Noli Locsin

Template:Short description Template:Philippine name Template:Template other Luis Manuel Bespejo Locsin (born October 19, 1971), better known as Noli Locsin, is a Filipino retired professional basketball player. Dubbed as "The Tank", He is best known for his playing years with the Ginebra San Miguel franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association.

Playing career

Locsin played for the RP Youth team in 1990 before suiting up for back-to-back UAAP titlist De La Salle Green Archers. He had a brief stint with Triple-V Foodmasters in the Philippine Basketball League prior to its disbandment and then played for Nikon Electric Fan which completed a cinderella finish in the PBL.

When 6-9 Marlou Aquino, the most sought-after rookie, was out of the picture in the 1994 PBA draft, Ginebra, now renamed Tondeña 65, and the team that will pick first in the amateur draft, went for the next best option in Noli Locsin, a burly 6-3 power forward who can barrel his way into the toughest walls of the defenders.

He showed the Tondeña ballclub that it made the right choice when he emerged as the team's leading scorer and the league's leading local rebounder with his rookie season averages of 18.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists in 34.9 minutes. His stats are not enough through as Tondeña's struggles continued, winning just 12 of their 32 games in the 1994 season.

Playing for player-coach Robert Jaworski's "never-say-die" system, he flourished playing power forward while being undersized at only 6-3 without being able to develop outside shooting. A consistent low post threat, Locsin closed the size gap with his strength and skill although he began to fade out as soon as he parted ways with Jaworski. Before the arrival of Fil-Ams in the PBA, Locsin was considered one of the top bruisers of his time in a time when it was rare for a Filipino player with his bulk to move as quick and leap as he did. Locsin was then traded to Pop Cola in the mid-season in 1999 for Vergel Meneses. He drifted to other PBA teams such as Tanduay and Red Bull before retiring.

PBA career statistics

Season-by-season averages

Template:PBA player statistics start |- | align=left | Template:Pbay | align=left | Tondeña | 32 || 34.9 || .532 || .222 || .617 || 8.8 || 2.9 || .8 || .8 || 18.5 |- | align=left | Template:Pbay | align=left | Ginebra | 29 || 36.3 || .499 || .111 || .684 || 10.6 || 2.6 || .4 || .7 || 17.6 |- | align=left | Template:Pbay | align=left | Ginebra | 64 || 32.5 || .530 || .222 || .636 || 7.1 || 2.5 || .7 || .5 || 15.5 |- | align=left | Template:Pbay | align=left | Gordon's Gin | 66 || 32.5 || .504 || .188 || .682 || 7.5 || 2.8 || .6 || .3 || 13.1 |- | align=left | Template:Pbay | align=left | Gordon's Gin / Ginebra | 31 || 28.1 || .514 || .167 || .634 || 5.6 || 2.3 || .8 || .5 || 11.4 |- | align=left rowspan=2| Template:Pbay | align=left | Barangay Ginebra | rowspan=2|39 || rowspan=2|38.4 || rowspan=2|.458 || rowspan=2|.333 || rowspan=2|.500 || rowspan=2|7.9 || rowspan=2|2.8 || rowspan=2|.4 || rowspan=2|.6 || rowspan=2|13.9 |- | align=left | Pop Cola |- | align=left | Template:Pbay | align=left | Pop Cola / Sunkist | 34 || 33.2 || .446 || .222 || .532 || 5.2 || 2.8 || .3 || .5 || 8.5 |- | align=left | Template:Pbay | align=left | Tanduay | 37 || 26.0 || .473 || .000 || .519 || 6.1 || 1.2 || .4 || .4 || 8.1 |- | align=left | Template:Pbay | align=left | Red Bull | 32 || 9.6 || .437 || .000 || .500 || 1.6 || .7 || .2 || .1 || 2.9 |- | align=left | Template:Pbay | align=left | Talk 'N Text | 26 || 8.2 || .424 || .000 || .500 || 2.0 || .6 || .1 || .0 || 3.1 |- | align=left rowspan=2| Template:Pbay | align=left | Sta. Lucia | rowspan=2|24 || rowspan=2|10.5 || rowspan=2|.350 || rowspan=2|— || rowspan=2|.316 || rowspan=2|2.2 || rowspan=2|.6 || rowspan=2|.2 || rowspan=2|.0 || rowspan=2|2.6 |- | align=left | Alaska |-class=sortbottom | align="center" colspan="2" | Career | 413 || 28.2 || .493 || .200 || .614 || 6.2 || 2.1 || .5 || .4 || 11.3 |}

External links

• Player Profile at PBA-Online!