Elmer Torres Espiritu (born November 23, 1985) is a Filipino former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who last played for

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 ...

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 played five seasons for the

University of the East The University of the East ( fil, Pamantasan ng Silangan), also known as UE, is a leading private university located in Manila, Philippines. Founded in 1946, business tycoon Lucio Tan acquired the university in 1990. UE was once labeled as the ...

Red Warriors 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 captained the Warriors team that finished runner-up to the

Ateneo de Manila , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Jesuits) , academic_affi ...

Blue Eagles The Blue Eagles were the helicopter aerobatic team of the British Army Air Corps. It was one of only eight professional helicopter teams in the world, along with the Royal Navy Black Cats, Sarang of the Indian Air Force, the Scorpion aeroba ...

in the 2009 season, where he averaged 13.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game while winning two with the Highlight Player of the Year and the Defensive Player trophies.

Professional career

Alaska Aces

He was selected by the Alaska Aces as 4th pick overall in the

2010 PBA draft The 2010 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) rookie draft was an event held at Market! Market! in Taguig on August 29, 2010 that allowed PBA teams to draft players from the amateur ranks. Players who applied for the draft went through a rook ...

. However, Espiritu played limited minutes in the stacked Alaska squad, averaging only 4.2 minutes per game, 0.6 points per game, and 0.3 assists in his only 9 games in the Alaska Aces.

Air21 Express (first era)

On May 15, 2011, Espiritu was traded to the

Air21 Express The Air21 Express were a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) that debuted in the 2011–12 season. The team debuted as the Shopinas.com Clickers during the 2011–12 PBA Philippine Cup. In 2014, the fran ...

for

Wesley Gonzales Wesley Olan Gonzales (born July 27, 1980 in Manila, Philippines) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. Gonzales last played for the Barako Bull Energy Cola before retiring after a stellar college career and a 10-year stint in the P ...

for the 2011 Governors' Cup after the Express and the Alaska Aces formally agreed in a trade.

Shopinas.com Clickers

On September 6, 2011, Espiritu, along with

Brian Ilad Brian Ilad (born June 13, 1985) is a Filipino professional basketball player who last played for the Makati FSD Blazers of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He previously played for the Air21 Express of the Philippine Basketball ...

, was traded from Barako Bull to the Shopinas.com Clickers in a trade that also involved

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 ...

and

Don Allado Don Carlos Armand Crisostomo Allado (born June 10, 1977) is a Filipino basketball coach, former professional player, and politician. A power forward, he played college basketball for the De La Salle Green Archers, where he won back-to-back U ...

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel

On August 23, 2012, Espiritu was traded by Air21 to 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 ...

along with a 2013 draft first round selection (who turned out to be

Greg Slaughter Gregory William Slaughter (born May 19, 1988) is a Filipino-American professional basketball player for the Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka of the B2 League. He was selected first overall by the Barangay Ginebra in the 2013 PBA draft. Sports commentato ...

) through a three-team trade.

Air21 Express (second era)

Espiritu was acquired by the second era

(formerly Shopinas.com Clickers) from Ginebra in exchange for a 2013 first round pick that originally belonged to Talk 'N Text.

Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters

In March 2014, Espiritu was signed by the

PBA career statistics

''Correct as of August 2, 2015''Player Profile
at PBA-Online!

Season-by-season averages

, - , align=left , , align=left ,

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

Air 21 Air21 Airlines was a short-lived United States airline based in Fresno, California, led by Mark Morro, founded by David Miller and co-founded by David J. VanderLugt. The airline operated five Fokker F28 Fellowship 64-passenger twin engine jet a ...

, 17 , , 8.6 , , .342 , , .000 , , .444 , , 1.9 , , .2 , , .1 , , .3 , , 1.9 , - , align=left , , align=left , Shopinas.com , 27 , , 24.0 , , .361 , , .312 , , .600 , , 5.2 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , .7 , , 7.0 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 25 , , 9.4 , , .333 , , .217 , , .714 , , 1.7 , , .4 , , .1 , , .0 , , 2.4 , - , align=left , , align=left , Air21 , 16 , , 8.0 , , .375 , , .500 , , .500 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , .1 , , .1 , , 2.4 , - , align=left , , align=left , Talk 'N Text , 16 , , 3.8 , , .478 , , .600 , , .000 , , .5 , , .1 , , .0 , , .2 , , 1.8 , - , align=left , Career , align=left , , 101 , , 12.1 , , .362 , , .350 , , .592 , , 2.4 , , .5 , , .1 , , .3 , , 3.5

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Espiritu, Elmer 1985 births Living people Air21 Express players Alaska Aces (PBA) players Barako Bull Energy players Barangay Ginebra San Miguel players Filipino men's basketball players JRU Heavy Bombers basketball players Philippine Patriots players Power forwards (basketball) Small forwards Basketball players from Manila TNT Tropang Giga players UE Red Warriors basketball players TNT Tropang Giga draft picks