Mark Anthony Gozar Andaya (born March 22, 1981), also known as "Big Mac" or "Big Mak" 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 and actor who last played for Pasig Pirates of the

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is a men's regional professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of 30 teams. Founded in 2017 by eight-division boxing world champion and then-Senator Manny Pacquiao, the MPBL is ...

(MPBL). He was drafted eighth overall by Talk 'N Text in the 2006 PBA draft. After playing for the

Philippine Patriots The Philippine Patriots, known as the AirAsia Philippine Patriots from 2010 to 2012 due to sponsorship reasons with Philippines AirAsia, were a professional basketball team that played in the ASEAN Basketball League. It was the first team from t ...

in the ASEAN Basketball League, he was acquired by the

Barako Bull Energy Boosters The Barako Bull Energy Boosters were a professional basketball team of the Philippine Basketball Association owned by the Photokina Marketing Corporation. They entered the league in 2000, after a successful stint in the semi-professional Phili ...

. He also had a brief stint with the Misamis Oriental Meteors in the Liga Pilipinas and then played for several MPBL teams. Andaya's first acting role was in the film '' On the Job.'' He has had other roles in films and

teleserye Philippine television drama, also known as ''teleserye'' is a form of melodramatic, serialized, televised fiction in the Philippines. ''Teleserye'' is derived from two Filipino words: "tele", short for "''telebisyón''" (television), and "''se ...

s such as ''

FPJ's Ang Probinsyano ''FPJ's Ang Probinsyano'' (international title: ''Brothers''; ) is a Philippine television drama action series broadcast by ABS-CBN and Kapamilya Channel. The series is based on the 1996 Philippine film of the same title. Directed by Ma ...

, Fantastica,'' and ''Hello Universe!''

Early life

Andaya is the youngest son of Primitvo Andaya, a businessman from Calapan, Mindoro, and Ma. Corona Gozar, a Spanish professor at

Adamson University Adamson University (; AdU or ADU) is a private Catholic university operated by the Congregation of the Mission located in Manila, Philippines. The university has academic programs in graduate school, law, the liberal arts, sciences, engineerin ...

. He grew up in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, with four brothers and four sisters. When he was two years old, their father passed away. Although they grew up poor, their mother worked hard to provide for them and keep them out of trouble. Andaya studied at Rafael Palma Elementary School. There he became the editor of his school's newspaper, played the

bandurria The bandurria is a plucked chordophone from Spain, similar to the mandolin and bandola, primarily used in Spanish folk music, but also found in former Spanish colonies. Instrument development Prior to the 18th century, the bandurria had a ro ...

in his school's

rondalla The rondalla is an ensemble of stringed instruments played with the plectrum or pick and generally known as plectrum instruments. It originated in Medieval Spain, especially in the ancient Crown of Aragon: Catalonia, Aragon, Murcia, and Valenci ...

, and won awards in painting and drawing contests. He also learned how to play basketball on the streets.

College career

After transferring from MLQU, Andaya played for 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 ...

, who had just won the Season 79 title. In his NCAA debut he scored 11 points in a win over the

PCU Dolphins The PCU Dolphins are the senior athletic teams that represent Philippine Christian University. They are currently playing at the National Athletic Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (NAASCU), after spending a leave of absence from ...

. He then scored 14 points in a win over 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 ...

. In their rematch, he dominated over them once again with a career-high 25 points. In the first game of the Final Four against the Dolphins, he scored 14 points before Jonathan Aldave nailed a three-pointer with 3.2 seconds left to seize the win. The Dolphins however bounced back in the do-or-die Game 2 to defeat the Knights as they went on to win the title. The following season, Letran went 13–1 in its title bid. Andaya led the league in blocks while averaging double digits in both points and rebounds. They faced the Dolphins once again, this time in the finals. In his last season with the Knights, they were able to give Letran their 16th NCAA basketball title.

Professional career

Talk 'N Text Phone Pals

Andaya was drafted 8th overall in the 2006 PBA Draft by the

Talk 'N Text Phone Pals Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct * ...

Air21 Express

Before the start of the 2006–07 Philippine Cup playoffs, Andaya and Abe Santos were traded to the

Air21 Express Air21 Express may refer to * Barako Bull Energy, Philippine basketball team named as "Air21 Express" from 2005 to 2009, and from 2010 to 2011 * Air21 Express (2012–2014) The Air21 Express was a professional basketball team in the Philippine B ...

for Leo Avenido and

Yancy de Ocampo Yancy Rozal de Ocampo (born November 11, 1980) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He is the elder brother of basketball player Ranidel de Ocampo. He is a 12-time Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketbal ...

Red Bull Barako

After his stay with Air21, Andaya joined the

Red Bull Barako Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...

. He was inserted into the lineup after

Junthy Valenzuela Junthy Valenzuela (born June 5, 1979) is a Filipino former basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), a former Red Bull Barako player. He was automatically pulled by Red Bull directly from the Philippine Basketball League. ...

was traded from the team for draft picks. He then got to play in the Rookies vs Sophomore game during the

2008 PBA All-Star Weekend The 2008 PBA All-Star Weekend was the annual all-star weekend of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA)'s 2007–08 PBA season. The events were held from April 24 to 27, 2008 at the West Negros University Gym, Bacolod, Negros Occidental. Fr ...

. Before the 2008 Fiesta Conference quarterfinals, he was released as Red Bull signed

Reed Juntilla Reed Friar Juntilla (born June 22, 1984) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. Career Juntilla played for Mail and More Comets and Hapee Complete Protectors, Hapee Toothpaste in the Philippine Basketball League. He was eligible for ...

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters

During the

2008 PBA Draft The 2008 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) rookie draft was an event at which teams drafted players from the amateur ranks. The event was held at Market! Market! in Taguig on August 31, 2008. The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (formerly k ...

, Andaya was acquired by 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 ...

Philippine Patriots

In 2009, Andaya joined the

in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL). They finished 11–4 in the regular season and swept the playoffs, winning the Philippines its first ABL title.

Misamis Oriental Meteors

Andaya then played for the Misamis Oriental Meteors in the Liga Pilipinas.

Barako Bull Energy Boosters

Andaya was set to return for another tour in the ABL with the Philippine Patriots, but when the

offered him a slot on their roster, he left the Patriots before their opening game. In his first two games, he quickly totaled nine blocks. He was second in the league in blocks, with 1.6 per game. On January 20, 2011, the management of the Energy Boosters announced that they would take a leave of absence for the 2011 Commissioner's Cup to make way for the

Smart Gilas 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 ...

Philippine national team. Andaya and the other players were put into a dispersal draft. He and

Jason Misolas Jason G. Misolas is a Filipino former professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was also an assistant coach for the UST Growling Tigers. College career Misolas played for the Letran Knights basketball, L ...

were not picked, making them free agents (although Barako held their rights until another team signed them).

Barako Bull Energy

Andaya tried out for the

Barangay Ginebra Kings The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the precolonial polities of the same name, modern barangays are political subdivisio ...

. He eventually found his way to 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 ...

(not to be confused with the Energy Boosters) and played just two games for them.

Air21 Express

After his contract expired, Andaya played in

ligang labas In Philippine sports, mostly in basketball, ligang labas () is a Tagalog language term for playing in a sports league other than where a player's team is primarily playing. It is also a description used by former Philippine Basketball Association ...

games all over the country. After one game in Cebu, he was signed for the 2012–13 Philippine Cup by the

. He would play in only two games for them.

KIA Sorento

Andaya resumed playing in ligang labas games and also did stints as an import in low-level Southeast Asian leagues. In 2014, Andaya signed a contract to play for the

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 ...

. However, he never got to play for KIA in an official PBA game for them and was a practice player for them instead. His contract expired for them a year later.

Valenzuela Classic

Andaya then focused on running for city councilor and his acting career and retired from professional basketball. He also played in the semi-pro Marikina City Basketball League in 2017. In 2018, Andaya got a call to play for the

Valenzuela Classic The Val City Magic is a Filipino professional basketball team based in Valenzuela. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's North Division. The team plays its home games at WES Arena. T ...

of the

(MPBL). He tried out for them and made his return to professional basketball. He was able to lead the Classic to the playoffs. During his stint with Valenzuela, Andaya also played in the

PBA D-League The PBA D-League, or PBA Developmental League, is the official minor league of the Philippine Basketball Association. History The PBA D-League was conceptualized after the collapse of the proposed merger between the Philippine Basketball Leag ...

for the

AMA Online Education Titans The AMA Online Education Titans are a professional basketball team that play in the Filbasket. They are primarily base of varsity students from the AMA Computer University. History The AMA Computer University wanted to participate in college lea ...

while still doing acting roles. In 2019, he returned the Valenzuela Classic, but for their 3x3 team in the

Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 was a professional 3x3 (basketball), 3-on-3 basketball list of basketball leagues, league in the Philippines and was organized by the country's national basketball federation, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) ...

Mandaluyong El Tigre

After playing for Valenzuela, Andaya stayed in the MPBL and joined the Mandaluyong El Tigre.

Pasig Pirates

Andaya then played for the Pasig Pirates. He was selected as an All-Star reserve for the

MPBL All-Star Game The MPBL All-Star Game is an exhibition game hosted by the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League and showcases 30 of the league's star players. It is the main event of the greater MPBL All-Star Day, held during the latter part of the regular se ...

that season.

Other ventures

Acting

In 2013, Andaya played a prison inmate named Simeon who fights hitman Daniel Benitez (

Gerald Anderson Gerald Randolph Opsima Anderson Jr. (born March 7, 1989) is a Filipino actor, Model (person), model, dancer and basketball player. He is managed and under contract to Star Magic, ABS-CBN Corporation, ABS-CBN's home based talent agency. Recogni ...

) in the critically-acclaimed film '' On the Job.'' His performance led to him getting a 10-year acting contract. He then got to act alongside

Marian Rivera Marian Rivera Gràcia-Dantes (; born 12 August 1984) is a Filipinos, Filipino actress, television host, model and entrepreneur. She is known for her portrayals of Hero, heroines and roles in Romance film, romantic dramas. Her accolades includ ...

in the GMA series ''

Super Ma'am ''Super Ma'am'' (international title: ''My Teacher, My Hero'') is a Philippine television drama action fantasy series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Lord Alvin Madridejos and Albert Langitan, it stars Marian Rivera in the title role. It ...

.'' In 2019, Andaya appeared on '' It's Showtime!'' on the segment "KapareWho Surprise". In 2023, Andaya was seen in the basketball film ''Hello Universe!'' He also played "Tanos", one of Tanggol's (

Coco Martin Rodel Pacheco Nacianceno Jr. (born November 1, 1981), popularly known as Coco Martin (), is a Filipino actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. Known for his performances in action and romantic drama, he is one of the most awarded Filipin ...

) childhood friends in the action series ''

FPJ's Batang Quiapo ''FPJ's'' (; international title: ''Gangs of Manila'') is a Philippine television drama action series broadcast by Kapamilya Channel. Based on the 1986 film of the same title, the series is directed by Malu L. Sevilla, Darnel Joy R. Villaf ...

.''

Politics

In October 2013, Andaya ran for barangay captain but lost. In

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, Andaya ran for a council seat in the fifth district of Manila under former Manila mayor Alfredo Lim's party. However, he didn't receive enough votes to gain a spot in the council. Since 2023, Andaya has served as one of the 30 board members of the

MTRCB The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB; ; is a Philippine government agency under the Office of the President of the Philippines that is responsible for the classification and review of television programs, motion pict ...

, the government's media regulatory board.

Personal life

Andaya was born with a

cleft palate A cleft lip contains an opening in the upper lip that may extend into the nose. The opening may be on one side, both sides, or in the middle. A cleft palate occurs when the palate (the roof of the mouth) contains an opening into the nose. The ...

. He decided against having surgery to remove it when he was young.

Filmography

Television

Film

PBA career statistics

Season-by-season averages

, - , align=left , , align=left , Talk 'N Text / Air21 , 31 , , 6.1 , , .542 , , .000 , , .625 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , .1 , , .1 , , 2.0 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

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 ...

, 13 , , 6.1 , , .400 , , .000 , , .333 , , 2.1 , , .5, , .0 , , .4 , , 2.7 , - , align=left , , align=left , Rain or Shine , 21 , , 5.6 , , .531 , , .000 , , .429 , , 1.8 , , .2 , , .1 , , .4 , , 1.9 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barako Bull , 13 , , 13.2 , , .471 , , .000 , , .632 , , 3.6 , , .2 , , .1 , , 1.6 , , 3.4 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

Barako Bull 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 Co ...

, 2 , , 3.0 , , .500 , , .000 , , .000 , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - , align=left , , align=left , Air21 , 2 , , 4.0 , , .667 , , .000 , , .000 , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.0 , - , align=left , Career , align=left , , 82 , , 7.0 , , .491 , , .000 , , .534 , , 1.8 , , .2 , , .1 , , .5 , , 2.3

References

External links

Player Profile
at PBA-Online! * {{DEFAULTSORT:Andaya, Mark 1981 births Living people Filipino men's basketball players Basketball players from Manila Letran Knights basketball players TNT Tropang 5G draft picks TNT Tropang 5G players Barako Bull Energy players Barako Bull Energy Boosters players Rain or Shine Elasto Painters players Philippine Patriots players Air21 Express players MPBL All-Stars Val City Magic players Mandaluyong El Tigre players Pasig City MPBL team players Centers (basketball) Philippines men's national basketball team players Filipino male television actors Filipino male film actors 21st-century Filipino male actors Male actors from Manila 21st-century Filipino sportsmen