Nelbert Omolon (born June 30, 1980 in

Talakag, Bukidnon Talakag, officially the Municipality of Talakag ( Bukid and Higaonon: Banuwa ta Talakag; ceb, Lungsod sa Talakag; tl, Bayan ng Talakag), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Bukidnon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has ...

) is a Filipino retired professional basketball player. He last played for the

San Miguel Beermen The San Miguel Beermen are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). It is one of three PBA clubs owned by the San Miguel Corporation group of companies along with the Magnolia Hotshots and Barangay Ginebra ...

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 was drafted 8th overall in the 2004 PBA draft that included

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 ...

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Gary David Gary Ocampo David (born July 13, 1978) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Pampanga Giant Lanterns of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He is a five-time All-Star and co-holds the longest streak for consecutiv ...

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and

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 ...

Early years

The youngest of three boys, Omolon was born and raised in

, 36 kilometers from

Cagayan de Oro City Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan ( ilo, Probinsia ti Cagayan; ibg, Provinsiya na Cagayan; itv, Provinsiya ya Cagayan; fil, Lalawigan ng Cagayan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Cagayan Valley region, covering ...

. He did not learn how to play when he was a kid. He never even liked the game until he grew from 5'7" as a high school freshman to 6'2" as junior.

College career

Omolon played for the PCU

Dolphins A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (t ...

Professional career

Philippine Basketball League

After playing in PCU, he took his sneakers to 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 suited up for Osaka-La Salle and ICTSI under coach

Franz Pumaren Franz Santos Pumaren (born December 5, 1963) is a Filipino former professional basketball player and coach. He played college ball for De La Salle University before playing professional basketball in the Philippine Basketball Association. He is ...

and Welcoat under coach

Leo Austria Leovino R. Austria (born March 14, 1958), better known as Leo Austria, is a Filipino former professional basketball player and the current head coach of the San Miguel Beermen in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Playing career Aust ...

Philippine Basketball Association

Omolon joined the PBA after being drafted 8th overall by the

Sta. Lucia Realtors The Sta. Lucia Realtors were a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) from 1993 to 2010. Prior to joining the PBA, it played in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) from 1987 to 1992. In 2015, a new Sta. L ...

in the 2004 PBA draft. Omolon scored a personal high 40 points on 11-of-16 shooting in the two-point area and hitting 4-of-5 beyond the arc with nine boards as Sta. Lucia earned its first ever outright semifinals slot on January 13, 2008 with a 123-106 rout over 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 fra ...

. In January 2012, Omolon was traded for the first time in his career to Air21 from the Meralco Bolts along with

Mark Isip Mark Gracer P. Isip (born December 10, 1980 ) is a Filipino professional basketball coach and former player. Isip played college basketball for the FEU Tamaraws, where he is currently an assistant coach. He was then drafted sixth overall by the ...

in exchange for Dennis Daa,

Mark Canlas Mark Angelo C. Canlas (born June 15, 1986 in Pampanga) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He was undrafted in the 2011. He was signed by the Clickers before the season began. He was a member of the UST Growling Tigers who won t ...

and a draft pick that originally belonged to the Bolts. On September 12, 2014, Nelbert Omolon was signed up by the

as the 13th man in the Beermen's roster.

Player profile

A player who ever reliable on both ends of the floor due to his unrelenting defense and efficient offense, Omolon has continued to impress his coaches in the pro league to this day. He is a player who is always tasked to guard the opposing team's best player and even imports. He can be the team MVP of the game and not score a point. Although possessing a limited array of offensive moves, Nelbert has showed he can do it as well on offense. With an improved outside shot these days, he is looked to provide a complementary role to his more offensive-minded teammates in Meralco.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Omolon, Nelbert 1980 births Living people Air21 Express players Basketball players from Bukidnon Meralco Bolts players PCU Dolphins basketball players People from Bukidnon Philippines men's national basketball team players Filipino men's basketball players San Miguel Beermen players Small forwards Sta. Lucia Realtors players Sta. Lucia Realtors draft picks