Danilo Cabonitalla Ildefonso (born December 9, 1976) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He currently serves as an assistant coach for both the Converge FiberXers 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) and 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 ...

of the

UAAP The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), established in 1938, is an athletic association of eight Metro Manila universities in the Philippines. The eight-member schools are Adamson University (AdU), Ateneo de Manila Univer ...

. Nicknamed "Danny I", "The Demolition Man" and "Lakáy", Ildefonso was awarded PBA Most Valuable Player in 2000 and 2001, being one of four players to do so in back-to-back seasons (along with

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 ...

, Alvin Patrimonio, and June Mar Fajardo). He is also one of the few PBA players to have won all three major MVP awards in the league: regular season, finals, and all-star game MVP. He was picked 1st overall in the 1998 PBA draft and the 2014 PBA Expansion Draft, becoming the only player in the PBA to be drafted first-overall two times and being drafted first-overall in the draft and the expansion draft. Ildefonso played amateur basketball for the

National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. In the United States, the term "national university" connotes the highe ...

Bulldogs in the

and for

AGFA Agfa-Gevaert N.V. (Agfa) is a Belgian-German multinational corporation that develops, manufactures, and distributes Analog photography, analogue and digital imaging products, software, and systems. The company began as a dye manufacturer in 1867 ...

in the Philippine Basketball League and a member of the

Philippine national basketball team The Philippines men's national basketball team (), commonly known as Gilas Pilipinas, is the basketball team representing the Philippines. The team is managed by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (Basketball Federation of the Philippines or s ...

on several occasions. He started his PBA career in 1998, when he was drafted by Formula Shell. In 2013, after 15 years with San Miguel, he was waived by the team and then joined the Meralco Bolts in the same year. He spent one season with Meralco before being released to the 2014 Expansion Draft. However,

Blackwater Elite The Blackwater Bossing is a professional basketball team owned by Ever Bilena, Inc. that is playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) beginning in the 2014–2015 season. The franchise started as one of the founding teams in the ...

who drafted him, did not sign him because of contract problems, stating that Ildefonso is expecting too much salary on the team. Ildefonso defended himself stating that his wage with the team is very low. In late 2014, Ildefonso returned to Meralco.

Amateur career

Ildefonso was discovered after suiting up for his native

Pangasinan Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan (, ; ; ), is a coastal Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its capital is Lingayen, Pangasinan, Lingayen while San Carlos, Pangasi ...

in the Palarong Pambansa. He played for the NU Bulldogs in the UAAP, teaming up with fellow Pangasinense and later-AGFA and San Miguel teammate Lordy Tugade, leading the Bulldogs to respectable finishes in the UAAP. He later played for AGFA in the Philippine Basketball League but had a difficult time leading the Photokina franchise to the title, losing to Tanduay in championship matches. He was regarded as the second-best big man of his class behind Rommel Adducul, and was highly sought after by then-SMB coach Ron Jacobs after seeing the potential in his rail-thin frame. The tremendous potential seen in his combination of youth, footwork, leaping ability and work ethic as shown by him bulking up after only two seasons in the PBA were enough to convince San Miguel to trade their number two pick, Noy Castillo, and cash for the first overall pick Ildefonso. Ildefonso was also involved in some controversy after signing with the now-defunct Pangasinan Presidents of the

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

, having a live contract with AGFA and at the same time being selected in the draft. San Miguel had to buy out all his contractual obligations for him to suit up with the Beermen. Ildefonso led the Philippines to a gold-medal in 1997 Southeast Asian Games alongside Rommel Adducul and Ralph Rivera.

Professional career

San Miguel Beermen/Petron Blaze Boosters (1998–2013)

Early years (1998–00)

After a successful amateur career, Danny Ildefonso applied for the PBA draft despite being underage. This prompted the PBA to change their age limit rules, enraging the PBL. Even as Ildefonso entered the draft, he also signed a contract to play for the Pangasinan Presidents of the newly formed

Metropolitan Basketball Association The Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA), also shortened as Metroball, was a professional basketball league in the Philippines that ran for five seasons from 1998 until 2002. The MBA was established to rival the Philippine Basketball Asso ...

. Ildefonso was eventually drafted first-pick overall by Formula Shell in the 1998 PBA draft, but was traded to San Miguel for the Beermen's second overall pick, Noy Castillo, and cash. The

San Miguel Corporation San Miguel Corporation (), abbreviated as SMC, is a Philippine multinational conglomerate with headquarters in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. The company is one of the largest and most diversified conglomerates in the Philippines. Originally fo ...

franchise wanted the promising youngster in their ranks to be the future cornerstone of the team and this forced them to buy out his MBA contract. In his rookie season, Ildefonso became one of the key players for the Beermen alongside Nelson Asaytono, leading the Beermen to two runner-up finish in the All-Filipino and Commissioner's Cup, losing to

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

on both occasions. At season's end, he won the Rookie of the Year honors while averaging 11.6 PPG in 74 Games which led all Rookies in 1998. The next season, with the departure of Asaytono and the arrival of Filipino-American rookie Danny Seigle and the performances of imports Terquin Mott and Lamont Strothers, San Miguel won two titles in the 1999 Commissioner's Cup and Governor's Cup, ending a five-year title drought.

Back-to-Back MVP Awards (2000–01)

In 2000, Ildefonso and Seigle would again lead San Miguel to two titles, retaining the Commissioner's and Governor's Cup championships. Ildefonso won two of the five straight Best Player of the Conference honors and defeated Seigle to win the Most Valuable Player Awards. In 2001, San Miguel defeated sister team Barangay Ginebra Kings, 4–2 to win the All-Filipino Cup. Despite two losses to

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...

and Sta. Lucia in the Commissioner's Cup and Governor's Cup finals series, Ildefonso went on to sweep the Best Player of the Conference honors and won his second Most Valuable Player Award, joining

and Alvin Patrimonio as the only players to win the said award on back-to-back seasons. He also won the All-Star Game MVP honors for the victorious Veterans team. With this feature, Danny Ildefonso became one of the rare players to have won all three major MVP awards in the league: regular season, all-star game, and finals MVP.

Injury plagued seasons (2002–07)

In 2002, Ildefonso temporary left San Miguel to join the Philippine National Training Pool in the preparation for the

2002 Asian Games The 2002 Asian Games, officially known as the XIV Asian Games and also known as Busan 2002 (), were an international multi-sport event held in Busan, South Korea from September 29 to October 14, 2002. Due to schedule impediments the football tour ...

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

. Ildefonso went on to join the team for the event but struggled throughout the Asiad, mainly due to his role of playing small forward, instead of his natural position of power forward. The Nationals ended up in fourth place after losing a heartbreaking semis matchup against South Korea. Ildefonso returned to the Beermen in the All-Filipino Cup but the Beermen placed only third in the said tournament. Ildefonso would play inconsistent games as well as missing several games due to injuries in the 2003 season and the early parts of the 2004–05 season. During the 2005 Fiesta Conference, the Beermen made it to the semifinals against Red Bull. Ildefonso played one of his best games of the tournament, and hit numerous clutch shots in the tournament, including a series-clinching game-winning fade away over the outstretched arms of Red Bull import Earl Barron to lead San Miguel to the finals against the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals. In the championship series, Ildefonso again played another impressive performance for San Miguel, leading them to their first title since 2001 and defeating the Phone Pals, 4–1. During the series, Ildefonso made a game-winning layup in game 2 against Asi Taulava and in Game 5, a running jumper that put San Miguel in the lead for good to clinch the series. Ildefonso was named Finals MVP. Ildefonso was fined 5,000 pesos by the league after two technical fouls during Game 3 of the 2006–07 Philippine Cup semis. After a first technical foul after a verbal exchange with Mick Pennisi, he was ejected in the fourth quarter during a face-to-face verbal exchange with Enrico Villanueva.

Ups and downs (2008–11)

Bothered by injuries, Ildefonso missed much of the 2008–09 season. In April 2008, he was voted to play as a starter for the North squad in the PBA All-Star Game. However, the former two-time MVP did not play in the All Star Game, as PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios accepted his request to be with his six-year-old daughter who was scheduled for chemotherapy treatment on the same day. The Petron Blaze Boosters reached the PBA finals this conference after a bad record last conference. He hit a game winning shot in Game 1 against Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters in a come from behind winning score of 89–88. Despite having injuries to four key players, Petron Blaze Boosters defeated the heavily favored Talk and Text for the Governor's Cup Championship, slamming the Texter's bid for a grandslam. His effectiveness and contribution earned him the Comeback Player award last season. On January 11, 2012, in a game against the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters, Ildefonso scored a season high 22 points after going 11 of 14 from the field, including a baseline spinner that gave them an 81–80 lead entering the final two minutes. Petron ultimately defeated Talk N' Text 85–82, to take a 3–1 lead in the semifinals of the Philippine Cup. Although Petron lost the series 4–3, the former two time MVP still played an important role for his team.

Final season with Petron (2012–13)

In the 2012–13 season Ildefonso played limited minutes and mostly came off the bench. The two time MVP averaged 1.29 points, 6.93 minutes and 1.57 rebounds in only 14 games, the worst season in his 15 years in the PBA. In his final season, he played an important role by mentoring Petron's 2012 top draft pick June Mar Fajardo, to improve the latter's performances and rebounding.

2013 Free Agency

When the 38th season ended, for the first time since he was acquired by San Miguel Corp.'s flagship franchise from Shell in a draft-day trade in 1998, Danny Ildefonso's name was conspicuously missing from the team's official roster. Team sources revealed Ildefonso has indeed been released by Petron after 15 years of playing in his mother team. Sources also said the many-time All-Star has no plan to move to another team and the only thing he wants at this time is to mend his relationship with his longtime team.

Meralco Bolts (2013–2014)

After being a free agent for the first time in his career and missing the early games of the 2013–2014 season, Ildefonso was signed by the Meralco Bolts to a one-conference contract. When asked upon the two-time MVP's arrival, head coach

Ryan Gregorio Paul Ryan C. Gregorio (born April 7, 1972) and nicknamed by some as "Coach R.G." is a Filipino professional basketball coach. He was head coach of the Meralco Bolts in the Philippine Basketball Association from 2010 to 2014. Gregorio began his ...

said: “I honestly believe that DI still has what it takes to compete at a high level in the PBA. He has been aching for teams to give him a venue to display what he has and we are more than willing to provide him with the opportunity. He has championship experience and high basketball intelligence; things that you cannot teach as a basketball coach, but, you learn through time as a basketball player". Ildefonso made his debut for Meralco on January 4, 2014, playing 29 minutes and scoring 14 points to help his team win 92–88 in overtime and stopping a 4-game losing streak. At the end of the 2013–2014 season, Ildefonso became an "unprotected" player and Meralco decided to release him to the 2014 Expansion Draft.

Blackwater Elite and return to Meralco Bolts (2014–2015)

Ildefonso was eventually drafted by debuting expansion team

as first pick overall, making him the only player in the PBA to be drafted first-overall two times and being drafted first-overall in the draft and the expansion draft. At the start of the 2014–15 season, however, Blackwater did not sign him because of contract problems, stating that Ildefonso was expecting too much salary on the team. The veteran player defended himself stating that his wage with the team is very low. In late 2014, Ildefonso re–signed with the Meralco Bolts. The two-time MVP made his PBA return on October 28, 2014, in an 83–75 win against Blackwater, the team that released him a few weeks earlier.

Retirement and comeback

On August 23, 2015, he formally announced his retirement to give way for the last team he played, the Meralco Bolts, to rebuild their frontline. On March 2, 2023, while being an assistant coach for the Converge FiberXers, Ildefonso was activated as their 15th local player in the lineup, thus confirming his official comeback in the PBA. He played his debut for the team on March 3, playing four minutes and recording one rebound. In August 2024, Ildefonso was cited and fined P20,000 by PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial for his

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

feeder team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

statements on Dave's NorthPort Batang Pier pending agreement.

Political career

Ildefonso is currently serving as a Barangay Captain in his hometown and is currently running for councilor of

Urdaneta, Pangasinan Urdaneta, officially the City of Urdaneta (; ; ), is a component city in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 144,577 people. History Urdaneta City was founded on January 8, 1858, by P ...

in the 2025 Philippine general election.

PBA career statistics

''As of the end of 2022–23 season''
Real GM

Season-by-season averages

, - , align="left" , 1998 PBA season, 1998 , align="left" , San Miguel , 74 , , 32.8 , , .497 , , .222 , , .700 , , 5.0 , , 1.6 , , .2 , , 1.0 , , 11.7 , - , align="left" ,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, align="left" , San Miguel , 55 , , 41.7 , , .481 , , .125 , , .725 , , 8.8 , , 2.0 , , .5 , , 1.2 , , 12.9 , - , align="left" ,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, align="left" , San Miguel , 55 , , 38.8 , , .482 , , .154 , , .744 , , 8.8 , , 3.2 , , .4 , , .8 , , 15.2 , - , align="left" ,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, align="left" , San Miguel , 70 , , 42.2 , , .433 , , .222 , , .675 , , 8.6 , , 4.5 , , .7 , , .9 , , 14.7 , - , align="left" ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, align="left" , San Miguel , 12 , , 35.3 , , .472 , , .417 , , .639 , , 7.8 , , 4.2 , , .5 , , .5 , , 12.3 , - , align="left" ,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, align="left" , San Miguel , 36 , , 29.8 , , .470 , , .250 , , .715 , , 6.4 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , , 1.1 , , 13.0 , - , align="left" , 2004–05 , align="left" , San Miguel , 65 , , 29.9 , , .479 , , .143 , , .660 , , 7.0 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , 12.7 , - , align="left" , 2005–06 , align="left" , San Miguel , 44 , , 32.4 , , .434 , , .250 , , .656 , , 6.4 , , 3.1 , , .6 , , .8 , , 12.1 , - , align="left" , 2006–07 , align="left" , San Miguel , 48 , , 28.0 , , .475 , , .000 , , .651 , , 6.6 , , 2.3 , , .7 , , .7 , , 12.4 , - , align="left" , 2007–08 , align="left" ,

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...

, 40 , , 25.2 , , .452 , , .158 , , .690 , , 4.8 , , 1.9 , , .9 , , .5 , , 9.7 , - , align="left" , 2008–09 , align="left" , San Miguel , 19 , , 21.6 , , .436 , , .000 , , .642 , , 4.5 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .3 , , 10.4 , - , align="left" , 2009–10 , align="left" , San Miguel , 39 , , 17.0 , , .449 , , .500 , , .673 , , 3.2 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .4 , , 6.9 , - , align="left" , 2010–11 , align="left" , San Miguel / Petron , 48 , , 23.2 , , .508 , , .143 , , .549 , , 4.9 , , 2.3 , , .6 , , .5 , , 7.5 , - , align="left" , 2011–12 , align="left" ,

Petron Petron Corporation is the largest oil refining and marketing company in the Philippines, supplying more than a third of the country's oil requirements. It operates a refinery in Limay, Bataan with a rated capacity of . From the refinery, Petron ...

, 40 , , 22.4 , , .488 , , .154 , , .524 , , 5.1 , , 2.1 , , .7 , , .6 , , 8.1 , - , align="left" , 2012–13 , align="left" ,

, 14 , , 6.9 , , .310 , , — , , .000 , , 1.6 , , 0.6 , , .1 , , .4 , , 1.3 , - , align="left" , 2013–14 , align="left" ,

Meralco The Manila Electric Company, also known as Meralco (, , stylized in uppercase), is an electric power distribution company in the Philippines. It is Metro Manila's only electric power distributor and holds the power distribution franchise for 3 ...

, 21 , , 12.3 , , .389 , , — , , .692 , , 2.2 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , .4 , , 3.1 , - , align="left" , 2014–15 , align="left" ,

, 34 , , 9.6 , , .382 , , .000 , , .529 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , .2 , , .1 , , 2.3 , - , align="left" , 2022–23 , align="left" ,

Converge Converge may refer to: * Converge (band), American hardcore punk band * Converge (Baptist denomination), American national evangelical Baptist body * Limit (mathematics) In mathematics, a limit is the value that a function (or sequence) app ...

, 1 , , 4.3 , , .000 , , — , , — , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - , align="center" colspan=2 , Career , 715 , , 29.2 , , .466 , , .198 , , .674 , , 6.0 , , 2.3 , , 0.6 , , 0.7 , , 10.8

Personal life

Ildefonso's life story, from his struggles with poverty in his younger years to his rise to basketball superstardom, were dramatized on ''

Maalaala Mo Kaya (, abbreviated as ''MMK'') is a Philippine television drama anthology series broadcast by ABS-CBN and Kapamilya Channel. Hosted by Charo Santos-Concio, its first iteration was aired from May 15, 1991 to December 10, 2022. It is the longest ...

'' in 2004, where he was portrayed by Victor Neri.

References

External links

PBA.ph
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ildefonso, Danny 1976 births Living people Alaska Aces (PBA) coaches Asian Games competitors for the Philippines Basketball players at the 2002 Asian Games Basketball players from Pangasinan Centers (basketball) Converge FiberXers coaches Converge FiberXers players Filipino men's basketball coaches Filipino men's basketball players Ilocano people Meralco Bolts players NU Bulldogs basketball coaches NU Bulldogs basketball players People from Urdaneta, Pangasinan Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Philippines men's national basketball team players Power forwards San Miguel Beermen players Shell Turbo Chargers draft picks