Florendo R. "Renren" Ritualo Jr. (born June 14, 1979) is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

former 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 and current assistant coach. He last played for the Shopinas.com Clickers 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 ...

and is currently an assistant coach for the Adamson Falcons in the UAAP. Nicknamed The Rainman, Ritualo was also a one-time member of the Philippine National Team. He served as the panelist on UAAP coverage in

ABS-CBN Sports ABS-CBN Sports was a sports division of the Philippine media conglomerate ABS-CBN, which aired some of the notable sporting events in the Philippines. ABS-CBN Sports began in 1998 as the main broadcaster for the network-backed basketball leagu ...

occasionally and was also a game analyst for Radyo 92.3 News FM.

Early life and high school career

Ritualo is the son of former PBA player Florendo Ritualo Sr. and Maria Yasoña de Ramos of

Lumban, Laguna Lumban, officially the Municipality of Lumban ( tgl, Bayan ng Lumban), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. It can reach this town Passing Through Rizal Province via Manila East Road or SLEX. According to the 2020 ...

. Aside from his father, he also looked up to PBA and NBA greats such as Alvin Patrimonio and Michael Jordan. He first started out as a guard for the

San Beda Red Cubs The San Beda Red Lions is the collegiate varsity basketball team of the San Beda University that plays in the NCAA. The juniors basketball team is called the Red Cubs of San Beda University–Rizal, while the women's varsity basketball team is ...

. In his time there, he won a championship and was co-Finals MVP.

College career

Ritualo chose not to play for San Beda in college, choosing instead to play for 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 was also recruited by UP. He first played for La Salle in 1997. He earned Rookie of the Year honors as he became known for his ability to shoot beyond the arc. The Archers lost to the

FEU Tamaraws The FEU Tamaraws are the varsity teams of Far Eastern University in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). The collegiate women's varsity teams are called the ''Lady Tamaraws'' while the high school varsity teams are call ...

in the Finals. In 1998, La Salle hired

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 ...

, a former Green Archer and 12-year PBA veteran, to be its new head coach. Their roster lost MVP

Mark Telan Mark Clemence Telan (born January 12, 1976) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He last played for the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters in the Philippine Basketball Association. A former De La Salle Green Archer, he was 2-time UAAP ...

, but had players such as Dino Aldeguer,

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 ...

, Alvin Castro,

Willy Wilson William Joel Ventenilla Wilson (born January 30, 1980) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player who is currently an assistant coach for the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He playe ...

, and

Francis Zamora Francisco Javier "Francis" Manlapit Zamora (born December 5, 1977) is a Filipino politician, businessman, and former basketball player serving as the mayor of San Juan, Metro Manila since 2019. He previously was San Juan's vice mayor from 2010 to ...

, who would play key roles for that team's title run. That season, the Archers had a 13–1 record in the elimination round, eventually beating the Tamaraws for Ritualo's first UAAP championship. It was also La Salle's first championship since 1990. In 1999, Ritualo scored 33 points against UST. They made it to the Finals, where they played the

UST Growling Tigers The UST Growling Tigers are the college athletic teams representing the University of Santo Tomas in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. They hold the most UAAP Overall Championships with 44 Seniors' Overall Championships ...

. The Archers lost Game 1, as Aldeguer took a three-point shot that should have been for Ritualo. In Game 2, the Archers bounced back behind clutch free throws from Mac Cuan, forcing a do-or-die game. In Game 3, Aldeguer made a three-pointer while he was fouled from the same play in Game 1, eventually sending the game into overtime. The Archers won in the overtime period, making them champions for 1999. In 2000, despite having a weaker roster, La Salle still won the championship. They swept FEU in the Finals. Ritualo didn't make the Mythical Five that year as he had a hand injury, which would be the only time he didn't make it in his UAAP career. Ritualo scored 33 points against Ateneo in the opener for the 2001 season. He also won his last championship against Ateneo that season. He became the third La Sallian player to have his jersey retired after basketball greats such as

Lim Eng Beng Lim Eng Beng ( Chinese: 林嚶鳴; November 10, 1951 – December 21, 2015) was a Chinese Filipino basketball player who spent twelve seasons in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) from 1975-1986. Early life Lim was born and raised in ...

and Kurt Bachmann. In 2021, he was also inducted into the De La Salle Sports Hall of Fame.

Philippine Basketball League

During his UAAP stint, Ritualo signed up with Tanduay 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 ...

(PBL) in 1998 in a limited role for the team as the Centennial Rhum Masters took a runner-up finish in the 2nd Yakult PBL Centennial Cup tournament. After Tanduay left the PBL, Ritualo was the key player for Tanduay's Colt 45 team in the 1999 PBL Challenge Cup, when the team placed third in the tournament. After Colt45 decided to leave the league, Ritualo joined

Welcoat Paints The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association owned by Asian Coatings Philippines, Inc. It debuted in the league in the 2006–07 PBA season after acquiring the franchise right ...

in late 1999. Ritualo led Welcoat to three PBL titles from 1999 to 2001 before jumping to the PBA. In 2003, Ritualo was named as one of PBL's Greatest Players of All-time.

Accomplishments

* PBL Mythical Five * PBL Most Valuable Player * PBL Champion (1999, 2000, 2001) * Member of the PBL's 20 Greatest Players

Philippine Basketball Association

FedEx/Air21 Express

Ritualo was selected as the eight overall pick in the 2002 PBA draft by expansion team

FedEx Express FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation, is a major American cargo airline based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. As of 2020, it is one of the world's largest airlines in terms of fleet size and freight tons flown. It is the na ...

. But before Ritualo was set to join FedEx, he was part of the RP National Training Pool for the 2002 Busan Asian Games. Ritualo was cut from the national team and returned to his mother team. He had a strong rookie season for FedEx, leading the league in three-pointers made. By season's end, he was named as the 2002 PBA Rookie of the Year. He was also named Mr. Quality Minutes the following year. In 2005, he also took part in the three-point shoot-out, earning 2nd place as he lost to

Jimmy Alapag Jim Olmedo Alapag (born December 30, 1977) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player. He serves as an assistant coach for the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League. He is nicknamed "The Mighty Mouse" and "The Captain". Early life ...

. He also participated in that year's All-Star game, as a member of the North All-Stars. On April 29 of that year, he made 9 threes in one quarter in FedEx's 116–106 victory over

Red Bull Barako Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

, tying a record he shared with

Allan Caidic Allan Vito Flores Caidic (born June 15, 1963) is a Filipino former professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association. He is considered by many to be the greatest shooter the country has ever produced, thus, earning the mon ...

. Ritualo recorded a 40-point output against Purefoods on January 27, 2006, during Game Three of the Fiesta Conference Semi-finals series, held in the Ynares Sports Complex. Ritualo led Air21 to a third-place finish, the highest in franchise history during that time before the team captured a runner-up finish against the

Barangay Ginebra Kings A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolita ...

in 2008. He was also in the running for Best Player of the Conference, losing to

Enrico Villanueva 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 (PBA). Amateur career Villanueva first played for the A ...

. He was also an All-Star for the 2006 edition in

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 ...

. Ritualo was also the first local player in PBA history to have four games in a career with at least eight three-pointers in each of those games.

Talk 'N Text Phone Pals

On May 8, 2006, Ritualo, along with Patrick Fran, was traded from Air21 to the

Talk 'N Text Phone Pals Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

in exchange for Leo Avenido and two future first round draft picks, which were used in 2007 and 2008. With Ritualo's addition, as well as the trade that sent Alaska Aces slotman

to the Phone Pals for Willie Miller, John Ferriols & a future pick, the Phone Pals were considered one of the deepest lineups in the 2006 Philippine Cup. However, the Phone Pals never made it past the wildcard phase, ending their season. During the 2007 Philippine Cup, he averaged 13.83 points per game in the 18 games of the elimination round. In the 2008 All-Star Weekend, Ritualo won his only 3-Point Shootout. In the 2008–09 Philippine Cup, Ritualo got his much awaited 1st PBA title against the Alaska Aces. Though winning championships seemed so easy for him during the amateur ranks, it took him 7 years in the PBA to win a championship.

Return to the Air21 Express

During the off-season of the 2010 Fiesta Conference, he was traded back to 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 fran ...

along with

Yancy de Ocampo Yancy Rozal de Ocampo (born November 11, 1980) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He is the elder brother of Ranidel de Ocampo. He is a 12-time Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) champion. College career Yancy started pl ...

for J.R. Quiñahan and Aaron Aban.

Powerade Tigers

After playing for the Express, he was acquired by the

Powerade Tigers The Powerade Tigers were a professional basketball team that played in the Philippine Basketball Association from 2002 to 2012. The franchise was owned by Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. (CCBPI) when the company acquired Cosmos Bottling Co ...

during the off-season. He only had limited minutes during the Philippine Cup.

Meralco Bolts

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 ...

signed up Ritualo after the Powerade Tigers released him to the free agency pool during the Philippine Cup off-season. At the end of the 2010–11 PBA season, he was waived by the team.

Reunion With Franz Pumaren

After being waived by Meralco, he was acquired by then newly formed Shopinas.com Clickers during the off-season of 2011. He played once again under his former collegiate mentor Franz Pumaren. In 2012, he scored 22 points on 6-of-6 shooting from three as the team scored 128 points in the win against Powerade. That was the most points the Shopinas.com/Air21 franchise had scored in franchise history. He also tied the record for most threes made without missing. The record would stand until San Miguel Beermen wing

Von Pessumal Von Rolfe Villaseñor Pessumal (born February 12, 1993) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). College career Pessumal played college ball at the Ateneo ...

made 8 straight threes during the 2019 Commissioner's Cup.

Alaska Aces

Air21 Express released Ritualo and he was picked up by the Alaska Aces. However, he was not included in the lineup for the 2013–14 season.

Accomplishments

*2002 PBA Rookie of the Year *2003 PBA Sixth Man of the Year *2005-2006 PBA All-Star *2008 PBA All-Star 3 Point Shootout Champion *PBA 500 Three-Points Club Member *1st local player in PBA history to have 4 games with at least 8 treys in each of those games

Team Pilipinas

In 2005, Ritualo was a member of the RP National Training Pool. Ritualo was part of the Team Pilipinas squad in the 2005 FIBA-Asia Champions Cup with the host squad placing fifth in the eight nation tournament. During a match against Sagesse of

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, Ritualo's numerous three-pointers in the second half, sparked a short-lived comeback by the Filipinos before losing 100–90. Ritualo was also included in the Team Pilipinas squad for the Global Hoops Summit in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. During one game, Ritualo drained nine triples in a loss to Passive Lane Sports, which had

God Shammgod god Shammgod (born April 29, 1976, and formerly known as Shammgod Wells) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He is currently a player development coach with the Dallas Mavericks. He played in the NBA with the Washingto ...

. It is said that these during these games, NBA teams such as the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

and

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

were scouting him. However, no offers were made to Ritualo during this time, shutting down those rumors. Ritualo was a member of Team Pilipinas' successful championship in the 5th Sultan's Cup in

Bandar Seri Begawan Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB; Jawi: بندر سري بڬاوان; ) is the capital city of Brunei. It is officially a municipal area () with an area of and an estimated population of 100,700 as of 2007. It is part of Brunei-Muara District, the sm ...

Brunei Darussalam Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by the ...

. In 2006, Ritualo scored 17 points as Team Pilipinas defeated the American squad led by former NBA star

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding ...

, 110–102 on May 1 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 ...

. The following year, he was part of the team that competed at the

2007 FIBA Asia Championship The 2007 FIBA Asia Championship for Men was the qualifying tournament for FIBA Asia at the men's basketball tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics at Beijing. The tournament was held in Tokushima, Japan from July 28 to August 5, 2007. Particip ...

Broadcast career

After retiring, Ritualo later appeared on Radyo5 92.3 News FM as a panelist, analyst and commentator in some games alongside Jolly Escobar, Carlo Pamintuan and other courtside commentators. He also covered UAAP and

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 ...

games for

Coaching career

Ritualo first became a shooting coach for the

Mahindra Enforcers 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 ...

. He was then invited by his former coach in Pumaren to join him on the Adamson Falcons coaching staff. He accepted the offer and has held the position since 2015. On June 29, 2022, Ritualo was announced as the head coach of the La Salle Hills Greenies.

PBA career statistics

''Correct as of February 18, 2017''

Season

, - , align="left" , 2002 , align="left" ,

FedEx FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...

, 22 , , 27.8 , , .354 , , .333 , , .938 , , 1.5 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .05 , , 12.4 , - , align="left" , 2003 , align="left" ,

, 42 , , 20.8 , , .380 , , .350 , , .871 , , 1.9 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , .02 , , 11.3 , - , align="left" , 2004–05 , align="left" ,

, 59 , , 30.3 , , .355 , , .322 , , .839 , , 1.9 , , 1.7 , , .9 , , .2 , , 16.4 , - , align="left" , 2005–06 , align="left" ,

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 ...

Talk 'N Text TNT (formerly known as Piltel, Mobiline, Phone Pal, and still unofficially known as Talk 'N Text) is a cellular service of Smart Communications in the Philippines. By April 2000, Piltel launched its GSM brand, Talk 'N Text. Piltel also reporte ...

, 51 , , 37.6 , , .360 , , .302 , , .829 , , 2.8 , , 2.4 , , .7 , , .1 , , 18.2 , - , align="left" , 2006-07 , align="left" , Talk 'N Text , 29 , , 28.8 , , .371 , , .322 , , .842 , , 1.6 , , 1.9 , , .8 , , .1 , , 14.3 , - , align="left" , 2007-08 , align="left" , Talk 'N Text , 39 , , 23.3 , , .402 , , .368 , , .898 , , 2.3 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .1 , , 11.8 , - , align="left" , 2008–09 , align="left" ,

, 45 , , 15.5 , , .379 , , .320 , , .743 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .3 , , .1 , , 7.1 , - , align="left" , 2009–10 , align="left" ,

, 41 , , 18.8 , , .366 , , .302 , , .762 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .05 , , 6.6 , - , align="left" , 2010–11 , align="left" ,

Powerade Powerade is a sports drink created, manufactured and marketed by The Coca-Cola Company. Its primary competitor is Gatorade, owned by PepsiCo. History In 1988, Powerade became the official sports drink of the Olympics, alongside Aquarius, anot ...

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 ...

, 29 , , 13.0 , , .376 , , .293 , , .550 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , .2 , , .1 , , 4.6 , - , align="left" , 2011-12 , align="left" , Shopinas.com/Air21 , 32 , , 21.6 , , .387 , , .382 , , .732 , , 1.4 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , .1 , , 9.1 , - , align="left" , 2012–13 , align="left" ,

, 32 , , 10.7 , , .349 , , .250 , , .941, , 1.0 , , .7 , , .1 , , .03 , , 3.3 , - , align="left" , 2013–14 , align="left" ,

, 8 , , 12.6 , , .414 , , .368 , , 1.00 , , .6 , , .6 , , .2 , , 0 , , 4.6 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 429 , , 23.1 , , .369 , , .327 , , .829 , , 1.7 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , .1 , , 10.9

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritualo, Renren 1979 births Living people Air21 Express players Barako Bull Energy players Filipino men's basketball coaches Filipino Roman Catholics Filipino television sportscasters Meralco Bolts players Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Philippines men's national basketball team players Filipino men's basketball players Powerade Tigers players San Beda University alumni Shooting guards Small forwards Basketball players from Manila TNT Tropang Giga players De La Salle Green Archers basketball players Barako Bull Energy draft picks Adamson Soaring Falcons basketball coaches