Rodney Santos
Filipino basketball player and coach
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John Rodney Santos (born May 30, 1973) is a Filipino retired professional basketball player who is the current coach of the Mindoro Tamaraws of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He is also known as The Slasher for his slashing ability going to the basket.
| Mindoro Tamaraws | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Head coach | |||||||||||||||||
| League | Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
| Born | May 30, 1973 Meycauayan, Bulacan, Philippines | |||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Filipino | |||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | |||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) | |||||||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||||||
| High school | San Sebastian (Manila) | |||||||||||||||||
| College | San Sebastian | |||||||||||||||||
| PBA draft | 1996: 1st round, 2nd overall pick | |||||||||||||||||
| Drafted by | Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs | |||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1996–2009 | |||||||||||||||||
| Position | Shooting guard / small forward | |||||||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 2015–present | |||||||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||||||
Playing | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1996 | Purefoods TJ Hotdogs | |||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2002 | Alaska Milkmen | |||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Purefoods TJ Hotdogs | |||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2008 | Barangay Ginebra Kings | |||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Coca-Cola Tigers | |||||||||||||||||
Coaching | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | San Sebastian (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | ATC Livermarin | |||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | San Sebastian | |||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2022 | UP (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | UST (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2025–present | Mindoro Tamaraws | |||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights | ||||||||||||||||||
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Medals
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He currently serves as commissioner of the basketball league Sinag Liga Asya.[1]
Collegiate career
Santos played for the San Sebastian high school and college teams from 1991 to 1995, winning the Most Valuable Player award in 1994.[2]
Professional career
After a storied college career at San Sebastian, Santos was drafted second overall by Purefoods in the 1996 draft. Then he was traded to Alaska for Cris Bolado and Bryant Punzalan in 1997 and became one of Tim Cone's reliable contributors off the bench. He was re-acquired by Purefoods in 2003 as a free agent. After his stint with the TJ Hotdogs, he was then traded to Ginebra,[3] and was a vital cog in coach Siot Tanquincen's rotation. His last stop was with the Coca-Cola Tigers before nagging injuries forced him into retirement.
PBA career statistics
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | MPG | Minutes per game | ||
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Season-by-season averages
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Purefoods | 49 | 15.8 | .439 | .158 | .720 | 1.2 | 1.2 | .8 | .2 | 6.8 |
| 1997 | Alaska | 34 | 10.4 | .452 | .000 | .625 | 1.0 | .7 | .2 | .2 | 3.9 |
| 1998 | Alaska | 65 | 22.7 | .464 | .000 | .765 | 2.4 | 1.5 | .7 | .3 | 7.2 |
| 1999 | Alaska | 56 | 22.0 | .527 | .000 | .663 | 2.1 | 1.7 | .8 | .3 | 8.2 |
| 2000 | Alaska | 49 | 25.5 | .507 | .250 | .670 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 1.0 | .2 | 11.1 |
| 2001 | Alaska | 45 | 28.8 | .429 | .250 | .782 | 2.6 | 2.1 | .9 | .2 | 8.5 |
| 2002 | Alaska | 59 | 19.4 | .408 | .356 | .723 | 2.1 | 1.3 | .7 | .1 | 5.7 |
| 2003 | Purefoods | 36 | 22.0 | .374 | .293 | .690 | 2.1 | 1.6 | .9 | .2 | 7.6 |
| 2004–05 | Barangay Ginebra | 78 | 31.0 | .397 | .279 | .776 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 1.1 | .3 | 9.9 |
| 2005–06 | Barangay Ginebra | 32 | 25.2 | .349 | .282 | .699 | 2.3 | 1.8 | .9 | .1 | 7.8 |
| 2006–07 | Barangay Ginebra | 19 | 13.1 | .383 | .353 | .667 | .9 | .7 | .5 | .0 | 4.4 |
| 2007–08 | Barangay Ginebra | 2 | 7.5 | .429 | .500 | — | 1.0 | .5 | .0 | .0 | 3.5 |
| 2008–09 | Coca-Cola | 12 | 7.8 | .303 | .167 | 1.000 | .8 | .4 | .0 | .0 | 2.4 |
| Career | 536 | 22.2 | .434 | .283 | .721 | 2.1 | 1.7 | .8 | .2 | 7.6 | |
Coaching career
Santos served as part of San Sebastian's coaching staff.[5] He entered the Stags coaching staff after coach Topex Robinson returned to the team for a second spell as coach in 2013. In 2015, he was officially named head coach of the Stags, replacing Robinson. He also coached the PBA D-League team, ATC Livermarin.[6] The Stags finished the season in 7th place, off the playoff positions.[7] Santos was replaced by Edgar Macaraya in 2016.[8] Santos then became a part of Bo Perasol's coaching staff at UP.[9] In 2022, Santos joined former Ginebra teammate Bal David at UST.[10] UST finished last, losing 13 consecutive games after winning its season opener; David resigned, Santos then manned practices[11] until Pido Jarencio was appointed as new coach.[12]