Vergel Meneses - Quotes

Quotes

• "I felt back then that Vergel had the makings of a Michael Jordan, if only he had more dedication to the game. When I first saw him, I told him, 'Vergel, sayang ka. Kung magpapa-kundisyon ka, puwede kang maglaro ng point guard, ang laki ng advantage mo. Pero kung magpo-point guard ka, kailangan nasa kundisyon ka.' (Vergel, you could do better. If you condition yourself properly, you could play point guard and have a very big advantage. However, if you'll play point guard, you need to be in good shape.) The talent that Vergel has is very rare. I think he himself doesn't know how good he is. Sayang (Too bad), we wouldn't even know how good he could have been. His potential, I think, was never fulfilled." (Tommy Manotoc, The First 25 PBA Yearbook)

• "Vergel is one of the best one-on-one players in the league, right up there with Samboy Lim. It's very hard to read his moves, very hard to defend against him. He was not really that polished when he came into the league but the skills were there. He was a super player in college. His outside shooting was not really prolific but he became a better player because he managed to develop his shooting range. While Samboy was more spectacular and faster, Vergel often found the open man. He's a better passer." (Norman Black who coached Meneses at Pop Cola, The First 25 PBA Yearbook)

• Meneses on the PBA right now: "Basketball in the Philippines has changed a lot. Gone are the days a superb one-on-one player could single-handedly win a game. Marami nang paraan ngayon para mapigil ang mga player na dati ay namamayani sa one-on-one. At alam ito ng lahat. (There are various ways now to defend players who used to rule on one-on-ones. Everybody knows this.) There are exceptions but these are only for the best and the imports as well. Mahirap talagang maka-porma sa (It's really difficult to play against a) double team or triple team. The entry of Fil-Am cagers also made it very difficult to win games. Nakaka-inggit ang mga player na mayroong mga kasama na nado-double o nati-triple team. (Players who have teammates who are constantly double or triple-teamed are always the envy of others.)