Karl Matthew Seson Dehesa is a Filipino-American former professional

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 (appro ...

player. He was drafted 22nd overall in the 3rd round of the 2012 PBA draft by the Alaska Aces, but was left unsigned. He has since played in the

ABL ABL may refer to: Aviation * Airborne Laser, a weapons system designed for use by the United States military * Air Busan of South Korea (ICAO airline code) * IATA airport code for Ambler Airport in State of Alaska, USA Companies, groups, organiz ...

, PBA, the FIBA 3x3 Men's Pro Circuit, the

PBA 3x3 PBA 3x3 was the men's 3x3 basketball, 3x3 basketball league of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). History The proposal to form PBA 3x3, a men's 3x3 basketball, 3x3 basketball league, was a result of a joint partnership between the Phi ...

, and has represented the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

in national 3x3 competitions.

High school and college career

Dehesa played for St. Anthony High School, and earned the All CIF First Team Honors during his junior and senior years. For college, he attended

Waldorf University Waldorf University is a private for-profit university in Forest City, Iowa. It was founded in 1903 and associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and its predecessors. In 2010, it was sold to Columbia Southern University and becam ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

on a basketball scholarship, where he averaged 16 points per game and was awarded 1st Team All-Conference in the

Midwest Collegiate Conference The Midwest Collegiate Conference (MCC) was a college athletic conference, consisting of colleges and universities located in Iowa and Wisconsin. Founded in 1988, the conference's member schools competed on the NAIA level in 15 different sports. ...

during his senior season.

Professional career

2012 PBA draft

Dehesa was drafted 22nd overall by the Alaska Aces in the 2012 PBA draft. However, he was not signed by the Aces.

Saigon Heat (ABL)

In January 2013, Dehesa was signed by ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) team

Saigon Heat The Saigon Heat is a Vietnamese professional basketball team based in Ho Chi Minh City. Since the 2014 season, the Heat's home games are played at the CIS Arena on the campus of the Canadian International School in District 7. This is the fi ...

as one of the team's ASEAN Imports. However, in March 2013, just three months after he was signed, Dehesa was released by Saigon along with Phillip Morrison, another Filipino-American guard. They were both replaced by fellow Filipinos

Al Vergara Al Vergara (born December 20, 1979) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He last played for the Muntinlupa Cagers of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). Vergara started off his professional career with the Singapo ...

and Chris Sumalinog.

Kia Sorento / Kia Carnival / Mahindra Enforcer

In 2014, Dehesa was signed by the expansion team

Kia Sorento The Kia Sorento () is a series of two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive family SUVs manufactured by the South Korean manufacturer Kia since 2002 through four generations. Initially a compact SUV built on a body-on-frame chassis, the second-g ...

as a free agent. He scored 14 points in a win over the Aces. In a loss to the

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association owned by Asian Coatings Philippines, Inc. It debuted in the league in the 2006–07 PBA season after acquiring the franchise righ ...

during the 2015–16 Philippine Cup, he scored 20 points. He then had a career-high 24 points in a game Mahindra eventually lost to the

Star Hotshots The Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots, or simply known as the Magnolia Hotshots, are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association. The team is owned by San Miguel Food and Beverage, San Miguel Food and Beverage, I ...

Globalport Batang Pier

In 2016, Dehesa was traded 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 N ...

in a three-team trade. In a loss against his former team, he scored 13 points. In 2017, he became a free agent.

Phoenix Fuel Masters

The

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 ...

immediately signed Dehesa to their team. On August 7, 2018, he was traded to Alaska for

Calvin Abueva Calvin Abueva (born February 4, 1988) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the NorthPort Batang Pier of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was picked second overall by the Alaska Aces during the 2012 PBA Draft. He w ...

and a 2019 first round pick. They then dropped him to make way for

MJ Ayaay MJ may refer to: Fictional characters * M.J. Delfino, in ''Desperate Housewives'' * Mary Jane Watson, in Marvel comics ** Mary Jane Watson (2002 film series character), the film adaptation of the character * MJ (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a cha ...

3x3 career

In 2019, Dehesa then joined the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 League. His team was the Vigan Baluarte Wolves. In the 2019 Patriot's Cup, his team, the Wilkins-Balanga Pure, lost in the Finals to Phenom Basilan CTC Construction. They won the next cup, the Magiting Cup. In 2020, Dehesa, now playing for the Butuan City Uluan Roasters, got into a heated argument with Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguard player

Gab Banal Gabriel Banal (born September 9, 1990) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Quezon Huskers of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He was drafted 22nd overall pick in the 2nd round of the 2014 PBA Draft. After spend ...

after their semis loss. In 2021, Dehesa joined the

as a member of Platinum Karaoke. They won their first three games of the first conference. In 2022, for the second conference, he left the team and returned to the US.

PBA career statistics

Season-by-season averages

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, 28 , , 23.9 , , .320 , , .320 , , .857 , , 2.9 , , 1.4 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 7.8 , - , align=left , , align=left , Mahindra / GlobalPort , 29 , , 24.0 , , .375 , , .346 , , .769 , , 2.6 , , 2.3 , , 1.1 , , 0.1 , , 9.5 , - , align=left , , align=left , GlobalPort / Phoenix , 24 , , 11.7 , , .325 , , .233 , , .917 , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 3.0 , - , align=left , , align=left , Phoenix , 2 , , 17.9 , , .455 , , .600 , , .500 , , 3.5 , , 0.5 , , 1.5 , , 0.0 , , 7.5 , -class=sortbottom , align=center colspan=2 , Career , 85 , , 20.3 , , .345 , , .355 , , .810 , , 2.2 , , 1.4 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 6.9

National 3x3 team career

In 2015, Dehesa teamed up with

Vic Manuel Victorino Aranas Manuel (born June 18, 1987) is a Filipino professional basketball player and coach who plays for the Pangasinan Heatwaves of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He is also an assistant coach for the PSP Gymers of th ...

, and

Troy Rosario Jeth Troy Utanes Rosario (born January 20, 1992) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). College and amateur career Rosario played for two years at Techno ...

for the 2015

Fiba 3x3 World Tour The FIBA 3x3 World Tour is an international tour of men's 3x3 basketball teams representing cities. The tournament is organized by FIBA. The FIBA 3x3 Pro Series was launched in 2019. Qualification The FIBA 3x3 Men's Pro Circuit refers to the syst ...

Manila Masters. They lost in the Manila finals to NoviSad Al-Whada, but still qualified for the World Tour finals. In the World Tour Finals, they made it to the quarterfinals, where they were eliminated in a rematch with NoviSad. The following year, Dehesa teamed up with

Mac Belo Rey Mark G. "Mac" Belo (born February 12, 1993) is a Filipino professional basketball player who plays for the Zamboanga Valientes of The Asian Tournament (TAT). Early life Hailing from Midsayap, Cotabato, Belo was born on February 12, 1993. Hi ...

Russel Escoto Russel Dalusung Escoto (born December 4, 1992) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). PBA career statistics ''As of the end of 2023–24 season'' ...

, and

Glenn Khobuntin Glenn R. Khobuntin (born September 7, 1991) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the TNT Tropang 5G of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). High school career Khobuntin, a Cagayan de Oro native, studied high school at the Co ...

for the 2016 3x3 World Championships. They upset

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

in their first game. They ended the tournament in third place in their group with a win over

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. In 2019, Dehesa led his team to the semifinals in the 2019 Asia Pacific Super Quest. They made it to the Finals, where they lost to Tokyo Dime, but still qualified for the World Tour. In the 2019 Bucharest Challenger, his team only had exactly three players. In the Jeju Challenger, his team the Balanga Chooks, had no wins. In 2021, Dehesa was an alternate for the national 3x3 team for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament. However, he failed to travel with the team to the tournament after failing to complete quarantine protocols.

Personal life

Dehesa was born and raised in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

. He grew up a fan of the

Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

played basketball at a young age with his brother. Dehesa founded ALIGN Worldwide, a global basketball training service.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dehesa, Karl 1987 births Living people American sportspeople of Filipino descent Basketball players from California FIBA 3x3 World Tour players Filipino men's basketball players Filipino expatriate basketball people in Vietnam NorthPort Batang Pier players Terrafirma Dyip players Philippines national 3x3 basketball team players Philippines men's national basketball team players Phoenix Fuel Masters players Point guards Saigon Heat players Shooting guards Waldorf University alumni American men's basketball players Filipino men's 3x3 basketball players Alaska Aces (PBA) draft picks PBA 3x3 players 21st-century Filipino sportsmen