THERE’S life in basketball after the PBA and the PBA Developmental League.
And James Vincent Martinez, once considered as one of the country’s most prolific scorers, is only too happy to find it in the Thailand Basketball Super League.
After short but memorable stints in the country’s premier play-for-pay leagues, Martinez is now showing his wares as an import for the team Dunkin’ Raptors in Thailand.
It all started with a call from a friend from Thailand.And now Martinez is now doing well -- and doing what he loves best -- shoot basketball. The 5-9 combo guard, who played for San Beda College during his high school days and University of the East in college, is one of the ASEAN imports now playing in the league, whichis obviously patterned after the PBA.
“I am deeply honored to play as an import in Thailand. It’s a big opportunity for me to show my talent as a player,” said the 29-year-old Martinez, who noted that Filipino players are now being recruited to play as imports by different teams in Thailand.
“It only shows how talented Filipino players are,” said Martinez, pointing to AJ Mandani and Jeff Viernes as among the newest recruits in the tournament. “It’s like a reunion for me. Mandani and Viernes used to play for two-time PCBL champion Jumbo Plastic.”
Martinez was drafted with the 18th overall pick by the Barangay Ginebra Kings in the 2011 PBA Draft and was later signed by the Powerade Tigers on the same season.
Martinez then suited up for AMA University in the PBA D-League under coach Mark Herrera last year.
With the Titans, Martinez established a scoring record of 58 points on 22-of-42 shooting from the field, including 10-of-26 clip from three-point range in 28 minutes against Topstar-Mindanao. He surpassed the league record for most points in a game of 41 previously held by Mac Belo.
Martinez is also best remembered for scoring 75 points for AMA in a winning game against veteran-laden Gryphon International in the MBL Open last June, 2015.
His record 75-point performance surpassed the previous MBL-high of 54 points established by Jonathan Aldave of Wang’s Ballclub.