Peter June Libo-on Simon (born June 1, 1980) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the

Davao Occidental Tigers The Davao Occidental Tigers (also known as Davao Occidental Tigers – Cocolife due to sponsorship reasons) are a Filipino professional basketball team based in the Davao metropolitan area and representing the province of Davao Occidental. The ...

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 has formerly played 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 ...

, playing for 16 years with the

Magnolia 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, Inc., a subsidiary of San Migu ...

franchise. Simon was drafted 43rd overall in the 2001 PBA draft by the Sta. Lucia Realtors. His moniker is Scoring Apostle.

Amateur career

College career

Simon was relatively unknown in the Philippine college basketball scene. But to hardcore basketball fans, and especially the

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

-based fans, Simon was one of the biggest collegiate basketball heroes in Davao. Born in

Makilala, Cotabato Makilala, officially the Municipality of Makilala (; ; ), is a municipality in the province of Cotabato, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 87,927 people. History Makilala is one of the five daughter municipalit ...

, he built his reputation as one of the fiercest and most exciting basketball warriors down south by joining in various competitions and leaving his marks on them. He collected three MVP trophies in the collegiate leagues in

Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao, is a City of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the List of Philippine cities and municipalities ...

and reigned five times as the Sultan of Slams.

Metropolitan Basketball Association

Having created a status in various collegiate and commercial leagues in Mindanao, Simon was easily handpicked to be a part of the Davao Eagles 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 ...

. Although his career with the Eagles did not start well, he caught fire as the 2001 MBA First Phase progressed. He was at the forefront of the Eagles onslaught in several games. He once sparked a fourth-quarter rally to upset the league-leading

Negros Slashers The Negros Slashers, also known as the RCPI-Negros Slashers, were a professional basketball team in the Metropolitan Basketball Association from 1998 to 2002. The team enjoyed considerable success, winning the MBA National Championship in 2002 ...

. He engaged with

Laguna Lakers The Laguna Lakers (or the FedEx-Laguna Lakers) were a professional basketball team in the now-defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association from 1998 to 2001. The team was owned by Bert Lina, owner of the Federal Express franchise in the Philippine ...

' Biboy Simon in a fiery shootout and at the same time registering his career-high 25 points. Coming off the bench, he scored a new career-high 28 points as they outclassed Nueva Ecija Patriots during which he made five Blitz Three baskets in the game. In his best outing as an Eagle, Simon fired yet another new career-high 41 points as he was simply unstoppable. At the end of the season, Simon's hard work and heroics on the court paid off as he was named as the Discovery Player of the Year. Also, while playing in the MBA, he became a member of the

Philippine national basketball team 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 ...

. In his first stint with the national team, PJ Simon scored 14 points to backup

Reynel Hugnatan Reynel Frances T. Hugnatan (born November 3, 1978) is a Filipino professional basketball player who plays for the San Juan Knights franchise of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and Pilipinas Super League (PSL). He also serves as ...

as the MBA All-Stars opened its 25th

William Jones Cup The William Jones Cup International Basketball Tournament (), also known as the William Jones Cup, is an international basketball tournament organized by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) held annually since 1977 in sports, 1977 ...

campaign on a high note, tripping the much taller Russian club Lokomotive Novosibirsk, 78–68, at the Taipei Physical Education College Gym.

Philippine Basketball League

Following the disbandment of the MBA in July 2002, Simon was immediately enlisted by Dazz Dishwashing Liquid, the Lamoiyan Corporation's

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 ...

franchise. In no time, he created a big mark in the star-studded 2002–03 PBL Challenge Cup. For his efforts, PJ Simon was selected into the Second Mythical Team during the Individual Players Achievement Awards. He also helped the team barge into the finals. In his first PBL finals appearance, PJ Simon led Dazz in a losing cause by scoring 18 points as they surrendered to the Welcoat Paintmasters in overtime in Game 1 at the

Quezon Convention Center The Quezon Convention Center is a multi-purpose convention center in Quezon located near the Provincial Capitol in Lucena, Quezon, Philippines. The venue has hosted local and regional basketball competitions, concerts, and conference ...

Lucena City Lucena (, American Spanish: , European Spanish: ), officially known as the City of Lucena (), is a highly urbanized city situated in the Calabarzon region (Region IV-A) of the Philippines. The city is the largest urban center and capital of Q ...

. Although Dazz failed to win the title, a change of the team's name had boded well for the Lamoiyan franchise's fortunes. Hapee Toothpaste opened its championship run in the 2003 Sunkist PBL Unity Cup by defeating Viva Mineral Water behind the blazing guns of PJ Simon and Ryan Dy. Then in the deciding game 5 of Unity Cup finals, Hapee rode again on the heroics of PJ Simon to capture the crown. For that, he and teammate

Rich Alvarez Richard Alvarez (born October 30, 1980) is a Japanese-born Filipino professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Basilan Starhorse of the MPBL. He played his whole career in the Philippine Basketball Associ ...

were later awarded by the PBL Press Corps as co-Final MVPs. In the 2003 PBL–CBF dual meet finals, he and Allan Salangsang combined for 35 points off the bench as they powered Fash Liquid to beat Grachiya Energy Boosters, 86–76, at the

Cebu Coliseum The Cebu Coliseum is an indoor arena in Cebu City, Philippines. Its seating capacity is around 5,000. The coliseum hosts various sports events and concerts in Cebu and is the primary venue for Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc., CESAFI gam ...

. The following conference, PJ Simon edged out other illustrious cagers to bag the 2003–04 PBL Platinum Cup MVP with the print, radio, and TV media solidly rallying behind him. Joining PJ Simon in the Mythical Team were

Jojo Tangkay Jercules "Jojo" Tangkay (born November 26, 1976) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He was drafted 16th overall by the Sta. Lucia Realtors in the 2001 PBA draft. Career Tangkay made the roster of Southwestern University ...

, Fash teammate

, and future Purefoods teammates

James Yap James Carlos Agravante Yap Sr. (born February 15, 1982) is a Filipino professional basketball player who last played for the Blackwater Bossing of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Known by his nickname Big Game James, he is widel ...

and

Ervin Sotto Ervin Amedo Sotto (born July 30, 1981) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He was also an assistant coach for the NLEX Road Warriors. He was the seventh overall pick in the 2004 PBA draft by the Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs ...

. He also led his team in another title, beating the Welcoat Paintmasters in a hotly contested five-game series.

Professional career

Magnolia Hotshots (2004–2020)

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

While still playing for Fash in the PBL, Purefoods offered him a two-year contract as a rookie free agent. He was actually drafted by the Sta. Lucia Realtors as the 43rd overall pick in the 2001 PBA draft. He toiled for a while in the MBA and PBL where he further enhanced his skills. But like his stints in the MBA and PBL, his PBA career did not start hot as he played behind fellow star rookie

. In Purefoods' seventh game in the 2004–05 Philippines Cup, however, PJ got his game going as he led Purefoods in a come-from-behind win over

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, by scoring four of his team-high 18 points in the final eleven seconds of the game. In his first three seasons in the PBA, PJ Simon only showed flashes of his brilliance far and wide. In the 2007 PBA Fiesta Cup, he was named Accel PBA Player of the Week for the period May 6 to 13. He came up with a team-high 22 points in a game against Coke on May 4 then on May 13, he exploded for PBA career-high 31 points and also grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Purefoods in routing Ginebra, 117–105. The 2007–08 season proved to be the coming-out party for Simon. While he was still in the giant shadow of his more famous teammates, he created his niche by being the "super sub" for his team. As Purefoods set a franchise-record of 7–0 to start a season, he was the biggest hero in two of those wins. He scored 15 of his game-high 27 points in the first quarter to lead Purefoods to its fifth straight win as they massacred Ginebra, 103–76, on November 4, 2007. Then ten days later, he once more top-scored for Purefoods by making 22 points in their 100–81 rout of Air21, tying the franchise's best to start in the All-Filipino Cup. In the finals, Simon had four scintillating games. Purefoods lost, however, to Sta. Lucia in seven games. But nevertheless, PJ Simon averaged 13.3 points to firmly establish himself as Purefoods' primary offensive option off the bench. Owing to his impressive performance in the 2007–08 PBA Philippine Cup, he was selected in a reserve role to take part in the 2008 All-Star Game held in

Bacolod City Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; ; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Negros Island Region in the Philippines. With a total of 600,783 inhabitants as of the 2020 census, it is th ...

. Simon did not disappoint the fans, as although he only played for 20 minutes, he scored 29 points on 11-of-14 field goals and 4-of-4 on the free-throw line to tow the South team in a thrilling victory in overtime over the North squad, 163–158. With that, he was cited as the Most Valuable Player, his first major PBA award. In the 2009–10 Philippine Cup finals, Purefoods swept Alaska, 4–0, to be crowned 2009–2010 PBA Philippine Cup champions. The Llamados entered the

2010–11 PBA Philippine Cup The 2010-11 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup was the first conference of the 2010-11 PBA season. The tournament started on October 3, 2010, with the new team, Meralco Bolts defeating the Brgy. Ginebra Kings in the openin ...

as defending champions. In the first round of the tournament, Simon averaged 17.4 points per game, while the team ended the Classification Phase with a 7–7 record. On November 10, 2010, Simon scored a career-high 42 points against 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 ...

. Him and two-time MVP

led the team to the quarterfinals, in which the Llamados scored back-to-back wins against 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 ...

. For the series, Simon averaged 29.0 points and his contributions helped the Llamados to overcome Meralco in two games. However, they couldn't keep up the momentum in the semifinals after losing to 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 ...

in six games. The 2011–12 season saw Simon and his team, B-Meg, being favorites in winning possibly the

Grand Slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

title with their new coach being the legendary coach

Tim Cone Earl Timothy Cone (born December 14, 1957) is an American professional basketball coach who leads Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and the Philippine men's national team. He is the most accomplished coa ...

. Simon helped the Llamados to a 10–4 win–loss record in the 2011–12 Philippine Cup, but unfortunately, the Llamados were knocked out in the quarterfinals after an upset by 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 ...

led by

Gary David Gary Ocampo David (born July 13, 1978) is a Filipino professional basketball player who last played for the Pampanga Giant Lanterns of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He is a five-time All-Star and co-holds the longest stre ...

. After being upset in the Philippine Cup, B-Meg decided to keep their roster from the Philippine Cup intact. Their only addition to the roster is their import

Denzel Bowles Denzel Bowles (born May 1, 1989) is an American former professional basketball player. Professional career 2011–12 season Bowles began his professional career with BC Šiauliai of the Lithuanian League. There, he averaged 12.6 points per gam ...

, who eventually won the Best Import of the Conference. Bowles helped the team to a 3rd-place finish in the elimination round. B-Meg was able to win the quarterfinal series against

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 ...

and the semis against rivals Barangay Ginebra. Simon and Co. faced the

in the final, where they won the series in seven games. Going into the Governors' Cup, B-Meg gained confidence following their championship in the Commissioner's Cup, but they lost to Rain or Shine in seven games. Simon averaged 12.0 points per game on 47% field goal shooting. Simon played a total of 64 games in the 2012–13 season, a career-high for him at the time. Although, Simon and his teammates were not able to make the finals in the first two conferences, being knocked out in the semifinals in the Philippine Cup and Commissioner's Cup. In the Governors' Cup, they made a finals appearance and became the eventual champion, beating its sister team

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 ...

in a tightly contested seven-game series. Simon averaged 12.8 points in 28.0 minutes of action in 64 games. The

2013–14 PBA season The 2013–14 PBA season was the 39th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The season formally opened on November 17, 2013, and finished on July 9, 2014. The league continued to use the three-conference format, starting with t ...

was probably the best season for Simon. Aside of him and the Mixers winning a rare

in the 2013–14 season, he was a part of the PBA Second Mythical Team along with teammate

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 ...

, Paul Lee,

Sonny Thoss Joachim Gunther "Sonny" Thoss (born December 7, 1981) is a German-Filipino former professional basketball player. He played his entire career in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) with the Alaska Aces, where his jersey number is retire ...

, and Rookie of the Year

Greg Slaughter Gregory William Slaughter (born May 19, 1988) is a Filipino-American professional basketball player who last played for the Manila SV Batang Sampaloc of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He was selected first overall by the Bar ...

. Simon was also awarded 2013–14 PBA Mr. Quality Minutes by the PBA Press Corps Simon and also scored the most 2-point shots and the most number of total points among other players during the 2013–14 season. Thanks to his great performance off the bench, playing in a new career high 66 games and playing at an average of 28.4 minutes per game and scoring 13.5 points per game, he was a vital part of San Mig's Grand Slam season. Despite finishing the elimination round of all the three conferences at a combined 18–18 win–loss record, with their Commissioner's Cup record at 4–5, a losing record, they still cruised past their opponents, with Simon being a vital part of the offense, providing outside shooting off the bench.

PBA career statistics

Season-by-season averages

, - , align=left , , align=left , Purefoods , 62 , , 14.9 , , .448 , , .309 , , .744 , , 1.7 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .1 , , 6.2 , - , align=left , , align=left , Purefoods , 28 , , 9.6 , , .383 , , .258 , , .805 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , .2 , , 0 , , 4.4 , - , align=left , , align=left , Purefoods , 39 , , 21.6 , , .476 , , .443 , , .798 , , 3.1 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .1 , , 12.4 , - , align=left , , align=left , Purefoods , 50 , , 22.7 , , .470 , , .304 , , .737 , , 2.5 , , .8 , , .5 , , .1 , , 13.4 , - , align=left , , align=left , Purefoods , 27 , , 24.7 , , .498 , , .366 , , .728 , , 2.4 , , .9 , , .4 , , .1 , , 14.5 , - , align=left , , align=left , Purefoods / B-Meg Derby Ace , 52 , , 13.4 , , .399 , , .333 , , .698 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , .1 , , .1 , , 5.6 , - , align=left , , align=left , B-Meg Derby Ace , 42 , , 31.6 , , .506 , , .372 , , .771 , , 3.4 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , .1 , , 17.1 , - , align=left , , align=left , B-Meg , 58 , , 30.6 , , .479 , , .323 , , .733 , , 3.9 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , .3 , , 12.0 , - , align=left , , align=left , San Mig Coffee , 64 , , 28.0 , , .463 , , .321 , , .767 , , 3.4 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , .1 , , 12.8 , - , align=left , , align=left , San Mig Super Coffee , 66 , , 28.4 , , .479 , , .358 , , .722 , , 3.4 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , .1 , , 13.5 , - , align=left , , align=left , Purefoods / Star , 41 , , 21.5 , , .489 , , .377 , , .765 , , 2.1 , , .7 , , .3 , , .0 , , 9.9 , - , 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 ...

, 36 , , 26.0 , , .466 , , .454 , , .783 , , 2.3 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , .1 , , 12.7 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 46 , , 12.9 , , .426 , , .340 , , .778 , , 1.5 , , .9 , , .1 , , .1 , , 5.9 , - , align=left , , 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 ...

, 49 , , 10.8 , , .430 , , .425 , , .691 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .2 , , .0 , , 5.9 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 26 , , 6.9 , , .413 , , .297 , , .889 , , .7 , , .4 , , .1 , , .0 , , 3.1 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 1 , , 11.4 , , .667 , , — , , — , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 4.0 , -class=sortbottom , align=center colspan=2 , Career , 687 , , 21.0 , , .467 , , .357 , , .753 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .1 , , 10.1

Personal life

Simon is the youngest in the brood of three of Pedro Simon, Jr., a teacher and the late Cristina. He is the only athlete in the family, although his father played some basketball but not in the commercial leagues. After his mother succumbed to cancer, his father remarried. From his father and stepmother Flor, Simon has a half-brother and a half-sister.Surprise for Simon
" SPORTING CHANCE By

Joaquin Henson Joaquin M. Henson (born October 13, 1950), also known as Quinito Henson, is a Filipino sports analyst and television color commentator. His newspaper column, ''Sporting Chance'', has appeared in the ''Philippine Star'' since the 1980s. Referred ...

The Philippine Star ''The Philippine Star'' (self-styled ''The Philippine STAR'') is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines and the flagship brand of the Philstar Media Group. First published on July 28, 1986, by veteran journalists Betty Go-Belmonte, ...

, May 1, 2008 His older siblings are Maricris and Anthony, both have families of their own and are based in North Cotabato. Simon is a member of

Victory Christian Fellowship Victory Christian Fellowship of the Philippines, commonly known as Victory, is an evangelical multi-site church based in Taguig, Philippines. It is a member of Every Nation Churches. History Victory Christian Fellowship of the Philippines wa ...

. Along with close friend and Purefoods teammate

, Simon guested at

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

Pinoy Big Brother ''Big Brother'' () is a Philippine television reality competition show broadcast by ABS-CBN, Kapamilya Channel, TV5, and GMA Network based on the Dutch reality television franchise '' Big Brother''. Originally hosted by Willie Revillame, ...

on April 23, 2008.

References

External links

PeterJuneSimon.com – Official WebsitePeter June Simon's PBA.ph profileCreative Work 4 Purefoods
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, Peter June 1980 births Living people Basketball players from Davao City Filipino Christians Filipino men's basketball players Magnolia Hotshots players People from Cotabato Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Philippine Basketball Association players with retired numbers Shooting guards Sta. Lucia Realtors draft picks UM Wildcats basketball players 21st-century Filipino sportsmen