Aljon Escalona Mariano (born August 3, 1992) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 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, Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. (formerly, La Tondeña Distiller ...

of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

(PBA). He was drafted with the 16th overall pick in the 2015 PBA draft by the

College career

Rookie season

Mariano joined the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is tradition ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. Mariano played limited minutes with the Tigers during his first season with the team.

Second season

In his second season, Mariano became a starter for the Tigers, while averaging 7.1 points per game and 3.1 rebounds per game. Unfortunately, the inexperienced Tigers failed to return to the Final Four and finished 7th in the standings at 4–10 ahead of the UP Fighting Maroons.

Injury and return

Mariano sat out the entire season in

UAAP Season 74 UAAP Season 74 was the 2011–2012 athletic year of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. It was hosted by Ateneo de Manila University. The men's basketball and the women's volleyball tournaments were aired by ABS-CBN Channel 2 a ...

due to a fractured ankle which kept him out of action for 6 months. Mariano returned to the Tigers the following season. In a game against the

Ateneo Blue Eagles The Ateneo Blue Eagles are the collegiate varsity teams of the Ateneo de Manila University that play in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the premiere collegiate league in the Philippines. The Ateneo collegiate ...

, Mariano scored a career-high 21 points and 13 rebounds as he led the Tigers to snap a 12-game losing streak against the Blue Eagles 71–70. In a game against the De La Salle Green Archers, Mariano scored all of his 15 points in the 4th quarter and in the two overtime periods, including the game-winning basket with 7.1 seconds left as the Tigers defeat the Green Archers in double overtime 84–82. Then in their second round meeting against the

NU Bulldogs The NU Bulldogs, Lady Bulldogs, Bullpups and Lady Bullpups are the collegiate men's and women's, and high school men's and women's, respectively, varsity teams of National University (NU) in the University Athletic Association of the Philippin ...

, Mariano set another career-high 22 points, including the game winner with 4.4 seconds left in overtime as he led the Tigers to an overtime victory against the Bulldogs 58–57. The Tigers were able to advance to the

UAAP Final Four The UAAP Final Four refers to the postseasons of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) tournaments. The term "final four" came from the National Collegiate Athletic Association of the United States' men's Division I basket ...

as the #2 seed with a 10–4 record in the elimination round, they were able to defeat the

to advance to the UAAP Finals and faced off against the

but were swept in the Finals 2–0 as the Blue Eagles completed their five-peat. Mariano finished the season averaging 13.3 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game and 2.2 assists per game on 42% shooting from the field, 36% shooting from 3-point range and 67% free throw shooting. In the

Philippine Collegiate Champions League The Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) was a national collegiate basketball championship league in the Philippines. Its tournament, known as the "National Collegiate Championship" (NCC) is sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pili ...

later that year, Mariano would play a key part in the Tigers run in the tournament as they first won the Metro Manila-Luzon tournament by defeating both the

Letran Knights The Letran Knights and Lady Knights are the collegiate varsity teams representing Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The high school varsity teams are called the ''Squires''. The college's varsity te ...

and the

Adamson Soaring Falcons The Adamson Soaring Falcons, Lady Falcons, Baby Falcons and Lady Baby Falcons are the collegiate men's and women's, and high school men's and women's, respectively, varsity teams of Adamson University that play in the University Athletic Associa ...

to enter into the PCCL Final Four with the

San Beda Red Lions The San Beda Red Lions and Lionesses are the collegiate varsity teams of the San Beda University, best known for their basketball section.Malonso, J. ''"NCAA: A HISTORY''". NCAA(Phils) Homepage. Online. Internet. Accessed 23 May 200NCAA Philippi ...

and the Southwestern U Cobras. The Tigers would finish with a 2–1 record in the Final Four to set up a rematch with the Blue Eagles in the Finals, where the Tigers exacted their revenge against the Eagles as they were crowned the National Champions after winning the title in a tightly contested three-game series.

Fourth season

In his fourth season with the Tigers, Mariano fought through an ankle injury throughout the season as the Tigers struggled throughout the season after coming off their runner-up finish the previous season and their national championship run. Despite the injury, Mariano would be a key catalyst to the Tigers' run throughout the season as the Tigers made a stunning bid to return UAAP Finals where they battled the De La Salle Green Archers. Mariano however would struggle during the Finals against the Archers. In Game 3 of the Finals, he missed the title-clinching jumper that sent the game into overtime and would turn the ball over in the final moments that led to the title-clinching jumper by Almond Vosotros as the Archers won the title with a Game 3 win over the Tigers 71–69. Mariano ended the season averaging 11.4 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game and 2.1 assists per game on 40% shooting from the field and 66% shooting from the free throw line.

Final season

In his final season with the Tigers, with new head coach Bong dela Cruz taking the helm from Pido Jarencio, Mariano was named the captain of the Tigers with the departure of Jeric Teng last season. However, the Tigers were riddled with injuries late in the season as Mariano ended his college playing career with the Tigers missing the Final Four. Mariano in his final season with the Tigers averaged 11 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game, and 1.4 assists per game on 34% shooting from the field and 30% shooting from three-point range.

Professional career

On August 23, 2015, Mariano was drafted by the

in the 2015 PBA draft as the sixteenth overall pick.

PBA career statistics

''As of the end of 2022–23 season''

Season-by-season averages

, - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 26 , , 10.6 , , .460 , , .000 , , .429 , , 2.6 , , .5 , , .1 , , .1 , , .3 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 35 , , 10.2 , , .462 , , .000 , , .610 , , 2.6 , , .3 , , .2 , , .1 , , 3.1 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 42 , , 14.9 , , .463 , , .250 , , .651 , , 3.4 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .1 , , 4.9 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 45 , , 11.1 , , .468 , , .000 , , .545 , , 2.5 , , .9 , , .2 , , .1 , , 3.2 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 22 , , 26.0 , , .455 , , .200 , , .754 , , 6.1 , , 2.0 , , .5 , , .3 , , 8.5 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 14 , , 15.5 , , .442 , , .444 , , .400 , , 2.6 , , .9 , , .3 , , .1 , , 3.1 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 55 , , 11.3 , , .416 , , .258 , , .538 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .1 , , .1 , , 2.7 , -class=sortbottom , align="center" colspan=2 , Career , 239 , , 13.2 , , .452 , , .237 , , .628 , , 2.8 , , .8 , , .2 , , .1 , , 3.7

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mariano, Aljon 1992 births Living people Barangay Ginebra San Miguel players Filipino men's basketball players Small forwards UST Growling Tigers basketball players San Beda University alumni Power forwards Sportspeople from Mandaluyong Barangay Ginebra San Miguel draft picks 21st-century Filipino sportsmen