Janine Ricalde Pontejos (born October 29, 1992) is a Filipino professional basketball player. She also represents the Philippine national team in international competitions.

College

Janine Pontejos first took up basketball growing up with her siblings in Lemery, Batangas. Her first competitive experience in the sport was as a varsity player of

De La Salle Lipa De La Salle Lipa, also known by its acronym DLSL, is a private Catholic Lasallian basic and higher educational institution run by the De La Salle Brothers of the Philippine District Of the Christian Brothers in Lipa City, Batangas, Philippines a ...

. She part of both the school's athletics and basketball team. She later transferred to the

Centro Escolar University Centro Escolar University ( tl, Pamantasang Centro Escolar) also referred to by its acronym CEU is a private non-sectarian higher education institution in San Miguel Manila, Philippines Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of ...

and became part of the CEU Lady Scorpions. With the Lady Scorpions, she was named MVP for four times in the

Women's National Collegiate Athletic Association The Women's National Collegiate Athletic Association (WNCAA) is an athletic association in the Philippines exclusively for women. It was founded in 1970. Competition is divided into three divisions: Seniors for college students, Juniors for high s ...

(WNCAA) and her team dominated the

National Athletic Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities The National Athletic Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (NAASCU) is an athletic association of colleges and universities in the Philippines. It was established in 2001. NAASCU sports are men's, women's and junior's basketball, men' ...

(NAASCU). As of 2021, she is part of the CEU Lady Scorpions staff as an assistant coach.

Club

Pontejos has played in the

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is the pre-eminent professional women's basketball league in Australia. It is currently composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the women's counterpart to the National Baske ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. In its first season in 2019, Pontejos led the

Taguig Lady Generals The Taguig Lady Generals are a women's professional basketball team playing in the Women's National Basketball League of the Philippines. Background The Taguig Lady Generals are one of the teams which participated in the inaugural season of the W ...

to a second place finish and she was named as season MVP. In the 2022 season, she helped the Philippine Army Lady Battalions clinch the WNBL title.

National team

Pontejos has played for the Philippine national team. She was a part of the Philippines national 3x3 side which took part in the

2018 FIBA 3x3 World Cup The 2018 FIBA 3x3 World Cup, hosted by the Philippines, was an international 3x3 basketball event that featured separate competitions for men's and women's national teams. The tournament ran between 8 and 12 June 2018 in Bocaue, Bulacan, just nort ...

which was hosted in Bocaue, Bulacan. As an individual, she won the gold medal in that tournament's shoot-out competition. She has suit up for the team in the

2019 Southeast Asian Games The 2019 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 30th Southeast Asian Games, or the 30th SEA Games, and commonly known as Philippines 2019, was the 30th edition of the Southeast Asian Games, a biennial regional multi-sport event which ...

were she two gold medals; as part of the traditional 5-a-side team and the 3x3 national team. She also played for the country at the

2019 William Jones Cup The 2019 William Jones Cup is the 41st staging of William Jones Cup, an international basketball tournament held in Changhua, and New Taipei City, Taiwan. The men's tournament was held from 12 to 21 July 2019 while the women's tournament will be co ...

Personal life

Pontejos joined the Philippine Army in 2020. She holds the rank of Private First Class as of 2022. She has a degree in business administration from CEU.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pontejos, Janine 1992 births Living people Competitors at the 2017 SEA Games Competitors at the 2019 SEA Games Filipino women's basketball players Philippines women's national basketball team players SEA Games medalists in basketball SEA Games gold medalists for the Philippines Centro Escolar University alumni Basketball players from Batangas Competitors at the 2021 SEA Games Competitors at the 2023 SEA Games SEA Games medalists in 3x3 basketball SEA Games silver medalists for the Philippines Basketball players at the 2022 Asian Games