Robert Reyes is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player. He last played for the

NLEX Road Warriors The NLEX Road Warriors is a professional basketball team owned by Manila North Tollways Corporation, NLEX Corporation, a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) since the 2014 ...

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). He spent his college years in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Flagler College Flagler College is a private university, private liberal arts college in St. Augustine, Florida. The school was founded in 1968 and offers 37 undergraduate majors and two master's programs. It also had a Flagler College – Tallahassee Campus, ...

. He was drafted fourth overall in 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 ...

by 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 ...

. He announced his retirement on his

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account on December 15, 2016, after playing for eight years in the PBA. He decided to spend his post-retirement stage in the

with his family.

Early life and amateur career

Reyes was born in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

. He played for

La Salle Green Hills La Salle Green Hills ("LSGH") is a private Catholic school run by the Philippine District of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in Ortigas Avenue, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. It was established in 1959 by the D ...

in the Philippines for one year. He then moved back to the US and played at Oviedo High, where he was awarded Student-Athlete of the Year. In college, he played for

. After Reyes graduated, he wanted to play in the PBA. However, the PBA had revised its rules, requiring Filipino-Americans to play in the PBL, a semi-professional league, at least one year. He played for the

Harbour Centre Batang Pier The Oracle Residences Titans was a basketball team playing in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) and was owned by Mikee Romero. In the PBL, they are tied for the most championships won in league history. History Harbour Centre hired Jorg ...

, helping them win their first PBL championship. He also won Best Defensive Player and was a Mythical Team selection in his time there. Reyes applied for the 2006 PBA draft, but the Bureau of Immigration failed to recognize his passport in time, so he backed out and returned to Harbour Centre. Two years later, he was successfully able to apply for the PBA draft.

Professional career

Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters

Reyes was selected fourth overall in 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 ...

by the

. He and Talk 'N Text's other draftees

Jayson Castro Jayson Castro William (born June 30, 1986) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the TNT Tropang 5G of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). His moniker is "The Blur" for his speed. He played for the Philippine Christian Uni ...

and

Jared Dillinger Jared Ryan B. Dillinger (born January 6, 1984) is a Filipino-American professional basketball player for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Dillinger is the second pick overall in the very talented draf ...

made their debut in 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 ...

in the 2008–09 Philippine Cup. Talk 'N Text went on to win the championship that conference. Early in the second conference in his rookie season, he tore his ACL during practice.

Barako Bull Energy Boosters

In the offseason, Reyes was traded to 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 ...

. That would be most productive season, as he averaged 5.3 points and five rebounds in over 24 minutes of play.

Powerade Tigers

In 2010, Reyes and a second round pick were sent 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 ...

in a 5-player, three-team trade. After the 2010–11 season ended, despite getting a one-year contract offer from Powerade, he decided to retire and move to Florida to be with his family.

Petron Blaze Boosters

Reyes was then offered a one-year deal by 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 ...

, who had just lost in the 2011 Governors' Cup finals. After the 2011–12, Petron extended his contract.

Air21 Express

On August 23, 2012, a trade was approved that sent him and Nonoy Baclao 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 ...

. Against his former team during the 2012–13 Philippine Cup, he scored 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting with six rebounds to help Air21 get the win. In their match against the Alaska Aces, he was seen hitting the Aces'

Calvin Abueva Calvin Abueva (born February 4, 1988) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the NorthPort Batang Pier of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was picked second overall by the Alaska Aces during the 2012 PBA Draft. He w ...

in the face with an open hand. Reyes denied that he hit Abueva and was just trying to stand up, and claimed that Abueva pulled his jersey, causing both of them to fall down. Referees didn't see the play, so he wasn't given a technical foul. He was fined P10,000 for his actions and for taunting Abueva. In 2013, he announced that he had torn his ACL, this time on his opposite knee.

Return to the Tropang Texters

On October 14, 2013, Reyes and a 2015 second round draft pick were sent to Talk 'N Text. This marked a return to the franchise that had drafted him. He was able to win one more championship with Talk 'N Text in the 2015 Commissioner's Cup.

NLEX Road Warriors

Months after 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 ...

, Reyes and

Kevin Alas Kevin Louie Platon Alas (born November 13, 1991) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the NLEX Road Warriors of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was drafted second overall by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the 2 ...

were sent to the

in a three-team trade. A season later, NLEX traded Reyes to the

Mahindra Floodbuster The Terrafirma Dyip is a professional basketball team playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The team is owned by Terrafirma Realty Development Corporation and originally played under its affiliate company Columbian Autocar Cor ...

for Bradwyn Guinto. Mahindra however didn't give him a contract. On December 15, 2016, he announced his retirement on his

account, deciding to return to the US to be with his family.

PBA career statistics

Season-by-season averages

, - , align=left , , align=left , Talk 'N Text , 23 , , 7.4 , , .359 , , .000 , , .444 , , 1.7 , , .4 , , .2 , , .4 , , 1.6 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barako Bull , 23 , , 24.7 , , .421 , , .000 , , .559 , , 5.0 , , .8 , , .4 , , .8 , , 5.3 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

Powerade Powerade is a sports drink created in 1988 and distributed by the Coca-Cola Company. Its primary competitor is Gatorade, which is owned by PepsiCo since 2001. History Powerade was created by the Coca-Cola Company and first released in 1988. Th ...

, 28 , , 16.0 , , .426 , , .000 , , .769 , , 4.4 , , .8 , , .4 , , .7 , , 4.6 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

Petron Petron Corporation is the largest oil refining and marketing company in the Philippines, supplying more than a third of the country's oil requirements. It operates a refinery in Limay, Bataan with a rated capacity of . From the refinery, Petron ...

, 38 , , 14.6 , , .440 , , .000 , , .654 , , 3.2 , , .3 , , .3 , , .8 , , 3.8 , - , align=left , , align=left , Air21 , 15 , , 15.7 , , .426 , , .000 , , .607 , , 4.4 , , .8 , , .6 , , .5 , , 4.6 , - , align=left , , align=left , Talk 'N Text , 22 , , 7.9 , , .276 , , .000 , , .333 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , .1 , , .1 , , .9 , - , align=left , , align=left , Talk 'N Text , 23 , , 12.2 , , .432 , , .000 , , .543 , , 3.3 , , .3 , , .3 , , .1 , , 3.9 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

NLEX The North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), signed as E1 of the Philippine expressway network, partially as N160 of the Philippine highway network, and partially as R-8 of the Metro Manila arterial road network, is a controlled-access highway that ...

, 27 , , 8.5 , , .500 , , .000 , , .562 , , 2.0 , , .1 , , .1 , , .3 , , 1.8 , -class=sortbottom , align=center colspan=2 , Career , 199 , , 13.4 , , .422 , , .000 , , .598 , , 3.2 , , .4 , , .3 , , .5 , , 3.3

Off the court

In 2012, while he was still playing for Petron and later on Air21, Reyes wrote a regular column for InterAKTV. In it he wrote about his experiences as a PBA player and being a Filipino-American.

Post-retirement

After retiring, Reyes took up surfing. In 2020, he started a fundraiser "Share the Stroke", that gives surfboards to children in

La Union La Union (), officially the Province of La Union (; ; ; ; ; ), is a coastal province in the Philippines situated in the Ilocos Region on the island of Luzon. The province's capital, the San Fernando, La Union, City of San Fernando, is the most ...

. Reyes also helps in recruiting Filipino-American players to play for the

Philippines men's 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 ...

, or to play in the Philippines. One player he recruited, James Laput, played for the

DLSU 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 ...

and was drafted in the first round of the Season 46 draft.

Personal life

Rob Reyes is the nephew of former PBA player Eric Reyes. He has a twin brother, Edmund.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reyes, Rob 1983 births Living people 21st-century Filipino sportsmen Air21 Express players American sportspeople of Filipino descent American men's basketball players Barako Bull Energy Boosters players Basketball players from Maryland Centers (basketball) Filipino men's basketball players Flagler Saints men's basketball players NLEX Road Warriors players Power forwards Powerade Tigers players San Miguel Beermen players TNT Tropang 5G players TNT Tropang 5G draft picks