at least have the most number of MVPs in the group.
That leaves Miller, Ildefonso and Taulava. While Miller and Ildefonso have the most number of MVPs, Taulava owns the highest scoring average during that span. Ildefonso also owns the most number of championships in the group but also has the distinction of missing the most time due to injury.
To answer who the best of the decade is to answer the question, “If you had a chance to draft one of these three players to build your team around, who would it be?”
My answer would thus be Taulava. Although Asi has failed in his potential to bag numerous championships, one cannot discount the fact that he has been the most dominant big man in that span. In the end, his total numbers in both scoring and rebounding dwarfs that of others in discussion.
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