Sidney Nelson Onwubere (born August 1, 1993) is a Filipino-Nigerian basketball player for the NorthPort Batang Pier of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He is a former star player for the EAC Generals. He was selected by the Phoenix Fuel Masters in the 2017 PBA draft, but was traded to the TNT KaTropa the same day.

Sidney Onwubere
Onwubere with the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in 2021
No. 7 – NorthPort Batang Pier
PositionPower forward
LeaguePBA
Personal information
Born (1993-08-01) August 1, 1993 (age 31)
Valenzuela, Philippines
NationalityFilipino / Nigerian
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Career information
High schoolImmaculate Conception Academy (Dasmariñas, Cavite)
CollegeEAC
PBA draft2017: 1st round, 8th overall pick
Selected by the Phoenix Fuel Masters
Playing career2017–present
Career history
2017–2018TNT KaTropa
2018–2020Rain or Shine Elasto Painters
2021NorthPort Batang Pier
2021–2024Barangay Ginebra San Miguel
2024–presentNorthPort Batang Pier
Career highlights and awards

Early life

edit

Onwubere is the son of a Nigerian father and a Filipina mother.[1] In high school, he played for the EAC-ICA Brigadiers, winning Defensive Player of the Year in the NCAA Season 87 Juniors' division, and earning a spot in the Mythical Team.[2]

College career

edit

Onwubere moved up to the NCAA seniors' division, and played for the EAC Generals. In his rookie season, he was involved in a scuffle with Arellano guard James Forrester.[3] He was given a one-game suspension.[4] He only averaged 2.5 points, 2.8 rebounds in 10.7 minutes in 13 games in Season 89.[5]

In Season 90, he had 15 rebounds, 10 points, and 2 blocks in a win against the Mapúa Cardinals.[6]

In Season 91, the Generals got their first win after five games against the San Sebastian Stags, with Onwubere contributing 13 points and 14 rebounds.[7] He was suspended one game for being involved in a parking lot altercation with players from a rival school.[8] He led all players with 24 points and 9 rebounds in a loss to Arellano.[9] The Generals finished dead last that season.[10]

In Season 92, Onwubere had 18 points and 19 rebounds in a loss to the JRU Heavy Bombers.[11] In their rematch, he led the Generals to the win with 26 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and three steals.[12]

In Season 93, he had nine turnovers and a double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds in a win over the CSB Blazers.[13] In a win over Perpetual Altas, he finished with 21 points (with four being crucial free throws), 17 rebounds, three assists and a block after playing nearly 40 minutes of action in the win.[14] He finished the first round of eliminations with averages of 14.9 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.9 blocks per game.[15] In a win against the Bombers in the second round of eliminations, he had 28 points and nine rebounds.[16] The Generals failed to make the Final Four, finishing with a 7–11 record. In his final season, Onwubere averaged 18 points, 12.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.6 blocks,[17] earning him a spot in the Mythical Five.[18]

Professional career

edit

PBA D-League

edit

Onwubere played for the Racal Tile Masters in the D-League. In the 2017 Aspirants' Cup, his team made it to the Finals, where they lost to the Cignal-San Beda Hawkeyes.[19]

TNT KaTropa

edit

Onwubere was selected by the Phoenix Fuel Masters in the 2017 PBA draft, but was traded to the TNT KaTropa the same day along with Justin Chua for Jonjon Gabriel and Phoenix's 2019 second round pick.[20] He debuted with six points, nine rebounds and a steal off the bench.[21] He was traded to the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters

edit

Onwubere was traded along with Kris Rosales and a 2018 first-round pick in exchange for Jericho Cruz.[22] He broke out in the 2020 PBA season, averaging 5.7 points and 3.6 rebounds in the elimination round.[23] After that season, he was traded to the NorthPort Batang Pier.[23]

NorthPort Batang Pier

edit

On January 20, 2021, Onwubere, along with Clint Doliguez, was traded to the NorthPort Batang Pier for Bradwyn Guinto.[23] He averaged a plus/minus of 7.8, good for fourth in the league.[24]

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel

edit

On November 9, 2021, Onwubere was traded to the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel for Arthur dela Cruz.[25] He suffered a high ankle sprain in a game against the Magnolia Hotshots in the Governors' Cup, which put him out initially for the rest of the conference and the season.[26] Despite the diagnosis, he recovered quickly enough to play again that conference.[27]

PBA career statistics

edit
Legend
  GP Games played   GS Games started  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

As of the end of 2023–24 season[28]

Season-by-season averages

edit
Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 TNT 18 7.3 .371 .278 .333 1.5 .3 .6 .2 1.8
Rain or Shine
2019 Rain or Shine 20 5.0 .278 .167 .313 1.0 .2 .3 .1 1.4
2020 Rain or Shine 12 15.5 .328 .214 .514 3.4 .3 .1 .3 5.8
2021 NorthPort 25 18.8 .413 .263 .524 3.7 .9 .5 .5 6.4
Barangay Ginebra
2022–23 Barangay Ginebra 17 4.3 .364 .300 .500 1.2 .1 .2 1.2
2023–24 Barangay Ginebra 20 9.2 .333 .235 .576 2.9 .5 .3 .3 2.8
Career 112 10.2 .366 .243 .504 2.3 .4 .3 .2 3.3

3x3 basketball

edit

Onwubere was also a member of the Team Manila roster for the 2016 FIBA 3x3 All Stars in Doha, Qatar. He played with Rey Guevarra, CJ Perez and Bright Akhuetie in this competition. The team finished seventh out of eight competitors.[29]

References

edit
  1. ^ Henson, Joaquin M. (October 30, 2017). "Clean sweep". Philstar.com. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  2. ^ Giongco, Mark (October 24, 2011). "San Sebastian's Calvin Abueva bags NCAA MVP award". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  3. ^ Sacamos, Karlo (August 17, 2013). "Commotion mars EAC-Arellano game". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  4. ^ Reyes, Marc Anthony (August 25, 2013). "Letran trips SBC, rules first round". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  5. ^ Sacamos, Karlo (July 1, 2014). "NCAA PREVIEW: Intact EAC Generals look to make Final Four jump". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  6. ^ Sacamos, Karlo (August 4, 2014). "EAC Generals down hapless Mapua Cardinals behind collective effort to snap skid". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  7. ^ Terrado, Reuben (July 31, 2015). "Ex-pro Andy De Guzman savors winning feeling as EAC Generals nip Stags". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  8. ^ Icasiano, Nissi (September 24, 2015). "NCAA suspends Perpetual Help, EAC players for parking lot brawl". RAPPLER. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  9. ^ "You are being redirected..." arellano.edu.ph. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  10. ^ Terrado, Reuben (April 3, 2016). "Igee King back from injury layoff, Jorem Morada rejoins Generals for NCAA Season 92". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  11. ^ Terrado, Reuben (July 21, 2016). "Teytey Teodoro nails go-ahead jumper as JRU nips EAC to get back on winning track". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  12. ^ Leongson, Randolph B. (August 30, 2016). "Controversial finish gives EAC close win over JRU". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  13. ^ Jose, CHELSEIA JEANNE (July 16, 2017). "Sidney Onwubere vows to limit turnovers as EAC Generals take on Letran Knights". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  14. ^ "Sidney Onwubere regains form as CJ Perez returns among weekly standouts in NCAA Season 93". Spin.ph. August 28, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  15. ^ "MVP race frontrunners Prince Eze, CJ Perez lead top standouts after first round in Season 93". Spin.ph. September 2, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  16. ^ "Generals defuse Bombers to move to fourth spot in NCAA Season 93". Spin.ph. September 19, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  17. ^ Leongson, Randolph B. (October 17, 2017). "Onwubere bids EAC goodbye on a winning note". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  18. ^ Dioquino, Delfin (November 10, 2017). "Lyceum's CJ Perez adds MVP award to impressive NCAA season". Rappler. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  19. ^ Ballesteros, Jan (April 6, 2017). "Cignal San Beda overcomes Racal in Game 3 thriller to claim D-League championship". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  20. ^ Ramos, Gerry (November 9, 2017). "TNT acquiring Sidney Onwubere from Phoenix for Jonjon Gabriel in swap of first-round picks". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  21. ^ "A DNP in Katropa's season opener, rookie Sidney Onwubere makes solid debut and vows to continue to improve". Spin.ph. December 30, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  22. ^ Sacamos, Karlo (February 15, 2018). "TNT adds Kris Rosales to package to gain PBA approval for Jericho Cruz trade". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  23. ^ a b c Terrado, Reuben (January 20, 2021). "Guinto beefs up RoS frontline as PBA approves trade with NorthPort". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  24. ^ Terrado, Reuben (November 10, 2021). "Sidney Onwubere in Top 10 of this PBA statistical category before trade". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  25. ^ Ramos, Gerry (November 9, 2021). "Ginebra trades Art Dela Cruz to NorthPort for Sidney Onwubere". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  26. ^ Ramos, Gerry (February 14, 2022). "Onwubere out for rest of season as Ginebra injury list swells". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  27. ^ Terrado, Reuben (February 26, 2022). "Ginebra gets a suprise [sic] boost as Sidney Onwubere returns to action". Spin.ph. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  28. ^ "Sidney Onwubere Player Profile, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com.
  29. ^ Leongson, Randolph B. (November 19, 2016). "Akhuetie-led Manila bows out early in 3×3 All-Stars". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
edit