Nelson Asaytono

Nelson Asaytono (born January 25, 1967) is a Filipino retired professional basketball player who played for Purefoods, Swift/Sunkist/Pop Cola, San Miguel Beer, and Red Bull in the PBA during his 17-year career.

Collegiate and amateur career

Asaytono played at the University of Manila under the tutelage of former pro Loreto Tolentino, his coach at UM Hawks. His first national stint was part of the RP Youth team in Manila's 9th ABC Youth Championships. He became a member of the national team that same year in 1987 under coach Joe Lipa. Asaytono also played for coach Derrick Pumaren at Magnolia Ice Cream in the PABL and won three championships.

Professional career

Purefoods Hotdogs Asaytono was drafted as the 2nd overall pick by the Purefoods Hotdogs in 1989. He played three seasons for the ball club that had most of his former national teammates: Jojo Lastimosa, Alvin Patrimonio, Jerry Codiñera, Glenn Capacio, and Dindo Pumaren. With Patrimonio as the starting forward, he mostly would come off the bench. He won two championships at Purefoods. In his final season as a Tender Juicy Hotdog in 1991, he had notable performances during the All-Filipino finals against Diet Sarsi.

Swift/Sunkist In late 1991, Asaytono was traded by Purefoods to Swift in exchange for first-round picks in 1994 and 1995. He joined the list of PBA millionaires as he was signed to a lucrative pact by the RFM franchise. For two seasons with Swift, Asaytono made it to the mythical five selection and a decent run at the Most Valuable Player (MVP) plum. In 1993, he was second in the statistical race but would up third after the polls in a frustrated bid for the most coveted award. With Vergel Meneses' first entire season with Swift in 1994, Asaytono could only make it to the mythical second-team selection but still performed well, averaging 18.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in 65 games. In 1995, his team came close to winning a Grand Slam, winning two titles that season, but only got third place in the Governors' Cup.

After winning four championships with Swift/Sunkist, Asaytono was traded to the San Miguel Beermen, his former team in the amateurs, in April 1996 for one-time MVP Renato Agustin.

San Miguel Beermen Asaytono's trade to San Miguel proved to be the turning point of his career. He became the go-to guy in Coach Ron Jacobs's rotation and its franchise player. In 1997, he became one of the forerunners for the MVP award, but he again came short of former teammate Alvin Patrimonio. Although he lost the MVP race, he led the league in scoring.

When the team drafted future MVP Danny Ildefonso in the 1998 season, his minutes were again reduced, but still, he led the team in scoring. He led the Beermen to the finals twice in All Filipino and Commissioner's Cup in that season but came up short on both occasions to the Alaska Milkmen. A year later, when Jong Uichico took over the coaching reins from Jacobs, he was relegated to the bench and was eventually traded to his former team, the Pop Cola 800s (together with William Antonio) for Dwight Lago, Boybits Victoria, and Nic Belasco. Currently, he is fifth in the PBA all-time scoring list with 12,268 total points in 796 career games, behind only Ramon Fernandez, Abet Guidaben, Alvin Patrimonio, and Atoy Co.

Before retiring, he had a brief stint with the Pagadian Warriors of the National Basketball Conference (NBC). He retired in 2006.

Statistics

Correct as of the 2005-06 season

Asaytono continued to play in exhibition games after he retired. In 2012, he participated in an exhibition match with fellow PBA legends against older NBA All-Stars. He also became a building contractor, building basketball courts and gyms.

In 2020, Asaytono suffered a heart attack. His former teammates, rivals, and even the PBA helped pay for his hospital expenses.