Reynel Hugnatan turns back clock right on 40th birthday

Delfin Dioquino

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Reynel Hugnatan turns back clock right on 40th birthday
The 15-year veteran becomes only the third active PBA player to reach 40

MANILA, Philippines – Reynel Hugnatan turned 40 in the most emphatic fashion after delivering one of his best games in the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup to help keep Meralco in the playoff picture.

Averaging just 6.9 points in the first 10 games of the conference, Hugnatan submitted 19 points on top of 6 rebounds and 6 assists as the Bolts surprisingly mauled San Miguel, 111-81, on Saturday, November 3. 

The 15-year veteran fired 13 in the 4th quarter alone to catapult Meralco to its fourth straight win and fifth overall in 11 games, which assured the team at least a playoff for the last quarterfinals berth. 

It was an impressive show for someone who became only the third active PBA player to reach 40, and coach Norman Black saw Hugnatan’s old form back when he was playing in the Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA). 

“He turned 40 years old today but he did not play like it in this game,” Black told reporters after the win. 

“He played like a youngster, like he was coming in from the MBA and those three-point shots in the 4th quarter really helped us a lot,” he added of Hugnatan, who starred for the Negros Slashers from 1998 to 2002. 

For Hugnatan, who is behind NLEX’s Asi Taulava (45) and Magnolia’s Rafi Reavis (41) in the league’s oldest player list, it’s all about maintaining a healthy lifestyle to keep performing at a high level. 

Talagang may ano ako sa pagkain. More on vegetables ako and salad. Maganda naman ‘yung resulta,” he said. 

(I am strict with what I eat. I am more on vegetables and salad. The results have been great.) 

[I] try my best na maging healthy lang. At least kung kaya pa, kung ‘yung teams gusto pa nila ako, so ready ako.” 

(I try my best to stay healthy. As long as I can play and teams still want me, I’m always ready)  

The Bolts (5-6) await the result of the game between TNT (4-6) and Barangay Ginebra (8-2) on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum to determine their playoffs fate.

If the KaTropa win, they will force a three-way tie with Meralco and NLEX and the latter will secure 7th place by virtue of a superior quotient. The Bolts and TNT will then dispute the last quarterfinals berth in a playoff.

If TNT loses, it will miss the quarterfinals and hand Meralco the 7th spot and NLEX the last seat in the next round. – Rappler.com 

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Delfin Dioquino

Delfin Dioquino dreamt of being a PBA player, but he did not have the skills to make it. So he pursued the next best thing to being an athlete – to write about them. He took up journalism at the University of Santo Tomas and joined Rappler as soon as he graduated in 2017.