Following a short but sweet five-game stint in the Philippine Cup, veteran Danny Ildefonso was signed by Meralco Bolts with a rest of the season contract extension on Tuesday.
photo credit: Sports5/Paolo Papa
Ildefonso, who played for 15 years for SMB/Petron franchise, inked a one-conference deal with Meralco on January but the 6’5 big man will now extend his stay with the team due to his solid showing with 7.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.1 (–foul word(s) removed–)ists and 1.6 blocks averages.
“After seeing him (Ildefonso) play, we realized that he has an incredible value in what we are trying to accomplish,” Bolts head Coach Ryan Gregorio said. (Statement from Spin.ph)
The experienced PBA star is also believed by Gregorio as someone that will provide positive influence and inspiration to his young players for the coming conferences.
With this signing, the 37-year old former bulldogs star will continue to man the frontline of Meralco with fellow veteran Reynel Hugnatan and Don Allado until August.
The two-time MVP was waived by Petron on November 2013 to become a free-agent before he joined the Bolts in the early part of 2014. Danny Ildefonso made a name for himself in the PBA during his early days with San Miguel Beermen earning him two-season MVP award. He is the former slotman of the National University Bulldogs during his college days.