CEBU CITY, Philippines – Former PBA star Dondon “Cebuano Hotshot” Hontiveros scored a seat in the Cebu City council, getting the highest number of votes in the second district. 

Hontiveros got 160,984 votes in the district that covers the southern barangays of Cebu City.

It’s the first time Hontiveros ran for any political position since retiring from basketball. 

The Cebu native ran under Team Barug PDP-Laban, the party of incoming mayor Edgar Labella.

The 41-year-old began his professional career with the Cebu Gems in the now-defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association before he joined the Tanduay Rhum Masters in the PBA. 

Playing the shooting guard and small forward positions, Hontiveros won 3 PBA championships – two with the San Miguel Beermen and one with the Alaska Aces – and was a member of the national team a number of times.  

After finishing his contract with Alaska in 2017, he played for San Miguel Alab Pilipinas and won a championship in the ASEAN Basketball League in 2018. 

“I wasn’t thinking about my ranks but that of the top 3 spots and our fellow candidates in the council,” Hontiveros told reporters after at the Board of Canvassers on Tuesday, May 14.

He told local media that he would focus on ordinances that would prioritize developing youth activities and sports.

Hontiveros is the second celebrity to join the local races in Cebu City.

Actor Richard Yap also ran for a congressional seat under Barug PDP-Laban, but lost to incumbent Representative Raul del Mar. (READ: Cebuano actor Richard Yap fails to unseat Del Mar from congressional seat) – Rappler.com