Jean Marc Prado Pingris Jr. (born October 16, 1981) is a Filipino 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 for the Biñan Tatak Gel of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and the Pilipinas Super League (PSL). Regarded as an all-time great in Philippine basketball, he was named one 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 ...

's 40 Greatest Players. He spent 14 seasons with the Purefoods franchise where he established his reputation as perhaps the best defender in the PBA for a long period of time and led them alongside James Yap and Peter June Simon to four-straight titles and a rare PBA Grand Slam as the San Mig Coffee Mixers in 2013–2014. Born in Pozorrubio, Pangasinan, Pingris started his career in the PBA being picked third overall at the 2004 PBA draft by

FedEx FedEx Corporation, originally known as Federal Express Corporation, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate holding company specializing in Package delivery, transportation, e-commerce, and ...

, and was traded to Purefoods after a few games. After spending three years with Purefoods, he was traded to San Miguel and was traded back again after a year. He 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 ...

and contributed heavily when they bagged the silver medal in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship that sent them to the 2014 FIBA World Cup. He currently serves as an assistant coach for the Philippine national team.

Early life and amateur career

Marc Pingris was born on October 16, 1981, to Jean Marc Pingris Sr. and Erlinda Prado, a former saleswoman at SM Cubao. When Pingris was three years old, his father left for work in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and separated from the family. Pingris idolized

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

. After his classes, he would study his lessons and do his homework then go to their barangay court to practice his "Jordan-like" skills in basketball. When he had no classes he would call up his friends and play basketball in other barangays. In high school, Pingris tried to play in their school try-outs but he was not accepted, but when he was in 2nd year he was finally accepted to their school's varsity team. During his collegiate years, he would go play for the varsity basketball team of the Philippine School of Business Administration. However, he started his career at the

Far Eastern University Far Eastern University (), also referred to by its acronym FEU, is a Private university, private research non-sectarian university in Manila, Philippines. Created by the merger of Far Eastern College and the Institute of Accounts, Business and ...

, Manila where he was formally discovered. Struggling financially, he once told in an interview that he had to practically eat left-overs of his teammates because he couldn't afford a meal and promised himself that he'd be able "to eat a delicious & nice meal someday". He also played for the Cebu Gems in the

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 ...

and for the Welcoat Paints in the Philippine Basketball League before declaring for the PBA draft.

Professional career

FedEx (2004–2005)

Pingris was selected by the

FedEx Express FedEx Express is a major American cargo airline based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. As of 2023, it is the world's List of largest airlines, largest cargo airline in terms of fleet size and freight tons flown. It is the namesake and leadi ...

with the 3rd overall pick in the 2004 PBA draft. The draft also featured two of his future teammates, Yap and Artadi from UE. Pingris played a few games with Air21 prior to the trade that sent him to the Purefoods TJ Hotdogs.

Purefoods (2005–2008)

He was traded to Purefoods after having played a few games with the Express. He was traded along with Egay Billones. In the 2005–06 PBA season, he was awarded with the Finals MVP in the 2006 PBA Philippine Cup as Purefoods defeated

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 ...

, 4–2. In game 2 of the finals of the 2006 season, he scored 21 points to lead Purefoods to a 93–82 win. In the 2007–08 PBA Philippine Cup finals, he grabbed a career-high 21 rebounds, leading to his new nickname, the ''rebounding demon''.

Magnolia/San Miguel (2008–2009)

When Purefoods center Rommel Adducul was diagnosed with nasopharynx cancer, Pingris was shipped to the Magnolia Beverage Masters for center Enrico Villanueva at the start of the

2008 PBA Fiesta Conference The 2008 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Fiesta Conference, also known as the 2008 Smart PBA Fiesta Conference for sponsorship reasons, was the last conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized o ...

. Pingris played his first game for Magnolia as a starter, going up against his former team, Purefoods.

Pingris–Santos trade

Before the 2009–10 PBA season, Pingris and Magnolia teammate Ken Bono were traded to the Burger King Whoppers for superstar Arwind Santos and San Miguel's 2010 first round pick. In a

Manila Bulletin The ''Manila Bulletin'' () (also known as the ''Bulletin'' and previously known as the ''Manila Daily Bulletin'' from 1906 to September 23, 1972, and the ''Bulletin Today'' from November 22, 1972, to March 10, 1986) is the Philippines' largest ...

interview, Burger King team owner Lito Alvarez further explained the trade: “The reason lang natagalan itong negotiation is we want a draft pick, not a player sa package because we already have 17 players including the three picks we’ll have in this Sunday’s draft.”

Return to Purefoods (2009–2019)

James Yap playing offensively against Aaron Aban

Barely 24 hours after being shipped to Burger King, Pingris was released to the Purefoods TJ Giants after Purefoods agreed to surrender its first and second round picks in 2010 to Burger King. Pingris' return to Purefoods was confirmed by board governor Rene Pardo in an interview with GMANews.TV: "We have agreed to trade our first and second round picks next year to Burger King for Pingris." Burger King Whoppers' board representative and then-incoming PBA chairman Lito Alvarez said that he felt that the trade was good for both teams, as Purefoods needed Pingris more, while the Whoppers planned to rebuild with their future draftees. In the Llamados' second game during the 2012 PBA Commissioner's Cup, Pingris grabbed five rebounds, making him the 42nd member of the league's 1,000 Offensive Rebound Club. For all of his hard work and contributions in the B-Meg's 2012 PBA Commissioner's Cup championship run, Pingris was aptly nicknamed "Pinoy Sakuragi". On October 14, 2016, Pingris was recognized during the PBA Leo Awards Night as he was named to the PBA All-Defensive Team.

Retirement and return (2019–2023)

2021-1225 PBA Mark Pingris and Peter June Simon jersey retirement

Pingris was to play for the Magnolia Hotshots in the PBA

bubble Bubble, Bubbles or The Bubble may refer to: Common uses * Bubble (physics), a globule of one substance in another, usually gas in a liquid ** Soap bubble * Economic bubble, a situation where asset prices are much higher than underlying fundame ...

during the 2020 season which was set up in late 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, but was unable to play for the team due to an injury. Pingris contract with the team expired on December 31, 2020, becoming a restricted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. He announced his retirement from competitive basketball in May 2021, after 16 years of playing in the PBA. On November 24, 2021, Pingris signed with the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League. However, on December 3, he deferred himself from playing with Nueva Ecija, stating his unreadiness on coming out from retirement.

Imus SV Squad (2023)

Pingris formally came out of retirement after signing a contract with another MPBL team, Imus SV Squad.

Sports administration

In January 2022, Pingris was appointed as commissioner of the Pilipinas Super League, a newly-established league at the time.

PBA career statistics

Season-by-season averages

, - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 55 , , 13.6 , , .569 , , .000 , , .548 , , 3.1 , , .4 , , .4 , , .4 , , 4.6 , - , align=left , , align=left , Purefoods , 57 , , 27.9 , , .515 , , .000 , , .606 , , 8.5 , , .9 , , .4 , , 1.6 , , 8.9 , - , align=left , , align=left , Purefoods , 24 , , 29.0 , , .588 , , — , , .509 , , 9.2 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , 1.3 , , 8.1 , - , align=left rowspan=2, , align=left , Purefoods , rowspan=2, 60 , , rowspan=2, 29.0 , , rowspan=2, .538 , , rowspan=2, — , , rowspan=2, .603 , , rowspan=2, 8.1 , , rowspan=2, 1.2 , , rowspan=2, .4 , , rowspan=2, 1.0 , , rowspan=2, 8.4 , - , 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 ...

, - , align=left , , align=left , San Miguel , 40 , , 22.4 , , .571 , , .000 , , .621 , , 5.9 , , 1.5 , , .2 , , .7 , , 6.8 , - , align=left , , align=left , Purefoods / B-Meg Derby Ace , 61 , , 32.0 , , .519 , , .000 , , .545 , , 8.0 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , .7 , , 7.3 , - , align=left , , align=left , B-Meg Derby Ace , 34 , , 32.3 , , .564 , , .000 , , .693 , , 9.4 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .9 , , 9.8 , - , align=left , , align=left , B-Meg , 59 , , 28.4 , , .571 , , .000 , , .596 , , 7.2 , , 1.9 , , .4 , , .6 , , 7.3 , - , align=left , , align=left , San Mig Coffee , 57 , , 31.4 , , .563 , , .000 , , .623 , , 7.8 , , 2.5 , , .6 , , .9 , , 9.2 , - , align=left , , align=left , San Mig Super Coffee , 68 , , 32.8 , , .501 , , .000 , , .615 , , 7.4 , , 2.7 , , .7 , , .8 , , 9.8 , - , align=left , , align=left , Purefoods / Star , 43 , , 31.3 , , .538 , , — , , .631 , , 7.2 , , 2.5 , , .5 , , .2 , , 7.9 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

Star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

, 35 , , 31.0 , , .516 , , .000 , , .607 , , 6.8 , , 2.1 , , .4 , , .4 , , 9.2 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 32 , , 28.7 , , .522 , , — , , .701 , , 7.8 , , 2.6 , , .6 , , .9 , , 8.1 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 12 , , 31.0 , , .485 , , — , , .583 , , 9.3 , , 3.1 , , .7 , , 1.1 , , 6.7 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 21 , , 14.7 , , .525 , , — , , .429 , , 3.7 , , .8 , , .3 , , .5 , , 3.4 , -class=sortbottom , align="center" colspan=2 , Career , 658 , , 28.0 , , .537 , , .000 , , .602 , , 7.3 , , 1.7 , , .5 , , .8 , , 7.9

Personal life

Pingris is married to actress Danica Sotto, daughter of

Vic Sotto Marvic Valentin "Vic" Castelo Sotto (born April 28, 1954), popularly known as Bossing, is a Filipino actor, comedian, and television personality. Prolific in film and television in the Philippines since the 1970s, he is known for playing comed ...

and

Dina Bonnevie Geraldyn "Dina" Schaer Bonnevie (, formerly Sotto, Penson, and Savellano; born January 27, 1962) is a Filipino people, Filipino actress. She is recognized as the industry's "Drama Queen" of her generation. She has won 2 FAMAS Award, FAMAS Awa ...

. They have three children, a son named Jean Michael, a daughter named Anielle Micaela or Caela and Jean Luc who was born in January 2023. In May, 2024, his wife Danica underwent a successful

cholecystectomy Cholecystectomy is the surgical removal of the gallbladder. Cholecystectomy is a common treatment of symptomatic gallstones and other gallbladder conditions. In 2011, cholecystectomy was the eighth most common operating room procedure performed i ...

. Pingris considers ''

Slam Dunk A slam dunk, also simply known as a dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with on ...

'' as his favorite anime and its protagonist Hanamichi Sakuragi his favorite cartoon character, from which he earned the nickname "Sakuragi".

References

External links

Profile
at pba.ph {{DEFAULTSORT:Pingris, Marc Living people 1981 births 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup players Asian Games competitors for the Philippines Barako Bull Energy draft picks Barako Bull Energy players Basketball players at the 2014 Asian Games Basketball players from Pangasinan Biñan Tatak Gel players Competitors at the 2003 SEA Games FEU Tamaraws basketball players Filipino men's basketball coaches Filipino men's basketball players 21st-century Filipino sportsmen Filipino people of French descent Ilocano people Imus Braderhood players Magnolia Hotshots players MPBL All-Stars Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Philippine Basketball Association players with retired numbers Philippines men's national basketball team players Power forwards PSBA Jaguars basketball players San Miguel Beermen players Marc SEA Games gold medalists for the Philippines SEA Games medalists in basketball