Alberto "Abet" Guidaben (born September 14, 1952) is a Filipino former professional basketball player in the PBA. He was part of the fabled

Crispa Redmanizers The Crispa Redmanizers were a multi-titled Filipino basketball team that played in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) from 1975 to 1984. It was one of the nine founding teams of the PBA, winning a total of thirteen PBA championships, ...

ballclub that won two Grand Slams, in 1976 and 1983. He was a two-time PBA Most Valuable Player awardee in and .

Collegiate and amateur career

Guidaben started his career with the Agoho (

Mambajao, Camiguin Mambajao, officially the Municipality of Mambajao, is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality and capital of the Philippine Province, province of Camiguin, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 41,094 people ...

) Pirates and the

University of San Jose - Recoletos A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. Then in 1973, he became part of the Crispa team in the old

Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association The Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) was a sports association which existed in Manila, Philippines from 1938 to 1981. Throughout its existence, it staged various sports and was participated by prominent Philippine c ...

(MICAA). The Crispa-Floro duo was again in the national team skippered by Jaworski for the 1974 Asian Games in Teheran.

Professional career

In the PBA, Guidaben was a "late-bloomer" with Crispa. During the league's early years, he played in the shadows of his more illustrious teammates like

Philip Cezar Philip Dudley Cezar (born December 1, 1952) is a Filipino former basketball coach, player and politician. Known by the monikers "Mr. Stretch", "''Tapal'' King" and "The Scholar", he was part of the fabled Crispa Redmanizers ballclub of the Phi ...

Atoy Co Fortunato "Atoy" Gan Co Jr. (born October 15, 1951) is a Filipino former basketball player and coach who played 13 seasons in the Philippine Basketball Association, mostly with Crispa Redmanizers. Nicknamed "The Fortune Cookie" (a pun on his na ...

, and

Bogs Adornado William "Bogs" Adornado (born May 26, 1951) is a Filipino professional basketball coach and former player. He is one of the Philippine Basketball Association's Greatest Players and was inducted to its Hall of Fame in 2005. He was a three-time ...

. But slowly, his talent as a big man emerged and became one of Crispa's greatest assets. He was already a good rebounder but later developed a strong inside game complemented with accurate off-the-glass jumpers from the perimeter. He was also one of the earliest dunkers in the PBA making the slam dunk vogue in the league a decade before the arrival of highflyers like

Samboy Lim Avelino "Samboy" Borromeo Lim Jr. (April 1, 1962 – December 23, 2023), nicknamed "The Skywalker", was a Filipino professional basketball player of the Philippine Basketball Association and the national team in the 1980s and 1990s. As a hi ...

, Paul "Bong" Alvarez,

Vergel Meneses Vergel Corpuz Meneses (born January 14, 1969) is a Filipino retired professional basketball player and a politician, serving as mayor of the municipality of Bulakan, Bulacan. He previously played in the Philippine Basketball Association and ser ...

and Nelson Asaytono. He also had a great rivalry with

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

's Fernandez which was considered a classic in itself. He won MVP honors in 1983 while with Crispa and 1987 while with

San Miguel Beer San Miguel Beer refers to San Miguel Pale Pilsen, a Filipino pale lager and flagship beer of the San Miguel Brewery. The original San Miguel Brewery, Inc. was founded in San Miguel, Manila, as La Fábrica de Cerveza San Miguel in 1890 by Enri ...

PBA career statistics

, - , align="left" , 1975 , align="left" , Crispa , 44 , , 15.55 , , .516 , , .000 , , .682 , , 5.23 , , 0.59 , , 0.16 , , 0.55 , , 6.6 , - , align="left" , 1976 , align="left" , Crispa , 51 , , 17.59 , , .507 , , .000 , , .712 , , 6.02 , , 0.47 , , 0.24 , , 0.47 , , 8.9 , - , align="left" , 1977 , align="left" , Crispa , 63 , , 20.92 , , .518 , , .000 , , .717 , , 5.84 , , 1.24 , , 0.27 , , 0.78 , , 11.8 , - , align="left" , 1978 , align="left" , Crispa , 45 , , 22.22 , , .538 , , .000 , , .678 , , 6.93 , , 1.24 , , 0.18 , , 1.21 , , 13.4 , - , align="left" , 1979 , align="left" , Crispa , 61 , , 23.49 , , .572 , , .000 , , .791 , , 7.33 , , 1.21 , , 0.16 , , 1.21 , , 12.2 , - , align="left" , 1980 , align="left" , Crispa , 59 , , 23.61 , , .518 , , .333 , , .784 , , 8.29 , , 1.69 , , 0.29 , , 0.80 , , 14.8 , - , align="left" , 1981 , align="left" , Crispa , 52 , , 23.23 , , .469 , , .000 , , .796 , , 7.04 , , 1.60 , , 0.33 , , 0.71 , , 13.8 , - , align="left" , 1982 , align="left" , Crispa , 54 , , 28.81 , , .582 , , .000 , , .724 , , 9.13 , , 2.17 , , 0.22 , , 0.83 , , 16.5 , - , align="left" , 1983 , align="left" , Crispa , 59 , , 31.08 , , .592 , , .500 , , .759 , , 8.69 , , 3.49 , , 0.25 , , 0.88 , , 17.9 , - , align="left" , 1984 , align="left" , Crispa , 61 , , 34.03 , , .584 , , .286 , , .768 , , 11.38 , , 3.33 , , 0.51 , , 1.72 , , 21.0 , - , align="left" , 1985 , align="left" , Tanduay , 50 , , 39.40 , , .552 , , .263 , , .742 , , 11.18 , , 4.46 , , 0.50 , , 1.44 , , 22.8 , - , align="left" , 1985 , align="left" , Manila Beer , 17 , , 28.29 , , .523 , , .000 , , .843 , , 6.35 , , 2.12 , , 0.82 , , 0.71 , , 14.3 , - , align="left" , 1985 , align="left" , 2 Teams (Combined) , 67 , , 33.85 , , .546 , , ..227 , , .759 , , 9.96 , , 3.87 , , 0.58 , , 1.25 , , 20.66 , - , align="left" , 1986 , align="left" , Manila Beer , 38 , , 35.53 , , .493 , , .364 , , .767 , , 9.84 , , 2.68 , , 0.55 , , 0.87 , , 15.1 , - , align="left" , 1987 , align="left" , Magnolia/San Miguel , 64 , , 35.97 , , .496 , , .143 , , .822 , , 10.70 , , 2.94 , , 0.14 , , 0.77 , , 19.3 , - , align="left" , 1988 , align="left" , San Miguel Beer , 47 , , 34.66 , , .505 , , .167 , , .822 , , 11.49 , , 3.32 , , 0.30 , , 0.70 , , 19.9 , - , align="left" , 1988 , align="left" , Purefoods , 10 , , 28.10 , , .491 , , .000 , , .818 , , 6.60 , , 2.80 , , 0.30 , , 0.30 , , 13.5 , - , align="left" , 1988 , align="left" , 2 Teams (Combined) , 57 , , 31.38 , , .504 , , .143 , , .746 , , 10.63 , , 3.23 , , 0.30 , , 0.63 , , 18.81 , - , align="left" , 1989 , align="left" , Alaska , 29 , , 29.38 , , .499 , , .400 , , .876 , , 9.76 , , 2.28 , , 0.34 , , 1.00 , , 16.4 , - , align="left" , 1990 , align="left" , Alaska , 36 , , 31.00 , , .546 , , .000 , , .783 , , 8.14 , , 2.14 , , 0.25 , , 1.00 , , 15.9 , - , align="left" , 1990 , align="left" , Pepsi , 10 , , 37.50 , , .596 , , .000 , , .857 , , 7.70 , , 2.20 , , 0.20 , , 0.30 , , 20.4 , - , align="left" , 1991 , align="left" , 2 Teams (Combined) , 17 , , 34.25 , , .559 , , .000 , , .801 , , 8.04 , , 2.15 , , 0.24 , , 0.85 , , 16.8 , - , align="left" , 1991 , align="left" , Pepsi , 43 , , 32.49 , , .513 , , .000 , , .798 , , 7.95 , , 2.44 , , 0.34 , , 1.19 , , 16.8 , - , align="left" , 1992 , align="left" , 7-Up , 55 , , 34.55 , , .514 , , .333 , , .802 , , 7.78 , , 3.40 , , 0.64 , , 0.95 , , 16.9 , - , align="left" , 1993 , align="left" , 7-Up , 21 , , 28.57 , , .491 , , .000 , , .774 , , 7.05 , , 1.86 , , 0.52 , , 0.62 , , 13.4 , - , align="left" , 1993 , align="left" , Shell Helix Ultra , 9 , , 16.89 , , .525 , , .000 , , .875 , , 4.56 , , 1.11 , , 0.22 , , 0.55 , , 5.4 , - , align="left" , 1994 , align="left" , Shell Rimula X , 50 , , 18.62 , , .553 , , .000 , , .794 , , 4.44 , , 0.72 , , 0.16 , , 0.50 , , 8.0 , - , align="left" , 1995 , align="left" , Shell , 54 , , 15.65 , , .488 , , .000 , , .760 , , 3.43 , , 0.74 , , 0.30 , , 0.19 , , 4.5 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 1081 , , 27.49 , , .531 , , .350 , , .776 , , 7.93 , , 2.11 , , 0.31 , , 0.85 , , 14.6

Retirement and later life

In 2000, he was named as one of the PBA's 25 greatest players of all-time in elaborate awards ceremonies that highlighted the 25th anniversary of the league. After his retirement, he went into the construction business, and in 2003, he migrated to New Jersey in the United States with his family. Even in the U.S. he actively took part in benefit basketball events staged by the PBA Legends USA Foundation. In 2007, he was enshrined into the

PBA Hall of Fame The Philippine Basketball Association Hall of Fame is an institution that honors selected former players and personalities of the Philippine Basketball Association. It was launched on May 29, 2005, during the Reunion Game pitting two teams consis ...

along with Manny Paner,

Danny Florencio Danilo Zoleta Florencio (September 5, 1947 – February 25, 2018) was a Filipino professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league ...

, and

Norman Black Norman Augustus Black (born November 12, 1957) is the current Consultant to the San Beda University Red Lions Basketball team playing in the NCAA Philippines. He is a former professional basketball player who played in the CBA, NBA, and PBA. ...

. In 2010, he suffered from a serious ailment called

Myasthenia Gravis Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a long-term neuromuscular junction disease that leads to varying degrees of skeletal muscle weakness. The most commonly affected muscles are those of the eyes, face, and swallowing. It can result in double vision, ...

and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for eight days. He managed to survive from the illness by taking steroids. In 2012, he suffered two strokes in a span of one week, and was diagnosed with meningitis. He was again admitted to the ICU as a result.

Personal life

Guidaben, with his wife, Maridol, has four children (Maria Elizabeth, JR, Michael and Katherine) and several grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guidaben, Abet 1952 births Living people Alaska Aces (PBA) players Centers (basketball) Crispa Redmanizers players Basketball players at the 1974 Asian Games Filipino emigrants to the United States Magnolia Hotshots players Manila Beer Brewmasters players Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Philippines men's national basketball team players Filipino men's basketball players 1974 FIBA World Championship players Power forwards San Miguel Beermen players Shell Turbo Chargers players Sportspeople from Camiguin Tanduay Rhum Masters players TNT Tropang 5G players USJ-R Jaguars basketball players Asian Games basketball players for the Philippines 20th-century Filipino sportsmen