Jose Enrico Pascual Villanueva (born June 23, 1980) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He last played for the NLEX Road Warriors 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).

Amateur career

Villanueva first played for the

Ateneo Blue Eaglets 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 ...

in the UAAP Juniors division leading them to numerous winning seasons and championships. He moved to the college ranks in 1998 and led 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 v ...

to several final four appearances and two UAAP Finals appearances, eventually winning the basketball crown in 2002 over their rivals, the

De La Salle Green Archers The De La Salle Green Archers (also known simply as the Green Archers) are the men's varsity teams representing De La Salle University in the Philippines. The women's varsity teams are generally referred to as the De La Salle Lady Archers. The s ...

. He also had several chances to win the Most Valuable Player award but lost to DLSU's

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 ...

in 1999 and teammate

Rich Alvarez Richard Alvarez (born October 30, 1980) is a Japanese-born Filipino former professional basketball player and coach. He last played for the Kia Picanto of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was the first overall pick of 2004 PBA D ...

in 2000 and 2001 before finally winning it in his final season in 2002. In the

Philippine Basketball League The Philippine Basketball League (PBL) was a commercial semi-professional basketball league in the Philippines. The league was composed of several commercial teams with several collegiate and provincial stars. History The PBL was formed on Ma ...

, Villanueva began playing with Blu Detergent in 1999 before leading the Ateneo sponsored Hapee-NENACO team to the PBL title in 2002 over his former team Blu.

PBA career

Batang Red Bull Thunder

In 2003, Villanueva applied for the

2003 PBA draft The 2003 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) rookie draft was an event at which teams drafted players from the amateur ranks. It was held on January 12, 2003 at the Glorietta Activity Center at Makati. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 San Mig ...

, in one of the deepest drafts in PBA history. He was eventually selected seventh overall by

Batang Red Bull Thunder Batang may refer to: Places China ;A Chinese county: * Batang County (巴塘县), a county in Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan ;Chinese towns: * Batang, Sichuan (巴塘镇), the seat of Batang County, Sichuan * Batang, Guangxi (� ...

. In his rookie season, he averaged modest numbers of 7.4 points and 4.5 rebounds playing a limited role as a reliever of veterans

Davonn Harp Davonn Harp is a Filipino-American former basketball player who played in the Philippine Basketball Association for the Batang Red Bull Energizers. He was one of the six players elevated by Red Bull from its PBL franchise. He played as a center. ...

and

Mick Pennisi Michael Alfio Pennisi (born March 13, 1975) is an Australian-Filipino former professional basketball player. He last played for the GlobalPort Batang Pier of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was automatically hired by Red Bull in 2 ...

. However, after Harp and Pennisi were shelved for failing to further prove their Filipino lineage (Pennisi has since returned to the league), he saw his playing time increase along with his production. Despite a sorry performance in the 2004-05 PBA Philippine Cup, he managed to lead Red Bull to a fourth-place finish in the 2005 PBA Fiesta Conference. By season's end, he was named as the Most Improved Player by the league and became the new face of the franchise. In the 2005–06 PBA season, he became a two-time All-Star representing the North All-Stars. He led Red Bull to the

2005–06 PBA Fiesta Conference The 2005-06 Philippine Basketball Association Fiesta Conference or known as the 2005-06 San Mig Coffee PBA Fiesta Conference for sponsorship reasons, is the first conference of the 2005-06 PBA season. It started on October 2, 2005 and ended on Feb ...

championship where he was named as the Best Player of the Conference over Purefoods'

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 ...

. He again led the Bulls to the finals in the

2006 PBA Philippine Cup 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

but lost to Purefoods, 4-2, in a rematch of the Fiesta Cup finals. By season's end, he was included in the PBA Mythical Team but lost in the MVP race to Purefoods'

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 ...

San Miguel Beermen

In May 2007, Villanueva was traded to the San Miguel Beermen for

Rommel Adducul Rommel Adducul (born April 21, 1976) is a Filipino former professional basketball player who currently serves as an assistant coach for the Adamson Soaring Falcons of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, UAAP. Career In colleg ...

. At the time the trade was being consummated, he was playing for the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants

On March 26, 2008, Purefoods center

announced that he had cancer and would not be able to play while getting treatment. His team, Purefoods, was then forced to look for a legit center and turned to Villanueva to fill the void. In a four-team trade, Purefoods acquired Villanueva, sending energetic forward

Marc Pingris Jean Marc Prado Pingris Jr. (born October 16, 1981) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. Known as one of the best defenders and rebounders in PBA history, he was named one of the league's 40 Greatest Players. He spent 14 season ...

to San Miguel (known as Magnolia at that time).

Barangay Ginebra Kings

In 2009, Villanueva was then shipped to Ginebra in a three-team trade which involved the Kings, Purefoods and Burger King. While playing for Ginebra, he reunited with college teammates

and

Paolo Bugia Ramon Paolo Vlajar Bugia (born January 19, 1981) is a Filipino former professional basketball player and executive who currently serves as the team manager for the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). H ...

, and was tasked to back up oft-injured

Eric Menk Eric Conrad Menk (born August 24, 1974) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player who played in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and the Asean Basketball League. Known as Major Pain, Menk is a four-time PBA champion ...

Barako Bull Energy Cola

In 2012, Villanueva was shipped to Barako Bull via a complicated five-team, eight-men trade. On November 9, 2012, he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury after hurting his right knee in a game against

Air21 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 ...

. He incurred a similar injury two seasons ago on his left knee while playing for Ginebra.

GlobalPort Batang Pier

In 2013, Villanueva was traded to GlobalPort Batang Pier for

Willie Miller William Ferguson Miller MBE (born 2 May 1955) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, who made a club record 560 league appearances for Aberdeen. Sir Alex Ferguson described Miller as "the best penalty box defender in th ...

and

Hans Thiele Hans Paul Franz T. Thiele is a Filipino professional basketball player who last played for the Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). Professional career Thiele was signed by the Barako Bull Energ ...

. In his first official function in his new team, he appeared on stage together with the GlobalPort players during the

2013 PBA draft The 2013 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Rookie Draft was an event, which allows teams to draft players from the amateur ranks. The event was held at Midtown Atrium, Robinson Place Manila on November 3, 2013. Draft lottery The lottery de ...

. However, only appeared seven games in a GlobalPort uniform as he was still recuperating from his injuries.

Air21 Express/NLEX Road Warriors

On March 18, 2014, PBA Commissioner Chito Salud approved the trade that sent Villanueva to

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

Carlo Sharma Ram Carlo T. Sharma (born September 20, 1980 in Makati, Philippines) is a professional basketball player who last played for the Pilipinas MX3 Kings in the ASEAN Basketball League. He was drafted by Shell twelfth overall in the 2004 PBA draft. ...

and

Ronnie Matias Ronnie C. Matias (born November 29, 1983) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Sta. Rosa Laguna Lions of the Pilipinas Super League. Matias was drafted 9th overall in the first round of the 2009 PBA draft by the Burger King Ti ...

. When NLEX bought the franchise from Air21, he was one of the veteran players absorbed by the new team, now known as NLEX Road Warriors. On October 13, 2014, he stated that he skipped most of last season as he underwent tedious rehabilitation process in both knees for him to get back healthy for the next season. He also mentioned that the influx of younger, athletic, and bigger players has challenged him to “reinvent” himself to find his place in the rotation of incoming NLEX coach

Boyet Fernandez Teodorico "Boyet" Fernandez III is a Filipino former professional basketball player and the former head coach of the San Beda Red Lions in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines) (NCAA). Playing career Fernandez first broke i ...

National team

Villanueva was a member of the Team Pilipinas, the RP team coached by

Chot Reyes Vincent "Chot" P. Reyes (born August 1, 1963) is a Filipino basketball head coach for the TNT Tropang Giga for the Philippine Basketball Association. He is also the head coach of the Philippine national basketball team, where he led the team to a ...

. He played for the country in the

2005 FIBA Asia Champions Cup The 2005 FIBA Asia Champions Cup was the 16th staging of the FIBA Asia Champions Cup, the basketball club tournament of FIBA Asia. The tournament was held for the first time in three cities: Quezon City, Pasay and Antipolo, in the Philippines from ...

and the 2005 Brunei Cup. He is remembered during the Champions Cup for pulling the leg of Sagesse Lebanon's Stephen Howard after an altercation, resulting in his ejection. He also suited up for the team again in the 2007 FIBA Asia Champions Cup, 2007 SEABA Championship and the 2012 William Jones Cup.

Personal life

Villanueva is married to Nobina "Bing" Hao.

Controversies

Feud with Joseph Yeo

Villanueva is vividly remembered for his on and off the court feud with former college rival and one-time teammate at Air21,

Joseph Yeo Joseph Henry Lim Yeo (born September 7, 1983) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Manila Stars of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He was drafted third overall by the Coca-Cola Tigers in 2006. Amateur career Y ...

. Their feud began during the PBA-sanctioned Ateneo-La Salle Dream Games in December 2005, pitting past and present Ateneo and La Salle players in an exhibition game. The incident saw Yeo elbowed Villanueva at the forehead, resulting in Yeo's ejection from the game. Villanueva eventually hit the game-winner in that contest. At that time, Yeo was still an amateur playing for Harbour Centre in the

and since it was a PBA-sanctioned game, commissioner

Noli Eala Jose Emmanuel "Noli" M. Eala is a Filipino sports executive and disbarred lawyer who served as the 11th chairperson of the Philippine Sports Commission from August 30 to December 28, 2022. He previously served as the sixth commissioner of the P ...

gave Yeo a three-month probation after being selected by Coke in the 2006 PBA draft. Another incident happened during a 2006 PBA preseason game at the

Emilio Aguinaldo College Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) is a private, non-sectarian institute of education located in Manila, Philippines Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the ...

Sports Center in Manila when both players were reportedly involved in a physical and verbal exchange. However, the league did not sanction both players. The most recent came in a 2006–07 Philippine Cup game between Red Bull and Coca-Cola at the

Araneta Coliseum The Araneta Coliseum, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Smart Araneta Coliseum, is an indoor multi-purpose sports arena that is part of the Araneta City in the Cubao area of Quezon City, Philippines. Nicknamed as "the Big Dom ...

. A physical exchange happened during the waning moments of the first half between both players. But after the game, a parking lot incident broke between Yeo and Villanueva. They were both sanctioned with fines by the commissioner and both players have since promised to end the feud.

Feud with Ryan Araña

On September 26, 2014, a tune-up game between Rain or Shine and NLEX was stopped after he and his former college rival, Rain or Shine guard

Ryan Araña Ryan T. Araña (born March 23, 1984) is a Filipino professional basketball player who last played for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Araña played college basketball at the De La Salle Universit ...

exchanged blows. As a result of the altercation, he was fined Php 40,000.

PBA career statistics

''Correct as of September 23, 2016''

Season-by-season averages

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

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...

, 43 , , 19.7 , , .431 , , .000 , , .556 , , 4.5 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , .4 , , 7.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Red Bull , 74 , , 29.3 , , .446 , , .000 , , .491 , , 6.5 , , 1.7 , , .6 , , .6 , , 11.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Red Bull , 67 , , 30.4 , , .433 , , .167 , , .533 , , 8.0 , , 2.3 , , .4 , , 1.3 , , 12.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Red Bull / San Miguel , 58 , , 23.7 , , .441 , , .154 , , .472 , , 5.9 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .7 , , 10.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Magnolia / Purefoods , 39 , , 27.8 , , .467 , , .000 , , .454 , , 6.9 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .7 , , 10.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Purefoods , 36 , , 29.3 , , .387 , , .167 , , .641 , , 8.5 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .7 , , 10.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

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 ...

, 49 , , 20.0 , , .418 , , .000 , , .566 , , 5.2 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , .5 , , 6.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Barangay Ginebra , 31 , , 18.5 , , .430 , , .000 , , .596 , , 5.8 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , .4 , , 6.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Barangay Ginebra , 38 , , 20.0 , , .452 , , .000 , , .579 , , 5.0 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , .4 , , 6.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Barako Bull , 14 , , 25.9 , , .382 , , .167 , , .645 , , 7.7 , , 2.1 , , .4 , , .5 , , 10.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Barako Bull / GlobalPort , 7 , , 4.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , .3 , , .1 , , .0 , , .0 , , .3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

NLEX The North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), signed as E1 of the Philippine expressway network, partially as N160 of the Philippine highway network, and R-8 of the Metro Manila arterial road network, is a limited-access toll expressway that connects M ...

, 34 , , 17.4 , , .413 , , .000 , , .648 , , 2.9 , , .9 , , .4 , , .3 , , 5.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , NLEX , 34 , , 15.2 , , .429 , , .000 , , .660 , , 2.7 , , .6 , , .3 , , .5 , , 4.1 , -class=sortbottom , align=center colspan=2 , Career , 524 , , 23.6 , , .432 , , .093 , , .538 , , 5.8 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , .6 , , 9.0

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Villanueva, Enrico 1980 births Living people Air21 Express players Barako Bull Energy players Barako Bull Energy Boosters players Barangay Ginebra San Miguel players Basketball players from Metro Manila Centers (basketball) Filipino Roman Catholics NorthPort Batang Pier players Magnolia Hotshots players NLEX Road Warriors players People from Pasay Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Philippines men's national basketball team players Filipino men's basketball players Power forwards (basketball) San Miguel Beermen players Ateneo Blue Eagles men's basketball players Barako Bull Energy Boosters draft picks