Kenneth Celera Duremdes (born January 31, 1974) is a Filipino retired

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and sk ...

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 in 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 the current commissioner of the

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). Nicknamed as "Captain Marbel", Duremdes is also a former PBA Most Valuable Player in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, and a former member of the

Philippine national basketball team The Philippines men's national basketball team ( fil, Pambansang koponan ng basketbol ng Pilipinas), commonly known as Gilas Pilipinas, is the basketball team representing the Philippines. The team is managed by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipi ...

Amateur career

Duremdes played for

Adamson University Adamson University ( fil, links=no, Pamantasang Adamson) also referred to by its acronym AdU is a private, Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution run by the Congregation of the Mission in Manila, Philippines. The universi ...

in the UAAP during the mid-90s and was touted as one of the future PBA superstars. He also played 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 M ...

where he had solid credentials. One of Adamson University's greatest players, Duremdes immediately gave basketball fans a glimpse of his talent, earning Rookie of the Year honors with Burger Machine back in 1993 in the PBL. Under the tutelage of coach Perry Ronquillo, Duremdes turned from a raw cager into a fearless

slasher Slasher may refer to: * Slasher (basketball), a style of play in basketball * Slasher film, a subgenre of the horror film * Slasher (tool), a scrub-clearing implement * ''Slasher'' (2004 film), a 2004 documentary film * ''Slasher'' (2007 film ...

, and was instrumental in giving Burger Machine a championship in 1994. After two years with the PBL, Duremdes moved on to the PBA and was picked third overall in the 1995 draft.

PBA career

Sunkist and Pop Cola

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, Duremdes was selected by the

Sunkist Orange Juicers Sunkist may refer to: * Sunkist (soft drink), a brand of carbonated soft drink made under license from Sunkist Growers, Inc. * Sunkist Growers, Incorporated Sunkist Growers, Incorporated is an American citrus growers' non-stock membership cooper ...

as the 3rd overall in the rookie draft. His team won the PBA All-Filipino and the PBA Commissioner's Cup conference titles despite playing a limited role behind 1995 MVP

Vergel Meneses Vergel Corpuz Meneses (born January 14, 1969) is a Filipino retired professional basketball player and a politician, serving as mayor of the municipality of Bulakan, Bulacan. He previously played in the Philippine Basketball Association and ser ...

Bonel Balingit Bonel P. Balingit (born November 30, 1967), also known as The Gentle Giant and Man-Mountain, is a Filipino retired professional basketball player who played as a center. Basketball career The hulking Bonel played for the University of the Visaya ...

Nelson Asaytono Nelson Asaytono (born January 25, 1967) is a Filipino retired professional basketball player who played for Purefoods, Swift/Sunkist/Pop Cola, San Miguel Beer, and Red Bull in the PBA during his 17-year career. Collegiate / Amateur career Asa ...

and Boybits Victoria. However, Duremdes was on the bench for most of his time with the then-renamed Pop Cola 800s despite the departure of Asaytono from the team. After languishing on the bench, Pop Cola traded him and Jack Tanuan to

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...

for Dwight Lago and Boyet Fernandez.

Alaska Milkmen

After his arrival with the 1996 Grandslam champions, Duremdes' career took a big rise. He had a strong showing with the Milkmen's Governors Cup title conquest of Purefoods. In

, Duremdes led Alaska to the All-Filipino and Commissioner's Cup titles during the said year. He also won the Commissioner's Cup Best Player honors. Before leading the Philippines to a bronze-medal finish in the

1998 Asian Games The 1998 Asian Games (), officially known as the 13th Asian Games and the XIII Asiad, was an Asian multi-sport event celebrated in Bangkok, Thailand from December 6 to 20, 1998, with 377 events in 36 sports and disciplines participated by 6,554 ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

, Duremdes was named as the league's Most Valuable Player at age 24. He continued to have MVP numbers from 1999–2000, in which he led the Milkmen to the 2000 All-Filipino title. After becoming a free agent, he signed a reported 48 million peso to stay with the Aces in 2001, despite offers from teams such as the Mobiline Phone Pals. With Alaska focusing itself on rebuilding the team, Duremdes became the top man for the Aces along with young players

John Arigo John Hartley Ward Arigo (born December 10, 1978), in Charleston, South Carolina, is a Filipino-American retired professional basketball player having played for three teams in the Philippine Basketball Association over a nine-year career. He was ...

and

Ali Peek Albert Henry "Ali" Peek (born February 13, 1975) is a Filipino-American retired professional basketball player who played in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). During his playing days, he played mostly at the center position, although he ...

. In 2002, he again played for the country in the

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea ...

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

, becoming one of the most notable players on the squad. However, the squad failed to win a medal in the said event. Duremdes then led Alaska to a runner-up finish in the season-ending All-Filipino Conference. In

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, he became a member of the PBA's 25 Greatest Player's List, the youngest of the group.

Sta. Lucia Realtors

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

, Duremdes was surprisingly traded from Alaska to the Sta. Lucia Realtors for a future first round pick (which turned out to be

Brandon Cablay Brandon Lee Kaui Cablay (born March 1, 1978) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player. He started his career in the PBA in 2003 as a member of the Aces. He would win his first PBA championship in the 2003 PBA Invitational C ...

). The trade stunned everyone in attendance and made the Realtors one of the formidable contenders to win a PBA crown with the trio of Duremdes,

Marlou Aquino Marlou Bucao Aquino (born October 7, 1972) is a Filipino former professional basketball player and assistant coach for the Bacoor City Strikers of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). During his prime he was known by fans as "The S ...

and Dennis Espino. Despite big numbers in his first season with Sta. Lucia, he failed to lead the squad to a single championship. However, in the 2003 All-Star Game, he led the Commissioner's All-Star in a win over the Governor's team after scoring a buzzer-beating layup in the final seconds. Injuries hampered Duremdes in the 2004 Fiesta Conference but he still played in the All-Star Game. He only played for 47 games that year as several nagging injuries affected him. Duremdes saw action in the TM Legends Game, pitting several members of the PBA's 25 Greatest Players. In the 2005-2006 season, Duremdes saw limited action due to injuries, as well as his limited playing minutes. In last Philippine Cup, he led all scorers with 22 points-per-game.

Coca-Cola Tigers

In 2007, Duremdes was traded to Coca-Cola along with

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 f ...

and Ricky Calimag for Manny Ramos and

Dennis Miranda Dennis Ellera "Denok" Miranda (born July 14, 1982), is a Filipino professional basketball player who last played for the Laguna Heroes of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He was drafted third overall by Coca-Cola in 2005. He is ...

. And in 2008, he was named as the head coach of the

Coca-Cola Tigers Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...

, ending his career as a basketball player. On March 23, 2012, before a game between Alaska and Powerade, the Tigers retired his jersey. They went on to lose to the Aces in overtime, 102–100, despite having a 16-point lead.

Coaching career

Duremdes was hired by his college alma mater

as the head coach of its basketball team, replacing

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 Aus ...

, who decided not to renew his contract with the Falcons. The team manager of the

Adamson Falcons Adamson may refer to: * Adamson (surname), list of people * ''Adamson'', taxonomic author abbreviation for British botanist Robert Stephen Adamson (1885–1965) * Adamson (automobile), an English automobile model * ''Adamson'' (comic strip) or '' ...

confirmed the choice of Duremdes as the Falcons' new head coach. Following a dismal campaign in Season 77 (finished 8th in the standings, 1-13 win–loss record), Duremdes was fired by the team management citing a "need for full-time mentor" for the young Falcon team. He was replaced by one of his assistants, Michael A. Fermin who played for UP Fighting Maroons in the early 1990s.

National team career

In 1994, he was included in the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

that played in the

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui ...

. In 1998, Duremdes was again named to the

Philippine Centennial Team The 1998 Philippines men's national basketball team, nicknamed the "Philippine Centennial Team", competed in the 1998 Asian Games. The team consisted of professional players in the country that included national team veterans Allan Caidic and Alv ...

for the

Asian Games. He had outstanding numbers against teams from Asia and led the country to a bronze-medal finish. The country also won the Jones Cup in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

the same year. He led all scorers in the 1998 Asian Games and the 1998 Jones cup averaging 11.9 point per game and 17.3 point per game, respectively. In 2002, Duremdes once again took part in the

that played in the

Asian Games.

Achievements

Philippine Basketball Association

* 1998 and 2000 Mythical First Team * 1998 Most Valuable Player * 1996, 1999 and 2001 Mythical Second Team * 1998 Commissioner's Cup Best Player of the Conference * 1998 All-Filipino Cup and 1998 Commissioner's Cup Finals Most Valuable Player * 2000 All-Filipino Cup Best Player of the Conference * 1996 All-Star Game Most Valuable Player * 9-time All-Star * PBA's 500 Three-Point Club Member * PBA's 25 Greatest Players Member

Philippine Basketball League

* PBL's 20 Greatest Players Member * 1993 Most Valuable Player

Philippine national team

* 1998 Asian Games Bronze Medalist * 1998 Jones Cup Champion Centennial Team

Coaching record

UAAP

PBA

Personal life

Kenneth Duremdes married Vanessa Cariaga in 1993 at the

Manila City Hall The Manila City Hall ( fil, Bulwagan ng Lungsod ng Maynila) is the official seat of government of the City of Manila, located in the historic center of Ermita, Manila. It is where the Mayor of Manila holds office and the chambers of the Manil ...

, and the ceremony was officiated by Reverend Jesus Mesa before witnesses Manolita San Luis and Nora Atienzo. Duremdes contracted a second

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

with Theresa Ibasco in 1996. Cariaga filed a

bigamy In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. ...

lawsuit against him. Thereafter, he filed an annulment of marriage case which was later dismissed by a

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

regional trial court, Branch 255. The ruling was affirmed on October 21, 2008, by the

Philippine Court of Appeals The Court of Appeals ( fil, Hukuman ng Pag-aapela) is an appellate collegiate court in the Philippines. The Court of Appeals consists of one presiding justice and sixty-eight associate justices. Pursuant to the Constitution, the Court of Appe ...

' 9th division.

References

External links

PBA.ph: Kenneth Duremdes Player Profile

Adamson great Duremdes gets head-coaching job as Austria 'takes a break'

UNTV Cup Season 3 'featuring' Kenneth Duremdes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duremdes, Kenneth 1974 births Living people Alaska Aces (PBA) players Asian Games bronze medalists for the Philippines Asian Games medalists in basketball Basketball players at the 1994 Asian Games Basketball players at the 1998 Asian Games Basketball players at the 2002 Asian Games Basketball players from South Cotabato Filipino men's basketball coaches People from South Cotabato Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Powerade Tigers coaches Philippine Basketball Association players with retired numbers Philippines men's national basketball team players Filipino men's basketball players Pop Cola Panthers players Powerade Tigers players Notre Dame Educational Association alumni Shooting guards Small forwards Sta. Lucia Realtors players Adamson Soaring Falcons basketball players Visayan people Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Pop Cola Panthers draft picks Adamson Soaring Falcons basketball coaches