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Jerwin Gaco

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Jerwin Gaco
No. 91 – Davao Occidental Tigers
PositionPower forward
LeaguePilipinas Super League
Personal information
Born (1981-01-17) January 17, 1981 (age 43)
Alabat, Quezon, Philippines
NationalityFilipino
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High schoolSan Mateo National High School (San Mateo, Rizal)
CollegePUP (1998–2003)
De La Salle (2003–2004)
PBA draft2005: Undrafted
Playing career2009–present
Career history
2009–2010Philippine Patriots
2010Barako Energy Coffee Masters
2010–2016B-Meg Llamados / San Mig Coffee Mixers / San Mig Super Coffee Mixers / Purefoods Star Hotshots / Star Hotshots
2017Tanduay Rum Masters
2018Go for Gold Scratchers – College of Saint Benilde
2018Imus Bandera
2018–2019Pasig Pirates
2019–2020Nueva Ecija MiGuard
2020–2021Davao Occidental Tigers
2021JPS Zamboanga City
2021–presentDavao Occidental Tigers
Career highlights and awards

Jerwin A. Gaco (born January 17, 1981) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Davao Occidental Tigers of the Pilipinas Super League (PSL). He was an undrafted player in the 2005 PBA draft.

After playing in semi-professional leagues and in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL), he was acquired by the Barako Energy Coffee Masters during the 2010 PBA Fiesta Conference before being signed by the B-Meg Derby Ace Llamados for the 2010–11 season. Since then, he has won championships in the PBA, PBA D-League, Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL), and PSL.

Early life

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Gaco grew up the eldest of four children.[1] Before he had turned 19, he had lost his father to cancer, and his mother to leukemia. With the family now orphaned, he became the breadwinner of that family, with his basketball earnings helping to send his sisters and brother to school.

College career

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After playing in Palarong Pambansa, Gaco got offers from different universities.[2] He was given an invitation to try out for the UE Red Warriors, but since he did not know where the campus was, he was not able to go. Instead, he played for the PUP Maroons for three years.

After graduating college, Gaco still had two more playing years left.[2] He spent his last two years with the De La Salle Green Archers in the UAAP. He joined a rookie class that included JVee Casio and Ryan Arana.[3] They had a record of 7–7, allowing them to make the Final Four. In their first Final Four game against the Ateneo Blue Eagles, he was punched by Eagles guard LA Tenorio.[4] He then nudged Tenorio, and La Salle's bench stormed the court. Tenorio was given a one-game suspension, while Gaco was given a technical foul. La Salle went on to win that game in overtime, but lost the next game to Ateneo. The following season, in 2004, the Archers won the championship.[5]

Semi-professional career

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After going undrafted in 2005,[5] he played for the Harbour Centre franchise in the Philippine Basketball League, where he honed his skills as an enforcer. He won multiple championships in his time there.[5]

Gaco also saw action for the Laguna Stallions in the semi-professional Liga Pilipinas regional league.[6]

Professional career

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Philippine Patriots

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Gaco played for the Philippine Patriots in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL), winning a championship with them in 2010.[5]

Barako Energy Coffee Masters

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After his time in the ABL, Gaco entered the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) when Barako acquired him.[6] This happened during the 2010 Fiesta Conference, when he was 29 years old and five years after he had gone undrafted.[1] He had a PBA career-high 14 points in his time there.[7]

Magnolia franchise

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Gaco then signed a contract with the B-Meg Derby Aces Llamados.[8] In his sophomore year, he played in the Rookie-Sophomore Blitz Game, scoring 19 points in that game.[9] His first PBA championship came in the 2012 Commissioner's Cup.[5] Despite being a bench player, he was seen by fans as the "lucky charm" of the team.[10] These fans called themselves the "Gaconatics", after sportscaster Mico Halili gave them that nickname. Team governor Rene Pardo called him "the team's glue guy". He then went on to win a grand slam in 2014 with that franchise.[5] He stayed with the team until 2016, when he was left unsigned by them.[11]

Tanduay Rum Masters

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After attempts to return to the PBA, Gaco signed with the Tanduay Rum Masters for the 2017 PBA D-League Aspirants' Cup, who had a two-game losing streak at the time.[11] He had a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds in his winning debut over the Batangas EAC Generals, while his former teammate at Star, Mark Cruz, had 29 points.[12] He became one of the team's leaders as they went on to claim a twice-to-beat advantage.[13][14] In the quarterfinals, they beat the AMA Titans, with him scoring 16 points.[15] In the semifinals, they lost to the Cignal-San Beda Hawkeyes in three games.[16] Still, he credited his stint with them for helping him gain his confidence back.[16]

Go for Gold Scratchers

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Gaco, as a veteran role player, helped the young Go for Gold team win the 2018 PBA D-League Foundation Cup over the Che Lu Bar and Grill Revellers.[5]

Imus Bandera

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While Gaco was playing for Go for Gold in the D-League, he also played for Imus Bandera, starting from the 2018 Datu Cup.[17] He was originally supposed to play for the Manila Stars, but they cut him before final rosters were submitted.

Pasig Pirates

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Gaco was then placed into the dispersal draft, where he was picked first by the Pasig Pirates.[18]

Nueva Ecija MiGuard

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Gaco then played for the debuting Nueva Ecija MiGuard in the 2019 Lakandula Cup.[19] In his first game for them, he had 17 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. He played seven games for them in the 2020 Lakan Cup before he and the team mutually agreed to part ways.[20]

Davao Occidental Tigers

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As a free agent, Gaco signed with the Davao Occidental Tigers.[20] At 40 years old, he added another championship to his collection when the Tigers defeated the San Juan Knights in the finals of the 2020 MPBL Lakan Cup.[5] Before the following season, he, along with eight other players, were cut from the team.[21]

JPS Zamboanga City Valientes

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In the 1st conference of the VisMin Super Cup, Gaco joined the Zamboanga City JPS. He had a double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds in a win over the MisOr Brew AuthoriTea.[22] He made that conference's Mythical Team, along with Hesed Gabo, Michael Mabulac, James Castro, and John Wilson.[23]

Davao Occidental Tigers / Davao Pilipinas

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Gaco rejoined the team for the FilBasket Subic Championship.[24] That team made it to the semifinals.[25]

The Tigers then moved to the PSL. He only played one game for them in the first conference.[26] Davao won the conference championship, giving him his 17th championship overall.[27]

He was set to play for them once again as the rebranded Davao Pilipinas were originally picked to represent the Philippines in the ABL.[28] However, those plans fell through and the Zamboanga Valientes became the new Philippine representatives for the ABL.[29]

Personal life

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A single parent, Gaco has two daughters.[30] He also invests in condominium units, and promotes small-time local businesses on his social media accounts.[31]

PBA career statistics

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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

[7]

Season-by-season averages

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Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2009–10 Barako Energy Coffee Masters 15 13.9 .536 .000 .541 3.5 .2 .1 .1 5.3
2010–11 B-Meg / San Mig Coffee / Purefoods / Star 40 12.1 .531 .000 .512 3.2 .3 .1 .1 4.0
2011–12 14 5.0 .375 .000 .500 2.0 .1 .1 .0 1.3
2012–13 24 5.7 .448 .000 .462 1.5 .2 .1 .0 1.3
2013–14 20 4.4 .524 .000 .500 1.0 .2 .2 .0 1.4
2014–15 7 3.6 .500 .000 .750 1.1 .3 .2 .0 1.9
2015–16 4 1.8 .000 .000 .150 .3 .0 .0 .0 .3
Career 124 8.2 .510 .000 .519 2.2 .2 .1 .1 2.7

Notes

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  1. ^ Forfeited due to the scandal that leaked out the following season

References

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  1. ^ a b Henson, Joaquin M. (March 26, 2010). "Perseverance pays off for PBA rookie". Philstar.com. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Terrado, Reuben (April 5, 2021). "Gaco recalls missed UE tryout - denying chance of early team-up with Yap". Spin.ph. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  3. ^ "Green Archers 2003 UAAP Season Recap". June 29, 2009. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  4. ^ Cordero, Abac (September 29, 2003). "Board retains Lipa, denies Ateneo plea". Philstar.com. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Terrado, Reuben (March 26, 2021). "Jerwin Gaco's 16 titles in major leagues proof he's more than a lucky charm". Spin.ph. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Throwback: Green Archers in the PBA". The LaSallian. May 26, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Jerwin Gaco Player Profile :: PBA-Online!". February 14, 2017. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  8. ^ "Veteran Aquino signs up with Bolts". SUNSTAR. September 7, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  9. ^ "LABAGALA, ANTHONY POWER ROOKIES PAST SOPHOMORES". May 21, 2011. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  10. ^ "Good news for 'Gaconatics:' San Mig plans to keep Jerwin Gaco in protected list ahead of PBA dispersal draft". Spin.ph. July 11, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Ballesteros, Jan (March 5, 2017). "Ang pagbabalik ni Jerwin Gaco: Fan favorite takes act to D-League by way of Tanduay". Spin.ph. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  12. ^ Ballesteros, Jan (March 6, 2017). "Mark Cruz, Jerwin Gaco mark D-League reunion by leading Tanduay past Batangas". Spin.ph. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  13. ^ Ballesteros, Jan (March 9, 2017). "Mark Cruz credits 'leader and enforcer' Jerwin Gaco for Tanduay resurgence". Spin.ph. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  14. ^ Ballesteros, Jan (March 14, 2017). "Mark Cruz takes charge in endgame as Tanduay nips JRU to clinch twice-to-beat edge". Spin.ph. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  15. ^ Ballesteros, Jan (March 16, 2017). "Tanduay completes Aspirants Cup semis cast with squeaker over AMA Online". Spin.ph. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  16. ^ a b Terrado, Reuben (March 28, 2017). "Grateful Jerwin Gaco says Tanduay exposure in D-League enabled him to regain confidence". Spin.ph. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  17. ^ Leongson, Randolph B. (June 4, 2018). "Jerwin Gaco juggles D-League, MPBL jobs after 'unkind cut' from Manila Stars". Spin.ph. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  18. ^ "Jerwin Gaco joins Pasig Pirates as Jai Reyes winds up with Navotas Clutch". Spin.ph. October 15, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  19. ^ Li, Matthew (June 15, 2019). "Cawaling makes sure Nueva Ecija-MiGuard wins in MPBL debut; Viernes protects Batangas-Tanduay homecourt". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  20. ^ a b Valencia, Justin (March 25, 2021). "At 40, Jerwin Gaco still looks to add to 15 championships". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  21. ^ Saldajeno, Ivan Stewart (May 18, 2021). "Davao Occidental Tigers overhaul team with 9 new players". www.pna.gov.ph. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  22. ^ Valencia, Justin (July 19, 2021). "Gaco vents ire on MisOr, powers Zambo City to bounce back win in VisMin". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  23. ^ "Basilan guard Hesed Gabo named Mindanao leg MVP of VisMin Super Cup". ph.news.yahoo.com. August 8, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  24. ^ Joble, Rey (October 15, 2021). "Wilson, Hubalde join Davao Occ". The Manila Times. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  25. ^ Davao, Edge (January 22, 2022). "Davao Occidental Tigers to represent Philippines in rebooted ABL". Edge Davao. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  26. ^ "Player Stats - Pilipinas Super League". February 16, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  27. ^ "Davao Occidental Tigers - Cocolife". Facebook. April 26, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  28. ^ Leongson, Randolph B. (January 19, 2022). "Davao Pilipinas ready to carry PH flag in rebooted ABL". Spin.ph. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  29. ^ Li, Matthew (November 26, 2022). "Zamboanga Valientes joins ABL". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  30. ^ Henson, Joaquin M. (February 26, 2013). "Making every second count". Philstar.com. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  31. ^ Xy-Zha Cabanlong (June 12, 2020). "The other side of Jerwin Gaco". www.dugout.ph. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
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