Dylan Simon Rosales Ababou (born December 7, 1986) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He played for seven teams during his career in 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 10th overall in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

by the

Barako Bull Energy The Barako Bull Energy were a Philippine Basketball Association team that began in 2002 as the FedEx Express. From its first season until 2005, the team was dubbed as the FedEx Express before changing to Air21 Express. From the 2009 PBA Fies ...

. Ababou was one of the key players of the

UST Growling Tigers The UST Growling Tigers are the college athletic teams representing the University of Santo Tomas in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. They hold the most UAAP Overall Championships with 44 Seniors' Overall Championships ( ...

who won the UAAP title in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

. He was also named the 2009 UAAP Season

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. He also played for the

Philippines men's national basketball team The Philippines men's national basketball team ( fil, Pambansang koponan ng basketbol ng Pilipinas), commonly known as Gilas Pilipinas, is the basketball team representing the Philippines. The team is managed by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipi ...

Early life

Dylan Ababou was born in

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

to parents Rachid Ababou and Rosemarie Rosales. He was raised by his grandmother and started playing basketball when he was 8 years old.

College career

Ababou played for the

men's basketball team in the

University Athletic Association of the Philippines The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), established in 1938, is an athletic association of eight Metro Manila universities in the Philippines. The eight-member schools are Adamson University (AdU), Ateneo de Manila Univers ...

from 2005 to 2009. He also had interest in playing for either San Beda or UP. In

, he was one of the members of the

2006 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team The 2006 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team represented the University of Santo Tomas in the men's basketball tournament of the 69th season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. The Tigers defeated the Blue Eagles o ...

who won the title against the heavily favored

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 v ...

2-1. He also won the Sixth Man of the Year award for that season. Ababou was crowned the Season MVP on his final year with the Tigers.

Professional career

Barako Bull Energy (2011–12)

In the 2011 PBA draft, he was drafted 10th overall by the

. In his first game with the Energy he scored 20 points on 8 of 13 FG as he led the Energy to a victory against the

Barangay Ginebra Kings A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...

, 88-75. Ababou became a key player for the Energy since then and entered the starting lineup. The Energy made the quarterfinals but were knocked off by the

Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters The TNT (cellular service), TNT Tropang Giga is a professional basketball team currently owned by Smart Communications, a subsidiary of the PLDT, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), playing in the Philippine Basketball Associat ...

who had a twice-to-beat advantage.

Barangay Ginebra Kings (2012–15)

Ababou was traded from the Energy to the Barangay Ginebra Kings alongside

Kerby Raymundo Kerby Mariano Raymundo (born January 19, 1981) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He last played for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Known as The Kid, he was a former star player ...

from the

B-Meg Llamados The Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots, or simply known as the Magnolia Hotshots, are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association. The team is owned by San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc., a subsidiary of San Migue ...

. The Llamados got

JC Intal John Christopher Antonio "JC" Intal (born November 18, 1983) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He last played for the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He is married to television ...

from the Kings while the Energy got

Ronald Tubid Ronald Tubid (born October 15, 1981) is a Filipino professional basketball coach and former player who is the team manager of the Terrafirma Dyip of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He last played for the San Miguel Beermen of the P ...

and

Reil Cervantes Reil T. Cervantes (born August 16, 1986) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Batang Kankaloo – Caloocan of the Pilipinas Super League. He was drafted 9th by Barangay Ginebra Kings in the 2011 PBA draft. In 2014, Cervantes was ...

from the Kings. He participated in the 2012 Rookies/Sophomores/Juniors vs Veterans Game during the 2012 All-Star Weekend. In that game, him and

James Yap James Carlos Agravante Yap Sr. (born February 15, 1982) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Known by his nickname Big Game James, he had played for ...

of the Veterans team both scored 44 points, breaking Samboy Lim's record of most points scored in an All-Star game. The record would eventually be broken by

Terrence Romeo Terrence Bill Vitanzos Romeo (born March 16, 1992) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He plays both the point guard and shooting guard positions. He played ...

in 2018. He helped Ginebra reach the Finals berth playoff in the 2012 Governors' Cup. At the end of his rookie season, he was named to the All-Rookie Team. Early into his second season, he tore his ACL. He was out for ten months. He was almost traded for Barako Bull's 2013 1st round pick, but the trade was altered, and

Rico Maierhofer Paul Rico Galenzoga Maierhofer (born November 4, 1985) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He last played for the San Miguel Alab Pilipinas of the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL). He was drafted 2nd overall by the Purefoods Tender ...

and

Willy Wilson William Joel Ventenilla Wilson (born January 30, 1980) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player who is currently an assistant coach for the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He playe ...

were sent instead. He returned with 16 points in 17 minutes in a win over the

San Mig Coffee Mixers The Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots, or simply known as the Magnolia Hotshots, are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association. The team is owned by San Miguel Pure Foods Company, Inc., San Miguel Food and Bever ...

Return to Barako (2015)

In March 2015, Ababou and James Forrester were traded for the 1st round draft pick of the Barako Bull Energy from

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, Inc. (formerly, La Tondeña Distillers, Inc.), a subsidia ...

; the first trade made under the leadership of Ginebra's new head coach

Frankie Lim Francisco "Frankie" Lim (born February 29, 1960) is a Filipino former basketball player, basketball coach and executive. He played 15 seasons in the PBA. He later became a successful coach, leading his alma mater San Beda Red Lions to four NCA ...

. He helped Barako Bull make the 2015 Governors' Cup quarterfinals.

TNT Franchise (2015–16)

On October 8, 2015, the PBA office approved the trade that sent Ababou to the

for a 2016 second round pick.

Constant trades (2016–17)

On November 14, 2016, Ababou was traded by the TNT to the

Blackwater Elite The Blackwater Bossing is a professional basketball team owned by Ever Bilena, Inc. that is playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) beginning in the 2014–2015 season. The franchise began as one of the founding teams in the PB ...

for Frank Golla. In 2017, he was traded to the

GlobalPort Batang Pier The NorthPort Batang Pier is a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team that first played in the 2012–13 PBA season. The team took over the franchise of the Powerade Tigers in 2012 after it was sold to Sultan 900 Capital, Inc. Besides Nor ...

for

KG Canaleta Rommel Niño T. "KG" Canaleta (born February 12, 1982) is a Filipino professional basketball coach. He is currently the assistant coach for the Taichung Suns of the T1 League. He is also a former basketball player who played majority of his caree ...

. He debuted with 17 points in a loss to Ginebra. Later that year, he was involved in a three-team trade that sent him to the

Phoenix Fuel Masters The Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters is a professional basketball team owned by Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc., which debuted in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in the 2016 Commissioner's Cup. The franchise began after the compa ...

. He failed to get a new contract with Phoenix and became a free agent.

Kia Picanto / Columbian Dyip (2017–18)

Ababou was able to sign a one-conference deal with the

Kia Picanto The Kia Picanto is a city car that has been produced by the South Korean car manufacturer, Kia, since 2003. Other names of the car include Kia Morning ( ko, 기아 모닝, translit=Gia Moning) in South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan (first two generati ...

. Before the start of the 2019 season, he was left off the roster.

3x3 career

Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 (2019–2020)

Ababou then played for the Pasig Grindhouse Kings beginning in the

President's Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

. He then joined the Big Boss Cement–Porac MSC Green Gorillas.

PBA 3x3

In 2021, Ababou joined

Platinum Karaoke Platinum Karaoke is a Philippine 3x3 basketball team which competes in the PBA 3x3, organized by the Philippines' top-flight professional league, Philippine Basketball Association. History The Platinum Karaoke entered the PBA 3x3 in 2021 as a gue ...

in the

PBA 3x3 PBA 3x3 refers to the men's 3x3 basketball league of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). History The proposal to form PBA 3x3, a men's 3x3 basketball league, was a result of a joint partnership between the Philippine Basketball Assoc ...

. Just before the season started, he had an Achilles injury. In 2022, he left for the US to be with his family.

International career

In 2004, Ababou played for the RP Youth Team, competing in the 2004 Southeast Asia Junior Basketball Championship and in that year's Asia Basketball Confederation (ABC) Junior Men’s Championship. Immediately after his collegiate career with the Tigers ended, Ababou was called to join the Smart Gilas

together with the likes of

Chris Tiu Christopher John Alandy-Dy Tiu (born July 15, 1985) is a Filipino former professional basketball player who is currently a television presenter. He played college basketball for the Ateneo Blue Eagles with whom he won the UAAP title in 2008. He ...

JVee Casio Joseph Evans "JVee" D. Casio (born September 1, 1986) is a Filipino basketball player for the Blackwater Bossing of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was drafted first overall by the Powerade Tigers in 2011 PBA draft. Early life a ...

Mac Baracael Marnel "Mac" Baracael (born April 14, 1985) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the MisOr Kuyamis of the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup. Baracael was drafted sixth overall by the Alaska Aces in the 2011 PBA draft. Baracael played coll ...

and

Mark Barroca Andy Mark C. Barroca (born April 25, 1986) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Magnolia Hotshots of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He currently wears the number 14 to imply the birthdate of his wife. Professional ...

, players whom he faced during his college career. However, his tenure with Smart Gilas did not go well as he had limited playing time with the team. Also, the arrival of Marcio Lassiter and

Chris Lutz Christopher Ryan Lutz (born February 11, 1985) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player. He last played for the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Lutz grew up in Bedford, New Hampshire. As a ...

to Smart Gilas did not bode well with Ababou as his playing time grew even more limited.

PBA career statistics

''Correct as of October 2, 2016''

Season-by-season averages

, - , align="left" , , align="left" , Barako Bull /

Barangay Ginebra 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, Inc. (formerly, La Tondeña Distillers, Inc.), a subsidia ...

, 42 , , 22.6 , , .406 , , .299 , , .816 , , 3.1 , , .7 , , .2 , , .3 , , 8.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 4 , , 10.5 , , .364 , , .250 , , 1.000 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , .0 , , .8 , , 4.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 27 , , 9.3 , , .317 , , .235 , , .727 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , .3 , , .1 , , 2.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

/ Barako Bull , 18 , , 10.8 , , .400 , , .387 , , .875 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , .2 , , .0 , , 3.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Talk 'N Text TNT (formerly known as Piltel, Mobiline, Phone Pal, and still unofficially known as Talk 'N Text) is a cellular service of Smart Communications in the Philippines. By April 2000, Piltel launched its GSM brand, Talk 'N Text. Piltel also reporte ...

, 24 , , 8.4 , , .438 , , .389 , , 1.000 , , .5 , , .4 , , .2 , , .3 , , 2.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Blackwater / GlobalPort /

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, 26 , , 9.8 , , .347 , , .386 , , .750 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , .1 , , .1 , , 2.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Kia Kia Corporation, commonly known as Kia (, ; formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry and Kia Motors Corporation), is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second lar ...

, 27 , , 9.7 , , .384 , , .222 , , .786 , , .4 , , .2 , , .4 , , .1 , , 2.8 , -class=sortbottom , align=center colspan=2 , Career , 168 , , 12.8 , , .390 , , .308 , , .827 , , 1.5 , , .4 , , .2 , , .2 , , 4.2

Personal life

Ababou is a Christian. He leads Bible studies with other PBA players. Ababou also owns several business ventures. In 2022, he was an analyst for the broadcast of

UAAP Season 84 UAAP Season 84 was the 2021–22 athletic year of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). The Season 84 theme was "Fully Alive, Champions for Life" and the season's host was the De La Salle University. With the limitations ...

, and also commentated on PBA games.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ababou, Dylan 1986 births Living people Barako Bull Energy draft picks Barako Bull Energy players Barangay Ginebra San Miguel players Basketball players from Leyte (province) Blackwater Bossing players Filipino men's 3x3 basketball players Filipino men's basketball players Filipino people of Moroccan descent NorthPort Batang Pier players Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Philippines men's national basketball team players Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters players Shooting guards Small forwards Terrafirma Dyip players TNT Tropang Giga players UST Growling Tigers basketball players Filipino Christians Filipino emigrants to the United States