Willy Wilson

William Joel Ventenilla Wilson (born January 30, 1980) is a Filipino-American professional basketball coach and former player who last served as head coach for the Phoenix Fuel Masters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He played for four teams in the PBA. He spent his college years playing in De La Salle University before being drafted fifteenth overall by the Alaska Aces in the 2004 PBA draft.

College career In 1998, Wilson came over from the US to join the De La Salle Green Archers in the UAAP. Although he joined the team late, he made an impact off the bench in his rookie season with his versatility, outside shooting, and defense. That year, with a new coach in Franz Pumaren and former Rookie of the Year Renren Ritualo leading the way, the Archers went 13–1 and went on to win the championship over the FEU Tamaraws. From 1998 to 2001, the Archers won four straight titles. In his final season, the Archers went 13–1 but this time lost to the Ateneo Blue Eagles.

In 2023, Wilson was honored as the De La Salle Alumni Association's Sports Awardee. He and other members of La Salle's championship-winning teams received championship rings that year.

Professional career

Alaska Aces In the 2004 PBA draft, Wilson was drafted 15th overall by the Alaska Aces. He was among the sophomores selected to play in the Rookies vs Sophomores game during the 2005 All-Star Weekend.

San Miguel Beermen Wilson then got picked up from free agency by the San Miguel Beermen, joining them in time for a preseason tournament in Guam. In the 2006–07 Philippine Cup, he led the entire league in free throw shooting percentage, with 86.5%. San Miguel made the finals that conference, where they lost to the Barangay Ginebra Kings.

Barangay Ginebra Kings / San Miguel In 2008, Wilson was traded to Barangay Ginebra in a four-team trade. He was part of the team that won the Fiesta Conference that year.

In a win over the Burger King Whoppers, Wilson scored 15 points as Ginebra guaranteed themselves a slot in the quarterfinals.

For the 2010–11 season, Ginebra placed third in the Philippine Cup, and second in the Commissioner’s Cup. In the Governors' Cup, he had a larger role as Rudy Hatfield left the team. Ginebra finished fourth for that conference. He and rookie John Wilson made the All-Defensive team that season.

Barako started the 2014–15 Philippine Cup with five straight losses. They then bounced back with four wins in their next five games including a win over Alaska in which Wilson had 13 points. During the Commissioner's Cup, he missed several games due to a MCL injury.

In the offseason, Wilson signed a one-year contract extension. In a 2015–16 Philippine Cup win over the Meralco Bolts, he scored 17 points. In his first five games of the season, he averaged career-highs of 12.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 35.8 minutes as they started with a record of 3–2. He then led with 20 points and 20 rebounds in a win over the TnT Tropang Giga. As a result of that performance, he received Player of the Week honors. At the end of the elimination round, he averaged a career-high 17.7 points with 12.0 rebounds. In the playoffs, they lost in the first round to the GlobalPort Batang Pier.

Phoenix franchise In 2016, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc. bought the Barako Bull team. Now renamed as the Phoenix Fuel Masters, they first competed in the 2016 Commissioner's Cup. In a loss to the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters that conference, he led with 21 points and nine rebounds.

After his breakout season, Wilson signed a two-year extension with Phoenix. Phoenix started the 2016–17 Philippine Cup with a 2–2 record. He then had to miss several games due to food poisoning. In his return against the NLEX Road Warriors, he contributed 12 points and nine rebounds as they got the win.

During the 2017–18 season, he signed a one-year extension to stay with the team. That season, he got another Player of the Week citation after scoring 19 points on a perfect 7 for 7 shooting clip in a win over Ginebra. In their Governors' Cup match against San Miguel, he and several of Phoenix's players and management were fined 5,000 for entering the court when their teammate Calvin Abueva appeared to have his neck grabbed by San Miguel's import Kevin Murphy.

Wilson wasn't able to play during the 2019 Philippine Cup as he was recovering from bone spurs. After the 2019 season, he retired and soon joined the coaching staff of Phoenix. His job is mentoring Phoenix's big men. They won the first conference of the 2021 season.

In 2022, Wilson coached the Philippines' men's national 3x3 team in the SEA Games, where they won bronze. For the 2022 FIBA Asia 3x3 Cup, he was still on the coaching staff, but Lester Del Rosario now headed the team. He also coaches Xavier School's basketball team.

PBA career statistics

Season-by-season averages

National team career Wilson got to play in the PBA before he was drafted as he played on the Cebuana Lhuillier-RP Team, which was a guest team in the 2003 PBA Invitational championship. Following their PBA stint, they won the Philippines its third straight SEABA championship. The win also booked them a spot in the 2003 ABC Championship, where they finished in 15th place out of 16 countries.

Off the court Beginning in UAAP Season 84, Wilson covered UAAP games as an analyst. Since 2022, he has also written articles for NBA.com Philippines.

Personal life In 2010, Wilson married Maria del Rosario, a former courtside reporter. Since then, they have had a daughter, Keliya, and a son, Cameron.