Norberto Brian Torres (born January 12, 1990) is a Canadian-born Filipino professional basketball player for 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 ...

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 ...

(PBA).

High school career

Torres attended his secondary education at

Blessed Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School St. Mother Teresa Catholic Academy (SMTCA, St. Mother Teresa, SMT, Mother Teresa, or Teresa for short); also known as by its former names Blessed Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School before 2016 and Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School in i ...

Scarborough, Ontario Scarborough (; 2021 Canadian census, 2021 Census 629,941) is a district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is situated in the eastern part of the City of Toronto. Its borders are Victoria Park Avenue to the west, Steeles Avenue (Toronto), Steele ...

, Canada.

College career

Torres played college basketball for the

De La Salle Green Archers The De La Salle Green Archers and Lady Archers are the varsity teams representing De La Salle University in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, among other leagues. The "Green Archer" is the traditional university mascot. Whi ...

in the

UAAP 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 Univer ...

. He was recruited out of high school in Canada and spent three years of residency before suiting up for the Green Archers in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

. The next year (his second playing year in UAAP), he was the Archers' starting center, often paired with Fil-German center Arnold Van Opstal. With him and Van Opstal in the pivot spot manning the boards, they clinched the UAAP championship in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Amateur career

In compliance with PBA D-League requirement for incoming PBA rookies, Torres suited up for the

Cebuana Lhuillier Gems 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 ...

Professional career

Torres was drafted 8th overall by 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 ...

in the

2015 PBA draft The 2015 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) rookie draft was an event which allows teams to draft players from the amateur ranks. The event was held at the Midtown Atrium, Robinsons Place Manila on August 23, 2015. From this draft on, the ...

. In May 2016, Torres was traded by Star to

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 ...

in a three-team trade that also involved

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 ...

. On May 18, 2023, Torres was traded to the

for

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 ...

PBA career statistics

''As of the end of 2023–24 season''

Season-by-season averages

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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 ...

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TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

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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 ...

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International career

He was part of the Nokia-RP Youth team that won the Juniors SEABA title in 2008, and was named the tournament MVP. In 2015, he was a member of the 12-man Sinag Pilipinas lineup that competed in the

2015 Southeast Asian Games The 2015 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 28th Southeast Asian Games, or the 28th SEA Games, and commonly known as Singapore 2015, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held by the city-state of Singapore from 5 to 16 June 201 ...

and

2015 SEABA Championship The 11th Southeast Asia Basketball Association SEABA Championship, Championship was the qualifying tournament for the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship. It also served as a regional championship involving Southeast Asian basketball teams. It was held on ...

, both held in Singapore, where they won gold medals in both occasions.

Personal life

Norbert's parents, Cirilo and Dinia Torres (''née'' dela Cruz) both hail from

Calumpit, Bulacan Calumpit , officially the Municipality of Calumpit (, Kapampangan: ''Balen ning Calumpit''), is a municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 118,471 people. The name "''Calumpit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torres, Norbert 1990 births Living people Basketball players from Toronto Canadian men's basketball players Canadian sportspeople of Filipino descent Centers (basketball) Competitors at the 2015 SEA Games De La Salle Green Archers basketball players Filipino men's basketball players Magnolia Hotshots draft picks Magnolia Hotshots players Meralco Bolts players Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Philippines men's national basketball team players Phoenix Fuel Masters players Power forwards Rain or Shine Elasto Painters players SEA Games gold medalists for the Philippines SEA Games medalists in basketball TNT Tropang 5G players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen 21st-century Filipino sportsmen