KG Canaleta
Rommel Niño T. "KG" Canaleta (born February 12, 1982) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Blackwater Elite of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). A 6-6 athletic forward, he is fondly called by nicknames like KG, The Big Ticket, and The Da Vinci of Dunk. He won the 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2012 PBA Slam Dunk Contests and led the Air21 Express to a third-place finish in the 2006 PBA Philippine Cup.
 | |
| No. 9 – Blackwater Elite | |
|---|---|
| Position | Small forward / Power forward |
| League | PBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | February 12, 1982 Tarlac City, Tarlac, Philippines |
| Nationality | Filipino |
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | University of the East |
| PBA draft | 2005 Round: 1 / Pick: 6th overall |
| Selected by the Air21 Express | |
| Playing career | 2005–present |
| Career history | |
| 2005–2009 | Air21 Express |
| 2009–2011 | B-Meg Derby Ace Llamados / B-Meg Llamados |
| 2011 | Air21 Express |
| 2011–2012 | Barangay Ginebra Kings |
| 2012–2014 | Air21 Express |
| 2014 | Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters |
| 2014–2015 | NLEX Road Warriors |
| 2015–2016 | Mahindra Enforcer |
| 2016–2017 | GlobalPort Batang Pier |
| 2017 | Blackwater Elite |
| 2017–2019 | Meralco Bolts |
| 2019–present | Blackwater Elite |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
PBA career
He made a serious run for the Rookie of the Year honors with an impressive Philippine Cup campaign where he averaged 16.2 points per game, No. 1 among rookies and seventh in the tournament among locals. But a so-so performance in the Fiesta Conference and two finals stints of Red Bull made Larry Fonacier a no-brainer for the award.
Canaleta is undoubtedly one of the biggest attractions in the league with his jaw-dropping, never-seen slams by a local player. Canaleta was a back-to-back-to-back winner of the Slam Dunk competition, both by convincing fashion. He was ranked no. 2 in scoring among rookies during his rookie year with 9.4 points per outing. Canaleta was the first Philippine Basketball Association player to become a 5-time PBA Slam Dunk Champion. On 2011 PBA All-Star Weekend, he dunked on 3 men in the final round against Kelly Williams to win his 4th PBA Slam Dunk Champion Award. On 2012, Canaleta did it again after dunking on 3-men, including 6-foot-9 Asi Taulava to win his 5th Slam Dunk Award.
He was also awarded by the PBA to be the Mr. Quality Minutes Player in 2010.
On December 5, 2012, Canaleta scored a career-high 41 points in their 112-93 win against GlobalPort Batang Pier.[1] Canaleta was named the PBA Press Corps' Player of the Week for the period April 8–14, 2013 after dropping 37 points anchored on 9-18 shooting from 3-point land in their come-from-behind win over Petron, 95-91.[2]
On January 20, 2014, Canaleta was traded by Air21 to Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters for Sean Anthony, Eliud Poligrates, and a 2016 first-round pick.[3]
On October 9, 2014, Canaleta was traded from Talk 'N Text to NLEX in a three-team trade that involved Blackwater Elite.[4]
On August 25, 2015, Canaleta was traded by NLEX to Mahindra Enforcer in a three-team trade that also involved Talk 'N Text.[5][6]
On March 29, Canaleta was traded to the Blackwater Elite in exchange for Dylan Ababou and James Forrester.
PBA career statistics
| 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 |
Correct as of September 24, 2016[7]
Season-by-season averages
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | Air21 | 52 | 21.0 | .388 | .304 | .707 | 3.8 | .6 | .3 | .3 | 9.4 |
| 2006–07 | Air21 | 41 | 25.8 | .395 | .331 | .703 | 5.8 | .8 | .4 | .7 | 11.9 |
| 2007–08 | Air21 | 50 | 23.5 | .397 | .332 | .681 | 3.2 | 1.2 | .5 | .6 | 10.4 |
| 2008–09 | Air21 / Purefoods | 37 | 18.1 | .353 | .220 | .736 | 3.9 | .8 | .3 | .3 | 5.8 |
| 2009–10 | B-Meg | 58 | 17.5 | .379 | .345 | .596 | 2.6 | .9 | .3 | .4 | 8.1 |
| 2010–11 | B-Meg / Air21 | 43 | 20.0 | .374 | .342 | .804 | 3.7 | .5 | .4 | .5 | 8.0 |
| 2011–12 | Barangay Ginebra | 36 | 17.2 | .413 | .364 | .739 | 3.3 | .7 | .2 | .3 | 8.7 |
| 2012–13 | Air21 | 39 | 30.6 | .379 | .369 | .739 | 5.3 | 1.3 | .5 | .6 | 16.7 |
| 2013–14 | Air21 / Talk 'N Text | 48 | 23.8 | .388 | .351 | .769 | 4.1 | .7 | .5 | .2 | 10.2 |
| 2014–15 | NLEX | 36 | 20.1 | .382 | .327 | .762 | 3.3 | .6 | .2 | .1 | 8.1 |
| 2015–16 | Mahindra | 32 | 25.3 | .425 | .354 | .841 | 3.8 | 1.0 | .2 | .4 | 11.7 |
| Career | 472 | 22.0 | .391 | .337 | .719 | 3.8 | .8 | .3 | .4 | 9.8 | |
Awards
- Mr. Quality Minutes Award (2010)
- Five-time PBA Slam Dunk Champion (2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012)
- PBA All Rookie First Team (2005–2006)
- Scored a record 38 Points in the PBA Rookie Game
- 2013 PBA Most Improved Player
References
- de Leon, Job (December 6, 2012). "Canaleta drops career-high 41 to carry Air 21 past GlobalPort". PBA-Online.net. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
- Dy, Richard (April 15, 2013). "Player of the Week Canaleta happy to prove he's more than just a freak show". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
- "PBA: Talk 'N Text acquires KG Canaleta from Air21". GMA News and Public Affairs. January 20, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
- Alas heads TnT 3 team trade deal, philstar.net, Retrieved October 9, 2014
- Joble, Rey (August 25, 2015). "Talk 'N Text lands No.2 pick Troy Rosario from Mahindra in 3-team trade". InterAksyon. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
- "PBA Trade: Rosario shipped to Talk 'N Text in three-team deal; Ginebra acquires Nico Salva". CNN Philippines. August 26, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
- Player Profile at PBA-Online!