Juan Paolo S. Taha (born December 5, 1990) is a Filipino basketball player for the
NorthPort Batang Pier
The NorthPort Batang Pier is a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team that first played in the 2012–13 PBA season. The team took over the franchise of the Powerade Tigers in 2012 after it was sold to Sultan 900 Capital, Inc. Besides No ...
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 29th overall by the Kia Sorento in the
2014 PBA draft.
College career
Taha played for the
Benilde Blazers
The College of Saint Benilde Blazers are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines), NCAA senior varsity team of De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde.
The Blazers were formerly a member National Capital Region Athletic Associat ...
in the Philippine
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
. In
Season 89, he scored 24 points in a win against the
Mapua Cardinals Mapua, Māpua, or Mapúa may refer to:
* Mapuá River, a river in the Pará state of north-central Brazil
*Māpua, New Zealand, a small town on the South Island of New Zealand
*Mapúa University, a tertiary institute in Manila, Philippines
*Tomás M ...
. He had 13 rebounds in another win against the
Arellano Chiefs
The Arellano University Chiefs is the athletic team of Arellano University. It is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the National Capital Region Athletic Association (NCRAA). The team has several intercollegiate ...
. In their rematch against Mapua, he had 25 points, 10 rebounds and another win against them. Against the
EAC Generals
The Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) Generals are the varsity teams of Emilio Aguinaldo College of Paco, Manila. The Immaculate Conception Academy (ICA) is paired as the junior (high school) varsity team of the Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC). The E ...
, he injured his right shoulder. The Blazers finished with only five wins.
In
Season 90, the Blazers got their first victory of the season after four games.
Taha had 24 points and eight rebounds in that win.
Along with his teammate Mark Romero, he was named to the NCAA All–Star Game. The Blazers matched their win total from last season in their 9th game when he made a go-ahead layup and grabbed 15 rebounds to beat the
Perpetual Help Altas
Perpetual, meaning "eternal", may refer to:
Christianity
* Perpetual curacy, a type of Christian priesthood in Anglicanism
* Perpetual virginity of Mary, one of the four Marian dogmas in Catholicism
Finance
*Perpetual bond, a bond that pays ...
.
He then had 27 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists against Arellano. Once again, the Blazers did not make the Final Four. He moved on the PBA after that season.
Professional career
GlobalPort Batang Pier
While still playing in the NCAA, Taha was drafted 29th overall by Kia in the
2014 PBA draft. But he was unsigned by Kia and was instead picked up by the
GlobalPort Batang Pier
The NorthPort Batang Pier is a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team that first played in the 2012–13 PBA season. The team took over the franchise of the Powerade Tigers in 2012 after it was sold to Sultan 900 Capital, Inc. Besides Nor ...
. Early in his rookie season, he was getting praise for his defense from his superstar teammates
Alex Cabagnot
Alexander Cabagnot Jr. (born December 8, 1982) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Terrafirma Dyip of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He plays the point guard position. Alex once had a rivalry with Mark Caguioa fo ...
and
Terrence Romeo
Terrence Bill Vitanzos Romeo (born March 16, 1992) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He plays both the point guard and shooting guard positions.
He played ...
.
In his second season, Taha had 11 points, seven rebounds, and six assists in a loss against the
Alaska Aces during the
2016 Commissioner's Cup. He then had 16 points off the bench against the
Star Hotshots
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 Migu ...
. The Batang Pier did not make the playoffs that conference.
Mahindra Enforcer
After the Batang Pier were eliminated from the playoffs, Taha, along with
Jonathan Uyloan
Jonathan Uyloan (born November 26, 1983) is a Filipino-American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He was undrafted and signed by the Rain or ...
, was traded to the
Mahindra Enforcer
The Terrafirma Dyip is a professional basketball team playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The team is owned by Terrafirma Realty Development Corporation and originally played under its affiliate company Columbian Autocar Cor ...
for guards
Karl Dehesa and
Michael DiGregorio.
He had 10 points as Mahindra got the win in his first meeting against his former team. He was a participant for the Obstacle Challenge of the
2016 PBA All–Star Weekend. During that weekend, he signed a two-year deal with Mahindra.
He then had 15 points as the team qualified for the playoffs for the
2016 Governors' Cup.
In the playoffs, they lost to the
Meralco Bolts
The Meralco Bolts is a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association. The team began in 2010 after the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) acquired the PBA franchise of the Sta. Lucia Realtors. The team is one of three ...
.
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel
After the Governors' conference, Taha was traded 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, Inc. (formerly, La Tondeña Distillers, Inc.), a subsidia ...
for Denice Villamor and Frank Bonifacio. A year later, he won a championship in the
2017 Governors' Cup.
In Game 1 of the
2017–18 Philippine Cup semifinals against the
San Miguel Beermen, Taha injured his knee in the second quarter of that game.
NorthPort Batang Pier
During the
2018 Commissioner's Cup, Taha was traded back to GlobalPort for Julian Sargent.
In the first game of the
2019 Philippine Cup, Taha had a PBA career-high 21 points, making all nine of his shots.
He also had six rebounds in that win against the
Blackwater Elite
The Blackwater Bossing is a professional basketball team owned by Ever Bilena, Inc. that is playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) beginning in the 2014–2015 season. The franchise began as one of the founding teams in the PB ...
.
In that season's
Commissioner's Cup, he scored 16 points in a win over the
Magnolia Hotshots
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 ...
.
That win was also their fifth in six games for that conference.
They finished that conference with nine wins and only two losses, but lost to the Beermen in the quarterfinals. In the
Governor's Cup, NorthPort made it to the semifinals where he faced his former team Ginebra. In Game 5 of that series, he scored 21 points in the third quarter, finishing with a career-high 29 points, but it wasn't enough as the Batang Pier exited the playoffs.
In the
2020 Philippine Cup, Taha and his team only had one victory, which was against the
Terrafirma Dyip
The Terrafirma Dyip is a professional basketball team playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The team is owned by Terrafirma Realty Development Corporation and originally played under its affiliate company Columbian Autocar Cor ...
.
During the
2021 Philippine Cup, Taha scored 20 points against the
TNT Tropang Giga
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 ...
. On February 9, 2022, he signed a three-year contract extension with NorthPort. He almost signed with
Meralco
The Manila Electric Company (), also known as Meralco (, ), is an electric power distribution company in the Philippines. It is Metro Manila's only electric power distributor and holds the power distribution franchise for 22 cities and 89 munic ...
, as he was an unrestricted free agent (UFA), but backed out when he saw NorthPort's offer. He then had 19 points as he stepped up in the absence of
Robert Bolick
Robert Lee Espina Bolick Jr. (born September 13, 1995) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the NorthPort Batang Pier of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He played college basketball for the San Beda Red Lions of the Nat ...
in a win over the
Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters
The Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters is a professional basketball team owned by Phoenix Petroleum, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc., which debuted in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in the 2015–16 PBA season, 2016 2016 PBA Commis ...
in the Governors' Cup.
PBA career statistics
''As of the end of 2022–23 season''
Real GM
Season-by-season averages
, -
, align=left ,
, align=left , 2014–15 GlobalPort Batang Pier season, GlobalPort
, 25 , , 6.5 , , .361 , , .286 , , .647 , , .9 , , .2 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.6
, -
, align=left rowspan=2,
, align=left , GlobalPort
, rowspan=2, 35 , , rowspan=2, 19.0 , , rowspan=2, .517 , , rowspan=2, .200 , , rowspan=2, .792 , , rowspan=2, 3.4 , , rowspan=2, .9 , , rowspan=2, .3 , , rowspan=2, .3 , , rowspan=2, 7.8
, -
, align=left , Mahindra
, -
, 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 ...
, 37 , , 5.2 , , .419 , , .429 , , .800 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , .2 , , .1 , , 2.2
, -
, align=left rowspan=2,
, 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 ...
, rowspan=2, 25 , , rowspan=2, 13.3 , , rowspan=2, .522 , , rowspan=2, .200 , , rowspan=2, .826 , , rowspan=2, 2.0 , , rowspan=2, .5 , , rowspan=2, .2 , , rowspan=2, .3 , , rowspan=2, 5.5
, -
, align=left , GlobalPort / NorthPort
, -
, align=left ,
, align=left , NorthPort
, 40 , , 19.5 , , .439 , , .261 , , .704 , , 2.9 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , .1 , , 7.6
, -
, align=left ,
, align=left , NorthPort
, 11 , , 25.8 , , .417 , , .150 , , .893 , , 2.4 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .0 , , 8.9
, -
, align=left ,
, align=left , NorthPort
, 23 , , 21.8 , , .530 , , .185 , , .704 , , 2.9 , , .7 , , .8 , , .1 , , 8.5
, -
, align=left ,
, align=left , NorthPort
, 25 , , 9.5 , , .415 , , .400 , , .500 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , .3 , , .1 , , 2.1
, -class=sortbottom
, align=center colspan=2 , Career
, 221 , , 14.3 , , .468 , , .244 , , .744 , , 2.1 , , .6 , , .4 , , .1 , , 5.4
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taha, Paolo
1990 births
Living people
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel players
Basketball players from Metro Manila
Filipino men's basketball players
Terrafirma Dyip players
Benilde Blazers basketball players
NorthPort Batang Pier players
People from Marikina
Shooting guards
Small forwards
Terrafirma Dyip draft picks