Abet Guidaben

Alberto "Abet" Guidaben (born September 14, 1952) is a Filipino retired professional basketball player in the PBA. He was part of the fabled Crispa Redmanizers ballclub that won two Grand Slams, in 1976 and 1983. He was a two-time Most Valuable Player awardee, in 1983 and 1987, joining a select few who are multiple winners of the award such as Bogs Adornado, Ramon Fernandez, Alvin Patrimonio, Benjie Paras, Danny Ildefonso, Willie Miller, James Yap, and June Mar Fajardo.

Abet Guidaben

Personal information
Born	(1952-09-14) September 14, 1952 Mambajao, Camiguin, Philippines
Nationality	Filipino
Listed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight	192 lb (87 kg)
Career information
College	University of San Jose - Recoletos
Playing career	1975–1995
Position	Center / Power forward
Number	5
Career history
1973–1984	Crispa Redmanizers
1985	Tanduay Rhum Makers
1986	Manila Beer Brewmasters
1987–1988	San Miguel Beermen
1988	Purefoods Hotdogs
1989	Alaska Air Force
1990–1993	Pepsi Hotshots/7-Up Uncolas
1994–1995	Shell Rimula X
Career highlights and awards
16× PBA champion (1975 All-Philippine, 1976 First, 1976 Second, 1976 All-Philippine, 1977 All-Filipino, 1977 Open, 1979 All-Filipino, 1980 All-Filipino, 1981 Reinforced Filipino, 1983 All-Filipino, 1983 Reinforced Filipino, 1983 Open, 1984 First All-Filipino, 1987 Reinforced, 1988 Open, 1988 Reinforced) 2× PBA Most Valuable Player (1983, 1987) 5× PBA Mythical First Team (1983–1985, 1987, 1988) 3× PBA All-Star Member, PBA's 25 and 40 Greatest Players Member of the 5,000 point club Member of PBA 10,000 point club Member of the 15,000 point club Member, 1,000 & 2,000 offensive rebounds club Member, 2,000 & 5,000 defensive rebounds club Member, 2,000 assists club Member, 1,000 games played Enshrined into the PBA Hall of Fame in 2007
Medals Men’s Basketball Representing  Philippines FIBA Asia Championship 1973 Manila Team

Collegiate and amateur career

Guidaben started his career with the Agoho (Mambajao, Camiguin) Pirates and the University of San Jose - Recoletos. Then in 1973, he became part of the Crispa team in the old Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA). Later that year, he and Crispa teammate Bogs Adornado were named to the Philippine team that won the 1973 Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) held in Manila. The two also suited up for the national team that played in the 1974 Mundo Basket (the World Championship) held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Crispa-Floro duo were again in the national team skippered by Jaworski for the 1974 Asian Games in Teheran.

Professional career

In the PBA, Guidaben was a "late-bloomer" with Crispa. During the league's early years, he played in the shadows of his more illustrious teammates like Philip Cezar, Atoy Co and Bogs Adornado. But slowly, his talent as a big man emerged and became one of Crispa's greatest assets. He was already a good rebounder but later developed a strong inside game complemented with accurate off-the-glass jumpers from the perimeter. He was also one of the earliest dunkers in the PBA making the slam dunk vogue in the league a decade before the arrival of highflyers like Samboy Lim, Paul "Bong" Alvarez, Vergel Meneses and Nelson Asaytono. He also had a great rivalry with Toyota's Fernandez which was considered a classic in itself. He won MVP honors in 1983 while with Crispa and 1987 while with San Miguel Beer. He wound up as a journeyman of sorts having played for eight teams. Aside from Crispa and San Miguel, he also suited up for Manila Beer, Tanduay, Purefoods, Alaska Milk, Pepsi Mega and Shell Rimula X.

He finished his PBA career as the No. 2 all-time leading scorer with 15,775 points (behind Fernandez's 18,996), No. 2 all-time in total rebounds with 8,570, No. 2 in defensive rebounds with 6,197, No. 1 in offensive rebounds with 2,373 and No. 1 in games played with 1,081. He also had 2,284 assists, 340 steals and 922 blocks in 29,577:10 total minutes played (No. 3 behind Fernandez and Patrimonio). He finished with career averages of 14.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.1 apg, 77.6% FT (2,875/3,707), 53.1% FG (6,420/12,092).

PBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1975	Crispa	44	15.55	.516	.000	.682	5.23	0.59	0.16	0.55	6.6
1976	Crispa	51	17.59	.507	.000	.712	6.02	0.47	0.24	0.47	8.9
1977	Crispa	63	20.92	.518	.000	.717	5.84	1.24	0.27	0.78	11.8
1978	Crispa	45	22.22	.538	.000	.678	6.93	1.24	0.18	1.21	13.4
1979	Crispa	61	23.49	.572	.000	.791	7.33	1.21	0.16	1.21	12.2
1980	Crispa	59	23.61	.518	.333	.784	8.29	1.69	0.29	0.80	14.8
1981	Crispa	52	23.23	.469	.000	.796	7.04	1.60	0.33	0.71	13.8
1982	Crispa	54	28.81	.582	.000	.724	9.13	2.17	0.22	0.83	16.5
1983	Crispa	59	31.08	.592	.500	.759	8.69	3.49	0.25	0.88	17.9
1984	Crispa	61	34.03	.584	.286	.768	11.38	3.33	0.51	1.72	21.0
1985	Tanduay	50	39.40	.552	.263	.742	11.18	4.46	0.50	1.44	22.8
1985	Manila Beer	17	28.29	.523	.000	.843	6.35	2.12	0.82	0.71	14.3
1985	2 Teams (Combined)	67	33.85	.546	..227	.759	9.96	3.87	0.58	1.25	20.66
1986	Manila Beer	38	35.53	.493	.364	.767	9.84	2.68	0.55	0.87	15.1
1987	Magnolia/San Miguel	64	35.97	.496	.143	.822	10.70	2.94	0.14	0.77	19.3
1988	San Miguel Beer	47	34.66	.505	.167	.822	11.49	3.32	0.30	0.70	19.9
1988	Purefoods	10	28.10	.491	.000	.818	6.60	2.80	0.30	0.30	13.5
1988	2 Teams (Combined)	57	31.38	.504	.143	.746	10.63	3.23	0.30	0.63	18.81
1989	Alaska	29	29.38	.499	.400	.876	9.76	2.28	0.34	1.00	16.4
1990	Alaska	36	31.00	.546	.000	.783	8.14	2.14	0.25	1.00	15.9
1990	Pepsi	10	37.50	.596	.000	.857	7.70	2.20	0.20	0.30	20.4
1991	2 Teams (Combined)	17	34.25	.559	.000	.801	8.04	2.15	0.24	0.85	16.8
1991	Pepsi	43	32.49	.513	.000	.798	7.95	2.44	0.34	1.19	16.8
1992	7-Up	55	34.55	.514	.333	.802	7.78	3.40	0.64	0.95	16.9
1993	7-Up	21	28.57	.491	.000	.774	7.05	1.86	0.52	0.62	13.4
1993	Shell Helix Ultra	9	16.89	.525	.000	.875	4.56	1.11	0.22	0.55	5.4
1994	Shell Rimula X	50	18.62	.553	.000	.794	4.44	0.72	0.16	0.50	8.0
1995	Shell	54	15.65	.488	.000	.760	3.43	0.74	0.30	0.19	4.5
Career		1081	27.49	.531	.350	.776	7.93	2.11	0.31	0.85	14.6

Retirement and later life

In 2000, he was named as one of the PBA's 25 greatest players of all-time in elaborate awards ceremonies that highlighted the 25th anniversary of the league. After his retirement, he went into the construction business, and in 2003, he migrated to New Jersey in the United States with his family. Even in the U.S. he actively took part in benefit basketball events staged by the PBA Legends USA Foundation.

In 2007, he was enshrined into the PBA Hall of Fame along with Manny Paner, Danny Florencio, and Norman Black.[1]

In 2010, he suffered from a serious ailment called Myasthenia Gravis and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for eight days.[2] He managed to survive from the illness by taking steroids.

In 2012, he suffered two strokes in a span of one week, and was diagnosed with meningitis.[3] He was again admitted to the ICU as a result.

Personal life

Guidaben, with his wife, Maridol, has four children (Maria Elizabeth, JR, Michael and Katherine) and several grandchildren.[4]

Trivia

• An Abet Guidaben for Mon Fernandez swap happened twice. In 1985, Guidaben was shipped from Tanduay to Manila Beer for El Presidente during the last conference. Three years later, Guidaben, then playing for San Miguel, was sent to Purefoods for the disgruntled Fernandez.
• Guidaben has worn the jersey #5 during his time with the Crispa Redmanizers. Ever since then he has worn other jersey numbers equaling to 5 such as 14 (1+4), 23 (2+3), 32 (3+2) & 41 (4+1).

References

1. http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/sports/content/171802/caidic-leads-third-batch-of-pba-hall-of-fame-inductees/story/
2. Nathanielsz, Ronnie. "ABET GUIDABEN IN DIRE STRAITS". www.philboxing.com. Philboxing.com. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
3. Celis, Beth. "Ironman deaths". www.inquirer.net. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
4. Henson, Joaquin. "Guidaben dreams to return to RP". www.philstar.com. Philippine Star. Retrieved 26 December 2014.