For PJ Simon, he simply feels that the time has come for him to hang up his basketball sneakers for good.
The 39-year-old has now entered his 17th season with Magnolia, which ties him for the longest tenure with the team with the great Alvin Patrimonio. Now, he has decided it will be his last.
“Siguro, it’s time na,” said Simon. “Para din sa mga next generation na rin. Nagawa ko na rin ‘yung part ko.
“Nakakalungkot dahil feeling ko kaya ko pa, but sa tingin ko ito na ‘yung time.”
Simon has contributed plenty to the franchise as he had helped it win multiple titles, including the Grand Slam in 2014 where he, James Yap, and Marc Pingris formed the San Mig Coffee core.
And so on May 10, when Magnolia takes on Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in another Manila Clasico tiff at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, the Hotshots will honor him by retiring his jersey.
That means no other player in the team will ever wear number 8, which flatters Simon extremely.
“Nakaka-flatter naman,” he said.
Simon will be the fourth player in franchise history to have his jersey retired next to all-time greats Patrimonio and Jerry Codiñera, as well as Rey Evangelista.
Simon has indeed had himself a exemplary career. The University of Mindanao product started with Purefoods in 2004 as a free agent after being the 43rd pick by Sta. Lucia in the 2001 Draft.
Since then, Simon has emerged as one of the league’s elite scorers, earning him the “Scoring Apostle” monicker.
Simon has eight championships; eight All-Star appearances that saw him win the 2008 All-Star Game MVP; a Mythical Second Team citation in 2014; and a two-time Mr. Quality Minutes awardee.
With how his career turned out, the Makilala, Cotabato-native hopes to inspire the next generation of ballers.
“Specially sa mga bench player at saka ‘yung mga hindi na-draft, huwag lang silang mawalan ng pag-asa kasi ‘yun ‘yung nangyari sa akin,” Simon said. “There were times na gusto ko na mag-give up but, sige lang.
“‘Yun siguro ‘yung legacy na maiiwan ko. Kaya minsan naisip ko kung bakit ako nag-struggle noong first two, three years ko, dahil parang feeling ko ‘yun pala ‘yung maiiwan ko, na maging inspiration ako sa mga hindi nakakalaro masyado,” the soft-spoken guard added.
“Hopefully, doon sa mga hindi na-draft, hindi sila mawalan ng pag-asa. Huwag silang gumive up dahil kung nakaya ko, for sure makakaya rin nila.”
