Ildefonso: All-Star leader is week’s best

Danny Ildefonso may have been sidelined long enough to enable other players to grab the spotlight this season. But he made two things clear. One, he is not easily forgotten, and two, he won’t continue simply fading away.

The six-foot-six former Most Valuable Player sat his chiseled 220-pound frame in a plastic chair and smiled amazingly at the numbers shown to him.

"Nakakataba ng puso," he said.

The figures he was looking at was the All-Star balloting, which showed him leading the way among centers and forwards despite having been out of the public eye early in the Samsung Philippine Basketball Association All-Filipino Cup due to a knee problem.

"Meron pa palang nagtitiwala sa akin," he said sheepishly.

And as if to validate that faith shown in him by the league’s followers, Danny Ildefonso came out with the best of the week’s performances in two games and nudged out rivals for the Samsung Player of the Week citation for the stretch of May 12 to 18.

His numbers were pretty much average, bland in fact if one is to consider the strong statistics posted by the likes of teammate Olsen Racela, Jerry Codinera and Vergel Meneses of Fedex, Jeffrey Cariaso of Coca-Cola and Lordy Tugade and Willie Miller of Red bull.

But the fact remains that Ildefonso helped the Beermen bag two wins that sealed not only a quarterfinal berth, but, as it turned out, an assured stint in the Asian Invitationals next conference.

Ildefonso had 14 points, six rebounds and three assists in a 76-58 rout of Shell. Eight of his points came in the fourth period when the Beermen broke away while his three assists set up San Miguel’s shooters, notably Boybits Victoria, to allow the team to cruise in what started out as a very tight game.

"Nakita ko yung mismatch sa post kaya dun ako pumwesto. Nung nag-collapse na sila, kick out nalang ako ng kick out," said Ildefonso.