Aljon Escalona Mariano (born August 3, 1992) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The most popular team in the league, it is owned by Ginebra San Miguel, Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. (formerly, La Tondeña Distillers ...

of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

(PBA). He was drafted with the 16th overall pick in the

2015 PBA draft The 2015 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) rookie draft was an event which allows teams to draft players from the amateur ranks. The event was held at the Midtown Atrium, Robinsons Place Manila on August 23, 2015. From this draft on, the ...

by the

College career

Rookie season

Mariano joined the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

in 2009. Mariano played limited minutes with the Tigers during his first season with the team.

Second season

In his second season, Mariano became a starter for the Tigers, while averaging 7.1 points per game and 3.1 rebounds per game. Unfortunately, the inexperienced Tigers failed to return to the Final Four and finished 7th in the standings at 4–10 ahead of the

UP Fighting Maroons The UP Fighting Maroons are the collegiate varsity teams of the University of the Philippines, primarily off Diliman, which play in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the premiere sports league in the country. The Fi ...

Injury and return

Mariano sat out the entire season in

UAAP Season 74 UAAP Season 74 was the 2011–2012 athletic year of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. It was hosted by Ateneo de Manila University. The men's basketball and the women's volleyball tournaments were aired by ABS-CBN Channel 2 ...

due to a fractured ankle which kept him out of action for 6 months. Mariano returned to the Tigers the following season. In a game against the

Ateneo Blue Eagles The Ateneo Blue Eagles are the collegiate varsity teams of the Ateneo de Manila University that play in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the premiere collegiate league in the Philippines. The collegiate women's ...

, Mariano scored a career-high 21 points and 13 rebounds as he led the Tigers to snap a 12-game losing streak against the Blue Eagles 71–70. In a game against the De La Salle Green Archers, Mariano scored all of his 15 points in the 4th quarter and in the two overtime periods, including the game-winning basket with 7.1 seconds left as the Tigers defeat the Green Archers in double overtime 84–82. Then in their second round meeting against the

NU Bulldogs The National University Bulldogs are the collegiate men's varsity teams of National University in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. The collegiate women's varsity teams are called the ''Lady Bulldogs'' while the high school ...

, Mariano set another career-high 22 points, including the game winner with 4.4 seconds left in overtime as he led the Tigers to an overtime victory against the Bulldogs 58–57. The Tigers were able to advance to the

UAAP Final Four The UAAP Final Four refers to the postseasons of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) tournaments. The term "final four" came from the National Collegiate Athletic Association of the United States' men's Division I basketb ...

as the #2 seed with a 10–4 record in the elimination round, they were able to defeat the

to advance to the UAAP Finals and faced off against the

but were swept in the Finals 2–0 as the Blue Eagles completed their five-peat. Mariano finished the season averaging 13.3 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game and 2.2 assists per game on 42% shooting from the field, 36% shooting from 3-point range and 67% free throw shooting. In the

Philippine Collegiate Champions League The Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) is a national collegiate basketball championship league in the Philippines. Its tournament, known as the "National Collegiate Championship" (NCC) is sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipin ...

later that year, Mariano would play a key part in the Tigers run in the tournament as they first won the Metro Manila-Luzon tournament by defeating both the

Letran Knights The Letran Knights are the collegiate varsity teams representing Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The collegiate women's varsity teams are called the ''Lady Knights'', while the high school varsity t ...

and the

Adamson Soaring Falcons The Adamson Soaring Falcons are the collegiate men's varsity teams of Adamson University that play in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines which is the mother sports league of the ''Falcons''. The collegiate women's varsity team ...

to enter into the PCCL Final Four with the

San Beda Red Lions The San Beda Red Lions is the collegiate varsity basketball team of the San Beda University that plays in the NCAA. The juniors basketball team is called the Red Cubs of San Beda University–Rizal, while the women's varsity basketball team is c ...

and the Southwestern U Cobras. The Tigers would finish with a 2–1 record in the Final Four to set up a rematch with the Blue Eagles in the Finals, where the Tigers exacted their revenge against the Eagles as they were crowned the National Champions after winning the title in a tightly contested three-game series.

Fourth season

In his fourth season with the Tigers, Mariano fought through an ankle injury throughout the season as the Tigers struggled throughout the season after coming off their runner-up finish the previous season and their national championship run. Despite the injury, Mariano would be a key catalyst to the Tigers' run throughout the season as the Tigers made a stunning bid to return UAAP Finals where they battled the De La Salle Green Archers. Mariano however would struggle during the Finals against the Archers. In Game 3 of the Finals, he missed the title-clinching jumper that sent the game into overtime and would turn the ball over in the final moments that led to the title-clinching jumper by Almond Vosotros as the Archers won the title with a Game 3 win over the Tigers 71–69. Mariano ended the season averaging 11.4 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game and 2.1 assists per game on 40% shooting from the field and 66% shooting from the free throw line.

Final season

In his final season with the Tigers, with new head coach Bong dela Cruz taking the helm from Pido Jarencio, Mariano was named the captain of the Tigers with the departure of

Jeric Teng Jeric Allen Uy Teng (born March 18, 1991) is a Filipino basketball player. He was drafted 12th overall by Rain or Shine in the 2013 PBA draft. He played college ball for the UST Growling Tigers in the UAAP. College career Rookie season Teng ...

last season. However, the Tigers were riddled with injuries late in the season as Mariano ended his college playing career with the Tigers missing the Final Four. Mariano in his final season with the Tigers averaged 11 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game, and 1.4 assists per game on 34% shooting from the field and 30% shooting from three-point range.

Professional career

On August 23, 2015, Mariano was drafted by the

in the

as the sixteenth overall pick.

PBA career statistics

''As of the end of 2021 season''
Real GM

Season-by-season averages

, - , align=left , , align=left , 2015–16 Barangay Ginebra San Miguel season, Barangay Ginebra , 26 , , 10.6 , , .460 , , .000 , , .429 , , 2.6 , , .5 , , .1 , , .1 , , .3 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 35 , , 10.2 , , .462 , , .000 , , .610 , , 2.6 , , .3 , , .2 , , .1 , , 3.1 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 42 , , 14.9 , , .463 , , .250 , , .651 , , 3.4 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .1 , , 4.9 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 45 , , 11.1 , , .468 , , .000 , , .545 , , 2.5 , , .9 , , .2 , , .1 , , 3.2 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 22 , , 26.0 , , .455 , , .200 , , .754 , , 6.1 , , 2.0 , , .5 , , .3 , , 8.5 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 14 , , 15.5 , , .442 , , .444 , , .400 , , 2.6 , , .9 , , .3 , , .1 , , 3.1 , -class=sortbottom , align="center" colspan=2 , Career , 184 , , 13.8 , , .460 , , .214 , , .638 , , 3.2 , , .9 , , .3 , , .1 , , 4.1

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mariano, Aljon 1992 births Living people Barangay Ginebra San Miguel players Filipino men's basketball players Small forwards UST Growling Tigers basketball players San Beda University alumni Power forwards (basketball) People from Mandaluyong Barangay Ginebra San Miguel draft picks