Nelbert "Bitoy" Omolon (born June 30, 1980) is a Filipino former professional basketball player in 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). He was drafted 8th overall in the 2004 PBA draft.

Early years

The youngest of three boys, Omolon was born and raised in Talakag, Bukidnon, 36 kilometers from

Cagayan de Oro Cagayan de Oro (abbreviated CDO and officially the City of Cagayan de Oro; ; Bukid language, Binukid: ''Ciudad ta Cagayan de Oro''; ; ) is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Regions of the Philippi ...

. He did not learn how to play when he was a kid. He never even liked the game until he grew from 5'7" as a high school freshman to 6'2" as junior. After realizing he had a future in basketball, he tried out for the Ateneo de Cagayan basketball varsity. He spent his senior year with Ateneo.

College career

Omolon had an offer to play for

Southwestern University Southwestern University (Southwestern or SU) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwester ...

, but ended up playing for the PCU

Dolphins A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

instead. He played there for five years, but never won an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

championship.

Professional career

Philippine Basketball League

After playing in PCU, he took his sneakers to the

Philippine Basketball League The Philippine Basketball League (PBL) was a commercial semi-professional basketball league in the Philippines. The league was composed of several commercial teams with several collegiate and provincial stars. History The PBL was formed on M ...

where he suited up for Osaka-La Salle and ICTSI under coach

Franz Pumaren Franz Santos Pumaren (born February 5, 1962) is a Filipino former professional basketball player and coach who is serving as the House of Representatives of the Philippines, representative for Quezon City's Quezon City's 3rd congressional distr ...

and Welcoat under 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 ...

Philippine Basketball Association

Sta. Lucia Realtors (2004–2010)

Omolon joined the PBA after being drafted 8th overall by the Sta. Lucia Realtors in the 2004 PBA draft. Prior to the draft, he impressed scouts as he and

Marc Pingris Jean Marc Prado Pingris Jr. (born October 16, 1981) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Biñan Tatak Gel of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and the Pilipinas Super League (PSL). Regarded as an all-time grea ...

topped the vertical leaping test. His head coach

Alfrancis Chua Alfrancis P. Chua (born January 17, 1966) is a Filipino sports executive and former basketball player and coach. He is currently the team manager of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and the sports director of San Miguel Corporation (SMC), overseei ...

was hands-on with his development, as in his rookie season, he averaged 6.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 20.9 minutes while shooting .447 from the floor and .578 from the line. He also competed in the Slam Dunk Contest during the 2004 All-Star Weekend. In a win over 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 ...

, Omolon had a game-winning steal. He could have also made the game-winning layup, but he missed it and his teammate Chester Tolomia put it back in for the game-winning bucket. He also had a season-high 30-point game. That season, he raised his numbers to 8.1 points and 5.2 rebounds, but Sta. Lucia failed to make the 2006 Philippine Cup playoffs. During the 2006–07 Philippine Cup, Omolon had a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds in a win over Air21. He then scored 16 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter of a win over the

Coca-Cola Tigers Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

. He scored 16 points once again in a win over the Welcoat Dragons. In their quarterfinals berth playoff against Air21, he grabbed six rebounds, and helped limit

Ranidel de Ocampo Ranidel Rozal de Ocampo (born December 8, 1981) is a Filipino former professional basketball player and assistant coach for the TNT Tropang 5G of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He played for FedEx and Talk 'N Text as well as the P ...

to nine points, way below his 16.6 clip, as Sta. Lucia advanced to the playoffs. Omolon scored a personal high 40 points on 11-of-16 shooting in the two-point area and hitting 4-of-5 beyond the arc with nine boards as Sta. Lucia earned its first ever outright semifinals slot on January 13, 2008 with a 123–106 rout over Air21. He would continue to contribute to the team in their playoff run, and Sta. Lucia won the 2007–08 Philippine Cup over the Purefoods Chunkee Giants. He was later selected to the Mythical Second Team that season. In a win over the

Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters The TNT Tropang 5G is a professional basketball team currently owned by Smart Communications, a subsidiary of the PLDT, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) since 1990. The ...

during the 2008–09 Philippine Cup, Omolon scored all 24 points in the second half. He then scored 28 points in a win over Coca-Cola. He hit his season-high in a quarterfinal win over 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 ...

with 30 points. He then had a slump in the playoffs until he scored 25 points in a semifinal win over the Alaska Aces. Sta. Lucia eventually fell to Alaska in six games. In the Fiesta Conference, he couldn't play for a while due to chickenpox. During the 2009–10 Philippine Cup, Omolon made two clutch free throws in an overtime win over 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 ...

, which featured the lowest-scoring overtime game in six years. In a loss to 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 ...

, he scored 20 points, with 14 coming in the first half.

Meralco Bolts (2010–12)

In the 2010 offseason, Manila Electric Company (also known as Meralco) bought the Sta. Lucia Realty franchise for P50 million. With a team renamed to the

Meralco Bolts The Meralco Bolts is a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association. The team began in 2010 after the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) acquired the PBA franchise of the Sta. Lucia Realtors. The team is one of thre ...

, they made their debut in the 2010–11 Philippine Cup with a win over Barangay Ginebra. In that win, he had 14 points, 14 rebounds, and two assists. They were able to make it to the quarterfinals in their first conference.

Air21 Express (2012–13)

In January 2012, Omolon was traded for the first time in his career to the

from the Meralco Bolts along with

Mark Isip Mark Gracer P. Isip (born December 10, 1980 ) is a Filipino professional basketball coach and former player. Isip played college basketball for the FEU Tamaraws, where he is currently an assistant coach. He was then drafted sixth overall by the ...

in exchange for Dennis Daa, Mark Canlas and a draft pick that originally belonged to the Bolts. In a 2012 Commissioner's Cup win over previously unbeaten Talk 'N Text, he had an impressive statline of 23 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. In a loss to the

Powerade Tigers The Powerade Tigers were a professional basketball team that played in the Philippine Basketball Association from 2002 to 2012. The franchise was owned by Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. (CCBPI) when the company acquired Cosmos Bottling Cor ...

, he led the locals with 17 points. In the 2012–13 Philippine Cup, Omolon contributed 11 points in a win over the

Petron Blaze Boosters 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 ...

. He then scored 12 points in a loss to Ginebra. In a Commissioner's Cup win over 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 ...

, he had a season-high 13 points.

Return to Meralco (2013–14)

In 2013, Omolon and

Rabeh Al-Hussaini Rabeh Ahmed T. Al-Hussaini (born August 11, 1988) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Basilan Viva Portmasters of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League. A power forward (basketball), power forward/center (basketball), center, ...

were sent to Meralco in a three-team trade. He only got to play two games for Meralco in his return there.

San Miguel Beermen (2014–16)

On September 12, 2014, Nelbert Omolon was signed up by the

as the 13th man in the Beermen's roster. He went on to become a backup frontcourt player for them and win three of his four PBA championships in his time with the Beermen, including the historic comeback against Alaska in which they were down 0–3. Before the start of the 2016–17 season, he retired from professional basketball.

PBA career statistics

Season-by-season averages

, - , align=left, 2004–05 , align=left, Sta. Lucia , 51 , 21.0 , .447 , .196 , .578 , 4.5 , .7 , 1.3 , .6 , 6.5 , - , align=left, 2005–06 , align=left, Sta. Lucia , 36 , 20.4 , .489 , .222 , .598 , 4.6 , .7 , 1.3 , .9 , 8.1 , - , align=left, 2006–07 , align=left, Sta. Lucia , 46 , 23.7 , .509 , .205 , .632 , 5.8 , .9 , 1.2 , .7 , 10.4 , - , align=left, 2007–08 , align=left, Sta. Lucia , 54 , 27.8 , .494 , .349 , .699 , 5.3 , .8 , 1.2 , .6 , 12.4 , - , align=left, 2008–09 , align=left, Sta. Lucia , 40 , 27.1 , .451 , .319 , .667 , 5.5 , 1.4 , 1.0 , .5 , 9.9 , - , align=left, 2009–10 , align=left, Sta. Lucia , 38 , 21.6 , .369 , .269 , .597 , 3.8 , .6 , .4 , .5 , 6.1 , - , align=left,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 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 ...

, 24 , 26.1 , .423 , .200 , .551 , 5.5 , .6 , .8 , .3 , 6.8 , - , align=left, 2011–12 , align=left,

, 34 , 19.6 , .478 , .286 , .692 , 3.8 , .7 , .7 , .3 , 7.2 , - , align=left, 2012–13 , align=left, Air21 , 35 , 17.3 , .430 , .192 , .722 , 3.1 , .6 , .5 , .2 , 4.7 , - , align=left, 2013–14 , align=left,

, 2 , 8.5 , .750 , .000 , .000 , 2.0 , 1.0 , .0 , .0 , 3.0 , - , align=left, 2014–15 , align=left, San Miguel , 32 , 6.6 , .380 , .100 , .833 , 1.6 , .3 , .1 , .2 , 1.4 , - , align=left, 2015–16 , align=left, San Miguel , 9 , 5.0 , .400 , .000 , .000 , .9 , .0 , .1 , .0 , .9 , -class=sortbottom , align=center colspan=2 , Career , 401 , 21.1 , .461 , .273 , .643 , 4.4 , .7 , .9 , .5 , 7.5

National team career

In 2003, Omolon joined an RP team backed by Cebuana Lhuillier for that year's ABC Championship (the precursor to what is now known as the

FIBA Asia Cup The FIBA Asia Cup (formerly the FIBA Asia Championship and ABC Championship) is an international basketball tournament which takes place every four years between the men's national teams of Asia and Oceania. Through the 2015 edition, the t ...

). That team finished second to last in the tournament.

Player profile

A player who was ever reliable on both ends of the floor due to his unrelenting defense and efficient offense, Omolon continued to impress his coaches in the pro leagues. He gained a reputation in college as an athletic finisher and defender. He is a player who is always tasked to guard the opposing team's best player and even imports. Although possessing a limited array of offensive moves, he showed that he can do well on offense, as he once scored 40 points. He improved his outside shot, which allowed him to provide a complementary role.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Omolon, Nelbert 1980 births Living people Air21 Express players Basketball players from Bukidnon Meralco Bolts players PCU Dolphins basketball players People from Bukidnon Philippines men's national basketball team players Filipino men's basketball players San Miguel Beermen players Small forwards Sta. Lucia Realtors players Sta. Lucia Realtors draft picks 21st-century Filipino sportsmen