Paul Rico Galenzoga Maierhofer (born November 4, 1985) is a Filipino former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and sk ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He last played for the San Miguel Alab Pilipinas of the

ASEAN Basketball League The ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) is a professional men's basketball league in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong/Macau, which includes six teams from Southeast Asian nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), one tea ...

(ABL). He was drafted 2nd overall by the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

Professional career

Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants / B-Meg Llamados

As a rookie with the Giants, he made an immediate impact on the team as an athletic and rebounding combo forward. He was one of the key players that helped former teammate James Yap and the others beat the Alaska Aces in the finals of the 2009–10 PBA Philippine Cup. After winning the Rookie of the Year award in 2010, Maierhofer looked poised for a breakout year. With B-Meg Llamados' (Purefood's Tender Juicy Giant's new name) frontline depleted because of injuries to Marc Pingris, Kerby Raymundo, and Rafi Reavis, Maierhofer got a lot of playing time in

2010–11 PBA Philippine Cup The 2010-11 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup was the first conference of the 2010-11 PBA season. The tournament started on October 3, 2010, with the new team, Meralco Bolts defeating the Brgy. Ginebra Kings in the opening ...

, and he responded by averaging, for the tournament, 9.6 rebounds (5th in the league) and 1.2 blocks (4th) — leading the team in both categories. But tragedy struck in the Commissioner’s Cup on that same season, when he suffered a torn ACL injury. He has struggled in his return in the 2011-12 PBA season, averaging just 2.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in only 11 minutes per game. This prompted B-Meg to trade him.

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel

He was traded to Ginebra via a three-team trade which involved Yancy de Ocampo (along with a 2012 2nd round draft pick) going to B-Meg,

Allein Maliksi Allein Gail Q. Maliksi (born September 18, 1987) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Meralco Bolts of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was drafted 8th by the Petron Blaze Boosters in the 2011 PBA draft. College ...

going to Ginebra, and

Jimbo Aquino Jimbo Reyes Aquino (born October 13, 1985) is a Filipino professional basketball player, who last played for the Nueva Ecija MiGuard of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is a men's pr ...

(along with 2013 1st round pick) going to Barako Bull. Since joining Ginebra, he admittedly struggled to get playing time in a roster filled with big men like Kerby Raymundo, veterans

Rudy Hatfield Rudolph Conse "Rudy" Hatfield II (born September 13, 1977) is an American-Filipino retired professional basketball player who played for Laguna Lakers in the Metropolitan Basketball Association and for Tanduay Rhum Masters, Pop Cola Panthers, Co ...

and

Willy Wilson William Joel Ventenilla Wilson (born January 30, 1980) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player who is currently an assistant coach for the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He playe ...

, and now the 6-foot-9

Japeth Aguilar Japeth Paul Cabrera Aguilar (born January 25, 1987) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He first played college basketball for the Ateneo Blue Eagles of ...

. He's also been involved in several trade rumors. During the

2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup The 2013 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner's Cup was the second conference of the 2012–13 PBA season. The tournament began on February 8 and ended on May 19, 2013. The tournament is an import-laden format, which requires an i ...

alone, he just logged in an average of 6.36 minutes, contributing 2 points and 2.14 rebounds – numbers that are way behind his season average of 22.43 minutes when he was still with B-Meg in 2010.

Barako Bull Energy Cola

Eventually, he was again traded to Barako Bull along with Wilson in a draft-day trade for the No. 4 pick which Barangay Ginebra used to pick James Forrester. While playing for Energy Cola, he was a part of the formidable veteran crew which gave

Petron Blaze Boosters The San Miguel Beermen are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). It is one of three PBA clubs owned by the San Miguel Corporation group of companies along with the Magnolia Hotshots and Barangay Ginebra ...

a run for their own money during their

2013–14 PBA Philippine Cup The 2013–14 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup, also known as the 2013–14 PLDT Home DSL/myDSL-PBA Philippine Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the first conference of the 2013–14 PBA season. The tournament started o ...

best-of-3 quarterfinal matchup, yet they were swept in that series.

San Miguel Beermen

On February 18, 2014, Maierhofer was traded to San Miguel via a complex four-team trade which also involved GlobalPort, Barako Bull, and Air21. The series of trades started with San Miguel, formerly Petron, acquiring Maierhofer from Barako Bull in exchange for

Jason Deutchman Jason Bryan Ticse Deutchman (born September 27, 1986) is a Filipino-American former basketball player. He last played for the Kia Picanto of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was selected 10th overall in the 2012 PBA draft by the G ...

and the Beermen's second-round picks in 2016 and 2017. San Miguel then added Sol Mercado to its pool of stars in a straight swap with GlobalPort for guard

Alex Cabagnot Alexander Cabagnot Jr. (born December 8, 1982) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Terrafirma Dyip of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He plays the point guard position. Alex once had a rivalry with Mark Caguioa f ...

. In the third step, Barako Bull acquired veteran wingman Leo Najorda from GlobalPort in exchange for guard

Jonas Villanueva Jonas Victolero Villanueva (born March 31, 1983) is a Filipino former professional basketball player and coach. Villanueva played 12 seasons in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He also coached the Bataan Risers of the Maharlika Pilip ...

, who was traded by the Batang Pier to Air21 for

Bonbon Custodio Bonifacio Custodio (born November 30, 1982) is a Filipino people, Filipino professional basketball player for the Davao Occidental Tigers of the Pilipinas Super League (PSL). He was drafted 8th overall by the San Miguel Beermen during the 2008 PB ...

Return to Barako Bull

On April 6, 2015, Rico Maierhofer traded back to

Barako Bull Energy The Barako Bull Energy were a Philippine Basketball Association team that began in 2002 as the FedEx Express. From its first season until 2005, the team was dubbed as the FedEx Express before changing to Air21 Express. From the 2009 PBA Fiest ...

for

Billy Mamaril John Billy San Luis Mamaril (born June 25, 1980) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player who last played for the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He plays the forward and center positions. ...

in a part of four team six players trade. On May 27, 2015, he became famous throughout the whole world after using his shoe to block a shot by Gabby Espinas against his former team, the San Miguel Beermen. Two days later, he was fined ₱20,000 for “using a foreign object as an aid in performing an offensive or defensive move.” Maierhofer then publicly apologized for his conduct, saying it was unprofessional and should have not been done.

GlobalPort Batang Pier

On October 13, 2015, Maierhofer was traded by the

to the

GlobalPort Batang Pier The NorthPort Batang Pier is a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team that first played in the 2012–13 PBA season. The team took over the franchise of the Powerade Tigers in 2012 after it was sold to Sultan 900 Capital, Inc. Besides Nor ...

in exchange for

Jervy Cruz Jervy A. Cruz (born September 9, 1986) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the NorthPort Batang Pier of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). A former Most Valuable Player in the UAAP, Cruz was one of the reasons why the UST ...

Alab Pilipinas (ABL)

On October 17, 2017, Maierhofer was signed by

club

Alab Pilipinas San Miguel Alab Pilipinas (under the corporate name Pilipinas Basketball Club, Inc. or PBCI) is a Filipino professional basketball team which played in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) under the sponsorship of San Miguel Corporation. The team i ...

after being released by GlobalPort. The signing was confirmed on the club's social media accounts, along with the signing of

Dondon Hontiveros Donaldo "Dondon" Cabañes Hontiveros (born June 1, 1977) is a Filipino politician and former professional basketball player. He is a member of the Cebu City Council since June 30, 2022 and previously from 2019 to 2021. He was the Vice Mayor of Ce ...

PBA career statistics

Season-by-season averages

, - , align=left , , align=left , Purefoods / B-Meg , 62 , , 17.9 , , .516 , , .200 , , .684 , , 4.9 , , .9 , , .3 , , .7 , , 6.2 , - , align=left , , align=left , B-Meg , 23 , , 22.4 , , .406 , , .286 , , .560 , , 9.0 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , 1.1 , , 7.0 , - , align=left , , align=left , B-Meg /

Barangay Ginebra The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The most popular team in the league, it is owned by Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. (formerly, La Tondeña Distillers, Inc.), a subsidia ...

, 22 , , 11.7 , , .531 , , .000 , , .484 , , 3.8 , , .6 , , .3 , , .6 , , 3.1 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 40 , , 14.3 , , .526 , , .143 , , .500 , , 5.2 , , .9 , , .3 , , .3 , , 4.0 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barako Bull / San Miguel , 29 , , 11.6 , , .494 , , .200 , , .614 , , 3.4 , , .8 , , .1 , , .3 , , 3.9 , - , align=left , , align=left , San Miguel / Barako Bull , 24 , , 10.1 , , .525 , , .000 , , .600 , , 3.0 , , .4 , , .2 , , .3 , , 2.6 , - , align=left , , align=left , GlobalPort , 26 , , 15.2 , , .547 , , .200 , , .694 , , 6.2 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , .7 , , 3.7 , - , align=left , , align=left , GlobalPort , 27 , , 8.4 , , .467 , , .000 , , .615 , , 2.8 , , .3 , , .2 , , .2 , , 1.6 , -class=sortbottom , align=center colspan=2 , Career , 253 , , 14.5 , , .499 , , .193 , , .608 , , 4.8 , , .8 , , .3 , , .5 , , 4.3

Personal life

He was born to an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

father and a

Filipina Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or other ...

mother Elenita. He is married to Jeck Maierhofer (''née'' Conwi), and has two sons and two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maierhofer, Rico 1987 births Living people Barako Bull Energy players Barangay Ginebra San Miguel players Basketball players from Metro Manila Basketball players from Oriental Mindoro Filipino men's basketball players Filipino people of Austrian descent NorthPort Batang Pier players Magnolia Hotshots players People from Pasay Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Power forwards (basketball) San Miguel Alab Pilipinas players San Miguel Beermen players De La Salle Green Archers basketball players Magnolia Hotshots draft picks