Jeric Marco Gray Fortuna (born November 25, 1991) is a Filipino professional basketball coach and former player. He was drafted 14th overall by the

Barako Bull Energy The Barako Bull Energy were a Philippine Basketball Association 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 Fiesta C ...

in the

2013 PBA draft The 2013 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Rookie Draft was an event, which allows teams to draft players from the amateur ranks. The event was held at Midtown Atrium, Robinson Place Manila on November 3, 2013. Draft lottery The lottery ...

. He is an assistant coach for the

UST Growling Tigers The UST Growling Tigers, Tigresses, Tiger Cubs and Tigress Cubs are the Collegiate athletics, collegiate and high school men's and women's varsity teams of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in the University Athletic Association of the Phili ...

of the

University Athletic Association of the Philippines 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 Univ ...

(UAAP).

College career

Rookie season

Fortuna joined the

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. Fortuna played limited minutes with the Tigers in favor of veteran point guard Japs Cuan during his rookie season and finished with averages of 3.7 points per game, 1.7 assists per game and 1.7 rebounds per game.

Second season

In his second season, Fortuna became the starting point guard for the Tigers replacing the already graduated Cuan. The Tigers finished the season 6-8 and made it to the

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

, but were defeated by 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 ...

in the Final Four 64-81. In his first season as the starting point guard, Fortuna finished the season averaging 8.0 points per game, 4.0 assists per game where he leads the team, 3.3 rebounds per game, 1.6 steals per game and 46% shooting from 3 point range which allowed him to win the Star Shooter award for the season.

Third season

In his third season, Fortuna once again led the Tigers in assists averaging 10.4 points per game, 4.7 assists per game, 3.7 rebounds per game and 1.1 steals per game. It was in this season when Fortuna set a UAAP career high 29 points in 87-81 victory against the

UP Fighting Maroons The UP Fighting Maroons are the collegiate varsity teams of the University of the Philippines Diliman. The teams play in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the Philippines' premier college sports league. UP is one o ...

. Unfortunately, the inexperienced Tigers failed to return to the Final Four and finished 7th in the standings at 4-10 ahead of the

Fourth season

In his fourth season, Fortuna led the Tigers in scoring and assists averaging 14.6 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game, 3.1 assists per game and 1.4 steals per game. Together with

Jeric Teng Jeric Allen Uy Teng (born March 18, 1991) is a Filipino basketball player who last played for the Quezon Huskers of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He was drafted 12th overall by Rain or Shine in the 2013 PBA draft. He played ...

, Chris Camus and rookie center Karim Abdul, the Tigers finished the season in 4th place with an 8-6 record and returned to the Final Four. In their Final Four match-up against the

, Fortuna had the chance to send the game into overtime with a three pointer, but his shot came too strong as the Tigers were knocked out by the Blue Eagles to advance to the Finals 66-69.

Final season

In his final season with the Tigers, Fortuna was named the captain of the Tigers with

as the co-captain. 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 ...

, Fortuna sank in a three pointer to tie the game at 51 and send it into overtime, in which the Tigers won 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. In his final season with the Tigers, Fortuna averaged 8.8 points per game, a league-leading 5.1 assists per game and 5.2 rebounds per game on 34% shooting from the field and 76% shooting from the free throw line. 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, Fortuna 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. Fortuna would later be named to the Mythical Five team for the tournament alongside teammates Karim Abdul and

who was crowned Finals MVP.

Professional career

San Miguel Beermen (ABL)

After the collegiate basketball season, Fortuna would start training for the

San Miguel Beermen 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 Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Magnolia ...

of the ASEAN Basketball League. Fortuna eventually made it into the lineup in the new ABL season, and would play a key part during their run to the championship as the Beermen were led by veterans like

Asi Taulava Pauliasi Taulava (born March 2, 1973) is a Tongan-born Filipino former professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Standing 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) tall and weighing 245 pounds (111 kg), Taulava is con ...

and

Chris Banchero Christopher Clark Guerrero Banchero (born January 24, 1989) is a Filipino–American professional basketball player for the Meralco Bolts of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was drafted fifth overall by Alaska in the 2014 PBA dr ...

. The Beermen would win the title against the Indonesia Warriors in a three-game sweep.

Barako Bull Energy

Fortuna was drafted 14th overall by Barako Bull in the

2013 PBA Draft The 2013 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Rookie Draft was an event, which allows teams to draft players from the amateur ranks. The event was held at Midtown Atrium, Robinson Place Manila on November 3, 2013. Draft lottery The lottery ...

San Miguel Beermen

Fortuna was traded to the

for 3rd stringer

Paolo Hubalde Dean Paulo Villegas Hubalde (born January 24, 1981) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Cebu Classic of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He is the son of PBA great, Freddie Hubalde. Hubalde plays the guard po ...

where he was reunited with head coach

Leo Austria Leovino "Leo" Austria (born March 14, 1958) is a Filipino professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He previously coached the team from 2014 to ...

who was also his coach on the Beermen's ABL team. During his tenure with the Beermen, Fortuna won two championships at both the Philippine Cup and Governors Cup.

Back to Barako Bull

On August 25, 2015, Jeric Fortuna was traded to the

(now known as

Phoenix Fuel Masters The Phoenix Fuel Masters is a professional basketball team owned by Phoenix Petroleum, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc., which debuted in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in the 2015–16 PBA season, 2016 2016 PBA Commissioner's C ...

) for

Brian Heruela Quinton Brian Heruela (born April 13, 1989) is a Filipino-American basketball player for the TNT Tropang 5G of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was the 26th pick in the 2014 PBA draft by Blackwater. College and amateur career ...

Trade to GlobalPort

On March 1, 2016, Fortuna was traded from Phoenix to

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 N ...

, in exchange of the 2nd round draft pick of the 2018 PBA draft. Fortuna, will reunite with his former collegiate coach

Pido Jarencio Alfredo Lorenzo "Pido" Mendoza Jarencio (born September 5, 1964) is a Filipino basketball coach and former professional player. He is the head coach for the UST Growling Tigers of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). ...

in his new team.

PBA career statistics

''Correct as of September 14, 2016''

Season-by-season averages

, - , align="left" , , align="left" , Barako Bull , 23 , , 21.6 , , .367 , , .348 , , 1.000 , , 2.5 , , 2.0 , , .4 , , .0 , , 6.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

San Miguel San Miguel, Spanish for Saint Michael, may refer to: Places Argentina *San Miguel Partido *San Miguel, Buenos Aires * San Miguel, Catamarca * San Miguel, Corrientes * San Miguel, La Rioja *San Miguel Arcángel, a Volga German colony in Adolfo Al ...

/ Barako Bull , 27 , , 9.0 , , .378 , , .255 , , .688 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .2 , , .0 , , 3.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Barako Bull / GlobalPort , 23 , , 15.8 , , .368 , , .345 , , .750 , , 2.0 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , .1 , , 5.1 , -class=sortbottom , align="center" colspan=2 , Career , 73 , , 15.2 , , .370 , , .325 , , .767 , , 1.8 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , .0 , , 4.9

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortuna, Jeric 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Parañaque Filipino men's basketball players Basketball players from Metro Manila Barako Bull Energy draft picks Barako Bull Energy players Manila Batang Quiapo players NorthPort Batang Pier players Phoenix Fuel Masters players San Miguel Beermen players San Miguel Alab Pilipinas players UST Growling Tigers basketball players Point guards 21st-century Filipino sportsmen