Ronald Jayson Buenafe (born May 27, 1983) is a Filipino professional basketball player who last played for the
Valenzuela XUR Homes Realty Inc. 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).
Professional career
Being called as the "steal" of the
2007 draft, he performed well during his rookie season as a scoring guard. With the help of the then newly acquired
Asi Taulava, they led the Tigers past the wildcard and faced the
Alaska Aces in the quarterfinals where they lost 3-0. The following conference, their team had a more successful eliminations compiling a 10-8 record. Once again, they ended their run at the quarterfinals, this time at the hands of the
Magnolia Beverage Masters
''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 ...
. At the end of the season, Buenafe was named to the All-Rookie Team and was among the contenders for Rookie of the Year.
On his second season, he duplicated his performance though it didn't translate to wins for Coca-Cola.
For the
2009–10 season, Buenafe was acquired by the Burger King Whoppers. He played alongside
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 ...
and
Wynne Arboleda. Despite stellar performances, his team still was not able to make the playoffs.
In the middle of the
2010–11 season, Buenafe was involved in a three-way trade where he,
Ronnie Matias
Ronnie C. Matias (born November 29, 1983) is a Filipino professional basketball player for Caloocan Batang Kankaloo franchise of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and Pilipinas Super League (PSL). Matias was drafted 9th overall in ...
and
Beau Belga
Beau Michael Vincent Esparrago Belga (born November 30, 1986) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of the Philippine Basketball Association. He is also an assistant coach for the UST Growling Tigers ...
were all traded to 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 ...
. Though he still provided what the team needed, his numbers went down.
Before the
2012–13 season, he got traded again, this time 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 ...
in exchange for its 2014 first-round draft pick and provide offensive firepower alongside the backcourt duo of
Sol Mercado
Solomon Jemuel Rayos Mercado (born May 6, 1984) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Known as the "Sol-Train", he had an impressive PBA rookie season and eventually became ...
and
Mark Cardona
Mark Reynan Mikesell Cardona (born November 13, 1981) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Biñan Tatak Gel of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and Pilipinas Super League (PSL). From a successful college career wi ...
.
PBA career statistics
''Correct as of September 24, 2016''
Season
, -
, align="left" ,
, align="left" ,
Coca-Cola
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 ...
, 42 , , 24.6 , , .369 , , .317 , , .816 , , 2.4 , , 2.0 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 11.2
, -
, align="left" ,
, align="left" , Coca-Cola
, 32 , , 23.4 , , .406 , , .357 , , .825 , , 2.8 , , 1.6 , , .8 , , .1 , , 11.1
, -
, align="left" ,
, align="left" ,
Burger King / Air21
, 38 , , 27.7 , , .358 , , .291 , , .818 , , 2.8 , , 2.2 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 13.3
, -
, align="left" ,
, align="left" , Air21 /
Rain or Shine
, 40 , , 23.0 , , .415 , , .382 , , .777 , , 1.8 , , 1.4 , , .8 , , .1 , , 12.4
, -
, align="left" ,
, align="left" , Rain or Shine
, 53 , , 19.5 , , .367 , , .290 , , .799 , , 1.7 , , 1.2 , , .7 , , .1 , , 8.3
, -
, align="left" ,
, 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 ...
, 43 , , 23.7 , , .345 , , .328 , , .806 , , 2.4 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .2 , , 9.5
, -
, align="left" ,
, align="left" ,
Barako Bull
, 34 , , 20.1 , , .371 , , .331 , , .712 , , 1.8 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , .1 , , 7.9
, -
, align="left" ,
, align="left" ,
GlobalPort
, 36 , , 17.7 , , .341 , , .306 , , .660 , , 2.4 , , .6 , , .6 , , .1 , , 6.5
, -
, align="left" ,
, align="left" , Meralco /
Phoenix
, 22 , , 8.6 , , .418 , , .372 , , 1.000 , , .9 , , .5 , , .1 , , .1 , , 3.7
, -class=sortbottom
, align=center colspan=2 , Career
, 340 , , 21.5 , , .373 , , .325 , , .793 , , 2.1 , , 1.4 , , .8 , , .1 , , 9.6
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buenafe, Ronjay
1983 births
Living people
Filipino men's basketball players
Basketball players from Quezon City
EAC Generals basketball players
Powerade Tigers draft picks
Powerade Tigers players
Barako Bull Energy players
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters players
Meralco Bolts players
Phoenix Fuel Masters players
NorthPort Batang Pier players
Blackwater Bossing players
NLEX Road Warriors players
MPBL All-Stars
Mandaluyong El Tigre players
Bicolandia Oragons players
GenSan Warriors players
Val City Magic players
Shooting guards
21st-century Filipino sportsmen