Jerwin A. Gaco (born January 17, 1981) is a Filipino professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Davao Occidental Tigers Davao Occidental Tigers, also known as Davao Occidental Tigers Cocolife due to sponsorship reasons, are a professional basketball team in the Pilipinas Super League. History In 2018, the Tigers joined the MPBL. After the team won the 2019–20 ...

of the

Pilipinas Super League The Pilipinas Super League (PSL) is a professional basketball league in the Philippines. History The Pilipinas Super League (PSL) was founded in December 2021 by former officials of another league; the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup. It was estab ...

(PSL). He was an undrafted player in the

2005 PBA draft The 2005 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) rookie draft was an event at which teams drafted players from the amateur ranks. It was the first PBA Draft to feature only two rounds of drafting and the first draft held in August due to the leagu ...

. After playing in semi-professional leagues and in the

ASEAN Basketball League The ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) is a professional men's basketball league in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong/Macau, which includes six teams from Southeast Asian nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), one tea ...

(ABL), he was acquired by the

Barako Energy Coffee Masters The Barako Bull Energy Boosters were a professional basketball team of the Philippine Basketball Association owned by the Photokina Marketing Corporation. They entered the league in 2000 after a successful stint in the semi-professional Philipp ...

during the

2010 PBA Fiesta Conference The 2010 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Fiesta Conference was the last conference of the 2009-10 PBA season. It started on March 21 and finished on August 18, 2010. The tournament is an Import-laden format, which requires an import or a ...

before being signed by the

B-Meg Derby Ace 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 ...

for the 2010–11 season. Since then, he has won championships in the PBA,

PBA D-League The PBA Developmental League, or PBA D-League, is the Philippine Basketball Association's official minor league basketball organization. History The PBA D-League was conceptualized after the collapse of the proposed merger between the Philip ...

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines. History Manny Pacquiao launched the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League on August 29, 2017, starting off as a semi-professional lea ...

(MPBL), and PSL.

Early life

Gaco grew up the eldest of four children. Before he had turned 19, he had lost his father to cancer, and his mother to

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

. With the family now orphaned, he became the breadwinner of that family, with his basketball earnings helping to send his sisters and brother to school.

College career

After playing in

Palarong Pambansa The Palarong Pambansa (Filipino language, Filipino for "National Games") is an annual multi-sport event involving student-athletes from 17 regions of the Philippines. The event, started in 1948, is organized and governed by the Department of Ed ...

, Gaco got offers from different universities. He was given an invitation to try out for the

UE Red Warriors UE Red Warriors refer to the collegiate men's varsity teams of the University of the East. The women's collegiate varsity teams are called the UE Lady Warriors. The Athletic director of the University of the East is Rodrigo M. Roque. Backgroun ...

, but since he did not know where the campus was, he was not able to go. Instead, he played for the PUP Maroons for three years. After graduating college, Gaco still had two more playing years left. He spent his last two years with 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 ...

in the UAAP. He joined a rookie class that included

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 ...

and

Ryan Arana Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) *Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an elector ...

. They had a record of 7–7, allowing them to make the Final Four. In their first Final Four 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 v ...

, he was punched by Eagles guard

LA Tenorio Lewis Alfred Vasquez Tenorio (born July 9, 1984) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He is also an assistant coach for the Letran Knights of the Philipp ...

. He then nudged Tenorio, and La Salle's bench stormed the court. Tenorio was given a one-game suspension, while Gaco was given a technical foul. La Salle went on to win that game in overtime, but lost the next game to Ateneo. The following season, in 2004, the Archers won the championship.

Semi-professional career

After going undrafted in 2005, he played for the

Harbour Centre __NOTOC__ Harbour Centre is a skyscraper in the central business district of Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada which opened in 1977. The "Lookout" tower atop the office building makes it one of the tallest structures in Vancouver an ...

franchise 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 ...

, where he honed his skills as an enforcer. He won multiple championships in his time there. Gaco also saw action for the Laguna Stallions in the semi-professional

Liga Pilipinas Liga Pilipinas was a regional basketball league in the Philippines. It was sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the country's national basketball federation, and owned by Pinoy Basketbol, Inc. History The National Basketball Con ...

regional league.

Professional career

Philippine Patriots

Gaco played for the

Philippine Patriots The AirAsia Philippine Patriots (originally known as the Philippine Patriots) were a professional basketball team that played in the ASEAN Basketball League. It was the first team from the Philippines to play in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) a ...

in the

(ABL), winning a championship with them in 2010.

Barako Energy Coffee Masters

After his time in the ABL, Gaco entered 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) when Barako acquired him. This happened during the 2010 Fiesta Conference, when he was 29 years old and five years after he had gone undrafted. He had a PBA career-high 14 points in his time there.

Magnolia franchise

Gaco then signed a contract with the B-Meg Derby Aces Llamados. In his sophomore year, he played in the Rookie-Sophomore Blitz Game, scoring 19 points in that game. His first PBA championship came in the 2012 Commissioner's Cup. Despite being a bench player, he was seen by fans as the "lucky charm" of the team. These fans called themselves the "Gaconatics", after sportscaster

Mico Halili Mico Halili is a Filipino sports television personality, sportscaster and sports journalist. He is best known as the lead sportscaster for the basketball games of the PBA and UAAP. In October 2020, he became the Creative Director for sports pro ...

gave them that nickname. Team governor Rene Pardo called him "the team's glue guy". He then went on to win a

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

in 2014 with that franchise. He stayed with the team until 2016, when he was left unsigned by them.

Tanduay Rum Masters

After attempts to return to the PBA, Gaco signed with the

Tanduay Rum Masters The Batangas City Embassy Chill is a professional basketball team currently competing in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and the Filbasket. The team traces its roots to the original Tanduay Rhum Masters that played in the Philip ...

for the

2017 PBA D-League Aspirants' Cup The 2017 PBA D-League Aspirants Cup is the first conference of the 2017 PBA Developmental League season. The tournament opened on January 19, 2017 at the Ynares Sports Arena, Pasig. There are 10 teams in this season's Aspirant's Cup, 4 are holdov ...

, who had a two-game losing streak at the time. He had a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds in his winning debut over the Batangas EAC Generals, while his former teammate at Star,

Mark Cruz Mark Lu Cruz (born July 27, 1992) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the GenSan Warriors of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He earned the moniker Ant Man during his days in the NCAA. College career Cruz studi ...

, had 29 points. He became one of the team's leaders as they went on to claim a twice-to-beat advantage. In the quarterfinals, they beat the AMA Titans, with him scoring 16 points. In the semifinals, they lost to the Cignal-San Beda Hawkeyes in three games. Still, he credited his stint with them for helping him gain his confidence back.

Go for Gold Scratchers

Gaco, as a veteran role player, helped the young Go for Gold team win the 2018 PBA D-League Foundation Cup over the Che Lu Bar and Grill Revellers.

Imus Bandera

While Gaco was playing for Go for Gold in the D-League, he also played for

Imus Bandera Imus Bandera, also known as Imus City Bandera, is a professional basketball team in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League. It is owned by the local government of Imus in Cavite. History Team roster Depth chart Head coaches All-time ...

, starting from the 2018 Datu Cup. He was originally supposed to play for the

Manila Stars The Manila City Stars (also spelled as Manila CityStars) are a professional basketball team in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and the Pilipinas Super League (PSL). The team is owned by the Local City Government of Manila, Phi ...

, but they cut him before final rosters were submitted.

Pasig Pirates

Gaco was then placed into the dispersal draft, where he was picked first by the

Pasig Pirates Pasig City MCW Sports is a Filipino professional basketball team representing Pasig. It was originally known as the Pasig Pirates, the Pasig Blue Pirates and the Pasig-Rizal Pirates from 1998 to 2000 in the now-defunct Metropolitan Basketball ...

Nueva Ecija MiGuard

Gaco then played for the debuting Nueva Ecija MiGuard in the 2019 Lakandula Cup. In his first game for them, he had 17 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. He played seven games for them in the 2020 Lakan Cup before he and the team mutually agreed to part ways.

Davao Occidental Tigers

As a free agent, Gaco signed with the

. At 40 years old, he added another championship to his collection when the Tigers defeated the

San Juan Knights The San Juan Kings, previously known as the San Juan Knights, are a professional basketball team representing San Juan, Metro Manila. They played in the Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA) from 1999 to 2001, the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketba ...

in the Finals of the 2020 MPBL Lakan Cup. Before the following season, he, along with eight other players, were cut from the team.

JPS Zamboanga City Valientes

In the 1st conference of the VisMin Super Cup, Gaco joined the Zamboanga City JPS. He had a double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds in a win over the MisOr Brew AuthoriTea. He made that conference's Mythical Team, along with Hesed Gabo, Michael Mabulac, James Castro, and John Wilson.

Davao Occidental Tigers / Davao Pilipinas

Gaco rejoined the team for the FilBasket Subic Championship. That team made it to the semifinals. The Tigers then moved to the PSL. He only played one game for them in the first conference. Davao won the conference championship, giving him his 17th championship overall. He was set to play for them once again as the rebranded Davao Pilipinas were originally picked to represent the Philippines in the ABL. However, those plans fell through and the

Zamboanga Valientes The Zamboanga Peninsula Valientes MLV are a Filipino professional basketball team based in Zamboanga City, which has played in multiple national and regional leagues since its interception. History The Zamboanga Valientes was established in 20 ...

became the new Philippine representatives for the ABL.

Personal life

A single parent, Gaco has two daughters. He also invests in condominium units, and promotes small-time local businesses on his social media accounts.

PBA career statistics

Season-by-season averages

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

, 15 , , 13.9 , , .536 , , .000 , , .541 , , 3.5 , , .2 , , .1 , , .1 , , 5.3 , - , align=left , , align="left" rowspan="6" , B-Meg / San Mig Coffee / Purefoods / Star , 40 , , 12.1 , , .531 , , .000 , , .512 , , 3.2 , , .3 , , .1 , , .1 , , 4.0 , - , align=left , , 14 , , 5.0 , , .375 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.0 , , .1 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.3 , - , align=left , , 24 , , 5.7 , , .448 , , .000 , , .462 , , 1.5 , , .2 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.3 , - , align=left , , 20 , , 4.4 , , .524 , , .000 , , .500 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , .2 , , .0 , , 1.4 , - , align=left , , 7 , , 3.6 , , .500 , , .000 , , .750 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , .2 , , .0 , , 1.9 , - , align=left , , 4 , , 1.8 , , .000 , , .000 , , .150 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .3 , -class=sortbottom , align="center" colspan=2 , Career , 124 , , 8.2 , , .510 , , .000 , , .519 , , 2.2 , , .2 , , .1 , , .1 , , 2.7

Notes

References

External links

Player Profile
at PBA-Online! * VisMin Super Cu
Player Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaco, Jerwin 1981 births Living people Filipino men's basketball players Philippine Patriots players Power forwards (basketball) Magnolia Hotshots players De La Salle Green Archers basketball players Basketball players from Quezon Barako Bull Energy Boosters players Polytechnic University of the Philippines alumni Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League players